Need info on Lian Li EX-H3* series of hot swap cages

Tetsujin_100 · Jun 7, 2016

I wanted to ask if anyone could give me or point me to some information regarding this series of hot swap cages. Possibly general info on their cages would work too since they seem to be a similar design. I have looked around a bit and havent found detailed information. I have also contacted Lian Li but havent heard back from them yet. I am looking at 3 drive bay(since im unsure on the clearances and airflow) but if they are good enough I would likely go with the 4 drive bay model(EX-H34*) instead.

Examples of the cages

EX-H33SX

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10891/cpa-390/Lian_Li_EX-H33SX_SAS_SATA_HDD_Hot_Swap_External_Rack_Mount_Kit_-_RAID_5_-_All_Black_EX-H33SX.html

EX-H33B

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8202/cpa-257/Lian_Li_EX-H33B_SATA_Hot_Swap_HD_Cage_-_Black.html#blank

~Is it possible to change the 120mm fan to any other 120mm fan of a higher rpm and/or static pressure?

~Can the 120mm fan be controlled directly by a fan controller?

~What thickness of harddrive can this drive be fully populated with and still maintain airflow?

~Would using the SX(the style without the holes on the cage) be better or worse for overall airflow?

~Has anyone successfully mounted one of these on a CaseLabs case?

I plan on using using about 9 5.25 bays on either a CaseLabs STH10 or a THW10. I am leaning more towards the THW10 but im still researching since there arent many details and images of builds using it since its relatively new.

I intend on using WD Red 8TB or 6TB drives to populate the cages so heat generation will be minimal relatively. I will separate the plumbing and the electronics(mostly) to either side on the THW10 and will have 140mm intake fans running on the available space on side without the hdd cages Although I havent decided on which side will be optimal as im still finalizing parts used.

I am also open to suggestions of other hot swap cages as long as they are or a similarly high quality and have standard fans that can be swapped out.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Lutfij · Jun 12, 2016

For fans, yeah you can swap it out for any 120mm fan in the market
http://fdisk.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2008-06-20
http://awardfabrik.de/forum/threads/5778-User-Review-3-Lian-Li-Expansion-HDD-Festplatten-Kits-im-Test

The links above show the unit to be capable of accepting both thick or slim HDD's. The links to both products have holes in them so I'm not sure if you linked the wrong products or I'm not looking at the general direction

You'll need ventilation holes to have the HDD's run at acceptable temperatures which in essence is known as a comfort zone for components.

If you'd like to mount the HDD hot swap bay to a Caselabs case, you'd need to purchase brackets/rails for you respective chassis. It'd be best if you could contact Caselabs and hash things out with them regarding which route would be best and the sort of hardware you'll need to progress on your endeavor. I'm not sure but I think Kevin is in charge of operations and he also manages the team behind their support. Just ask and they will answer(albeit with time

)

For the HDD bays, I'd ask you o look at nothing less than high static pressure fans like:
Swiftech Helix's
EK Vardar's
Bitfenix Spectre Pro's
Noiseblocker Multiframe or E-Loop's
Noctua NF A or P series(which ever has higher mm H20 rating).

Tetsujin_100 · Jun 18, 2016

Lutfij :

Thank you for your input and the links. Those set of pictures help things quite a bit.

Yea the documentation and images I have looked at go back and forth on whether that model has holes or not and so I think I will just have to wait for Lian Li to respond to be absolutely sure or get someone with the model with holes to confirm the Model#.

I have CrystalDiskInfo running on my rig and dont let my drives get hotter than about 30-36C(they are usually 26-30C in mild weather). .

Those look like some good fan recommendations as a few of them are in my list for case fan research. With how my build is going it seems like the only 120mm fans in my rig will be in those hot swap cages, so In your opinion what would be the best static pressure 140mm fans on the market now? I just wanted to finish up fan selection before I started scouring over 5.25 fan controller products.

My preference for fans on average is 60%(performance)/40%(silence) with the widest range of non damaging RPM control just to hedge bets and add flexibility when I have headphones on and dont care about noise. RGB lighting control would also be nice but that is kind of a secondary consideration for me since the vast majority of the fans will be on radiators aside from maybe 2 front intake and one exhaust on the motherboard side of the case. These would be the only CFM optimized fans in the case potentially but maybe not even that since I wanted to get some dust filters for the intake fans and depending on which ones I would have to get SP optimized fans.

I was planning on shooting CaseLabs a line when I was in the final validation portion of the design phase so I would just be able to point them to my final part list to give them the best idea of what I would need. This would be after I run the core components on a test bench for a week or two. I will be sure to drop your name just to see if I can get a quicker response out of them lol

I just updated my sig for the build im working on if you wanted to take a look and give me your thoughts.

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Need info on Lian Li EX-H3* series of hot swap cages

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