Test – Icy Dock ToughArmor MB998SP-B |Specs | CPU | Hashrate

Hi all !

Today is the start of testing products from Icy Dock, founded in 1994 the brand specializes in products related to storage, whether external boxes, adapters 3.5 ″ -> 2.5 ″ and I past! I will present to you one of the latest product from the brand, the ToughArmor MB998SP-B. Under this barbaric name hides a case occupying a 5.25 ″ bay but capable of accommodating 8 hard drives / SSDs in 2.53 format! Yes you read that right, 8 SSDs in one 5.25 ″ slot! In addition to that Icy Dock has installed 2 fans of 4 cm for cooling, the racks are “hot swap” (hot swap) and the case is thought to be extremely resistant (hence the name!).
Offered at a price of around 150 €, the ToughArmor MB998SP-B is more intended for companies that need a lot of storage space, or even individuals with specific needs.

The Icy Dock ToughArmor MB998SP-B is black in color and all metal. It has 8 Sata connectors on the back to directly connect the peripherals to the motherboard. The peripherals are of course in 2.5 ″ format, 7 mm thick (be careful with the height, which can be 9.5 mm depending on the model) and Sata I / II / III compatible.
The power is supplied via 2 Sata connectors at the back of the box, this will suit a lot of people because the space occupied by 8 Sata connectors is not trivial in a box, so do not fear the slightest problem because these 2 connectors will be more than enough to power the whole family. Ventilation is provided by two 4 cm fans placed at the back.
Besides the dimensions of a 5.25 ″ slot the depth is 14.6 cm, which is compact and should not pose any integration problems, all for a weight of 875 grams, which is not nothing (thank you! use of metal).

The box could not be more sober, on the front there is a diagram of the product as well as a listing of all the main strengths of the beast, namely 2 fans, “hot swap” compatibility, completely in metal, access easy to racks, 8 peripherals 2.53 etc .. At the back we find the full technical characteristics. Note that marketing is totally absent here, we find only the necessary information without frills, it feels good.

On the sides there is a small diagram of the installation of the peripherals on the racks as well as the orientation of the air flow (fresh air comes from outside and is expelled into the tower).

Inside the box we fall directly on the box wrapped in bubble plastic which will dampen the shocks due to transport.

The bundle consists of a user manual as well as the necessary screws and small plastic clips for numbering the racks (it will be easier to navigate!).

Here is the beast! The least we can say is that the look is very industrial and is clearly more functional than anything else. There are 2 columns of 4 racks, the place has been used as a whole here and it will not be possible to put more in one 5.25 ″ slot! The build quality is very good, the all-metal case is very solid and will undoubtedly withstand all assaults 😉
A grid is present in front of each potential peripheral allowing the air flow to enter from the front and therefore to avoid overheating. Next to the grid an LED is present on each rack and will allow you to see the activity of the device installed, on the right an ejection mechanism is also present in order to facilitate replacement.

The peripherals are plugged directly into the bottom of the box, thus greatly facilitating the change of peripherals, no need to open the tower!

Each rack is made of metal, of very good quality and which will withstand many manipulations without the slightest worry. We see here the extraction system, just put the rack in place and close everything, nothing could be simpler!

Here is what it looks like with different SSDs installed, a Crucial BX100 as well as a Kingston HyperX Savage, just put them down and screw them underneath.

As I said above devices larger than 7mm will unfortunately not pass, like this Intel X25-M SSD, so be careful with the choice of what will be installed 😉

Here is a rack in place, equipped with its small 1 (which can be added or not) which will make it easier to identify which peripheral is installed, and where, if of course you write it down somewhere.

You can number the racks from 1 to 8.

At the rear the smallest centimeter is also occupied, 4 Sata ports for data, 1 Sata power port and 1 fan on each side.

The fans are 4cm models from Young Lin, DFC401012M rotating at a maximum speed of 5400 RPM.

The fans are connected via 3-pin connectors, so changing as needed is very easy, just unscrew the 2 screws and change the fan. For example a Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX (tested here) will find its place here without the slightest problem.

In order to test the ToughArmor MB998SP-B here is the configuration that was used:

• Processor: Intel Core i5 4670K @ 4 Ghz
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87-UD5H TH
• Memory: Kingston HyperX 4 x 2 Go 1600Mhz
• SSD 1: Crucial BX100 500 Go
• SSD 2: Kingston HyperX Savage 240 Go
• SSD 3: Plextor M6 Pro 256 Go
• Food: Seasonic X650
• Operating system: Windows 8.1 64bits

The box having no integrated RAID controller only the flow rates of each SSD will be tested, once directly on the motherboard and again on the box, so we will see the impact of the PCB making the intermediary on flow rates.

The flows

As we can see the results do not differ in any way between the SSDs connected directly to the motherboard or to the ToughArmor box, we can say that the PCB which is the relay between the cable and the SSD has no effect on performance, which is a very good point!

Sound level

Who says small fan usually says fairly high sound level, this is once again the case with the 2 fans of 4 cm which turn fairly quickly and which raise the sound level from 31 dB at rest to 47 dB once the box on. This is absolutely nothing strange and in the environment for which the ToughArmor is designed it will not be heard very clearly compared to other devices. On the other hand, for an individual who wants to do mass storage, it will be necessary to either do with or change the fans or even disconnect them (which may be possible if only SSDs and not hard disks are installed).

Here we are at the end of this test, what about the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB998SP-B?
Icy Dock offers here a product that stands out from the competition by being able to accommodate 8 hard drives or 8 SSD in 2.5 ″ format, the build quality is excellent, the product is very strong and will not flinch in the slightest bit. it doesn’t matter what you do to him. All the bays are hot-swappable very easily in order to change a drive if it should malfunction, in addition to having an individual activity LED.
Each disk must be connected to the motherboard / or controller card via the connectors present behind the box, there is no visible performance loss despite the intermediate PCB.
The only small weak point that I could find in the ToughArmor MB998SP-B is the noise level of its fans, indeed the 2 small fans of 4cm are rather noisy but this will logically not be a problem since the box is intended for professionals, and therefore in a server which will be much more noisy anyway. For an individual, however, this point may be taken into consideration. However, it is easy to change them for quieter models and / or remove them completely in the case of use only with SSDs, which heat much less than a conventional mechanical hard drive.
Priced at around € 150, the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB998SP-B is undoubtedly an excellent product for those who want maximum 2.5 ″ storage in minimum space!

A big thank you to Maximilien from Crémax France who allowed me to do this test.

Where can I find the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB998SP-B?

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