Three SSD caddies reviewed

Three drive caddies reviewed

SSDs are taking the world by storm, at last. For a while there we thought we might be stuck with the slow, hot, clicking hard drive forever as manufacturers fumbled between RAM and flash, volatile and non-volatile, bla bla bla. Even holographic storage seemed like the future at one point. Luckily flash has paved the way for faster, cooler and quieter storage, not to mention virtually bomb proof drives that are just as at home out of a computer as they are inside it.

While 2.5in SSDs like OCZ's Vertex and G.Skill's Falcon undoubtedly make laptops as perky as a meer cat on amphetamines, it's in PCs that this massive speed boost has been most longingly awaited. After all, spending upwards of £100 on an SSD for your average laptop isn't usually worth it but in a PC, a whole manner of applications are instantly transformed from grinding timewasters into fast and responsive programs. On top of this Windows boots quicker and is more responsive too.

However, installing a 2.5in drive in a PC has until now been a bit like putting the engine of a Ford Fiesta into a Bently Continental. There's plenty of room but things don't quite fit. If some way of properly mounting your SSD is needed other than using some velcro on the side panel, then we have a few things here that might be of interest and one even lets you mount it or even a 3.5in hard drive outside the case and is hot swappable too.

Akasa SSD Mounting Kit

Manufacturer: Akasa
UK Price (as reviewed):£6.31 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): NA

Retailing for £6.31, the Akasa SSD Mounting kit certainly won't break the bank and after probably spending a fair amount of wonga on your SSD, your wallet will breathe a sigh of relief too. It looks fairly simple and, well, it is. It's a solid lump of black aluminium which can mount into any 3.5in drive bay using the included mounting screws.


As it mimics the dimensions and mounting of a normal 3.5in hard drive, installation is a synch and all you're required to do is secure your SSD to the mount. There are two bays in the mount allowing for up to two 2.5in drives up to a height of 9.5mm to be installed. Having inspected the bunch of SSDs and laptop hard drives we have here at bit-tech at present, the largest we could find was a Crucial SSD which was nearly 10mm high but even this fitted with a bit of persuasion. Other drives like the Intel model pictured have room to spare. Seeing as there are no moving parts in SSDs, vibration won't be an issue.


It looks pretty neat once it's in your case and given it costs just £6 and is a single, bomb and idiot proof design, we can thoroughly recommend the Akasa SSD Mounting Kit as a means of properly installing an SSD or two.