Icy Dock this week announced a new M.2 enclosure that can house up to 12 M.2 SSDs and is the size of a single, 5.25-inch optical drive bay. You can install the ToughArmor MB872MP-B directly into your best PC case — if you still have a case that even supports external 5.25-inch drives.
The ToughArmor MB872MP-B can be a really cool option for those with mass storage needs. Housing up to 12 M.2 SSDs can be great for NAS or server use, for example.
The ToughARmor MB872MP-B supports drive sizes from 30mm all the way to 110mm (2230 / 2242 / 2260 / 2280 / 22110). The only obvious downside of this drive rack is the lack of NVMe support; the only M.2 form factor drives it supports are SATA-based. That means you're limited to 6 Gbps speeds.
All 12 SSDs are connected via three custom OcuLink (SFF-8612) data connectors and two SATA 15-pin power connectors.
For cooling, the chambers are specialized slimline trays. They're made with a thick aluminum to help act as a heatsink for keeping the M.2 drives cool. There's also a 40mm fan is installed to ensure active airflow is going over all the drives.
The ToughArmor MB872MP-B is currently available for $773.
