Mounting a 3.5" HDD to PCI slot

[SearchingForIcicles]

Has anyone had experience with mounting their 3.5" hard drives to their motherboard PCI/PCI-E slots? Do you have any recommendations for this kind of setup?

Since my HDD+ODD cages are filled up, I'm looking to purchase something to hold my extra 3.5" hard drives in place inside my PC. The HDDs will be used for installing games and watching movies.

I googled for a bracket or adapter or something close, and found the two links below.
Although those items don't appear very reliable, or even stable.
As far as I can tell, there's no real way to secure it into a motherboard slot, just kind of relying on the metal bracket that's viewable from outside the case (ok that sounds weird but idk how to word it)
On the contrary, most 2.5" ssd/hdd pci mounts have the bracket and either a real pci connector or a placeholder to plug into the pci slot

The SYBA SY-ACC25050 PCI Slot SSD / HDD Bracket, Support 2 x 2.5" and 1 x 3.5" SSD / HDD, Secure it through PCI Slots
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817998258

The IO Crest SY-ACC25050 HDD / SSD Mounting Bracket for PCI Slot Components Other
https://www.amazon.com/IO-Crest-SY-ACC25050-Mounting-Components/dp/B01LZQGZ95/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1489433293&sr=1-1&keywords=3.5%22+pci+slot+hdd

Sorry for the long post, wanted to be as thorough as possible. Your input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[greens]

They look secure enough to me depending on the type of case.

But i wouldn't want them there anyway.

I use one of the greatest tools to the modding community available to mount my drives in even the most seemingly precarious of situations.

3M Scotch 4010 mounting tape. Greatest invention ever.

Like, i'd happily use it to secure snowboards to my roof for a road trip to the mountains - its that strong.

 

[SearchingForIcicles]

The case is a Corsair Carbide 330r with an asus z97a mb. I appreciate your review of the products, but to me, tape is like a "if there's nothing else" kind of deal. I'm looking for finished, retail products so I don't have to go down the DIY road.

 

[ArtPog]

They look secure enough to me depending on the type of case.

But i wouldn't want them there anyway.

I use one of the greatest tools to the modding community available to mount my drives in even the most seemingly precarious of situations.

3M Scotch 4010 mounting tape. Greatest invention ever.

Like, i'd happily use it to secure snowboards to my roof for a road trip to the mountains - its that strong.

Interesting that you recommended that Scotch mounting tape to the OP since we've had a similar experience with a "mounting" adhesive.

For nearly 20 years now we've been building desktop PCs equipped with mobile racks (removable HDDs) that are installed in one or more of the desktop case's 5 1/4" bay. We would never build a PC without one or more of those devices since they're so incredibly useful.

For a variety of reasons the particular mobile rack we use is the Athena Power MR-125PB available from...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817995104

We've probably installed (or helped users install) hundreds of these devices over the years.

But this mobile rack has one negative: it's designed for a 3 1/2" HDD. And since the advent of SSDs we, along with other users, have been using those latter drives more & more. While we found various methods to secure an SSD in the removable tray of the mobile rack, e.g., foam inserts, shipping tape, drilling holes, we've never been really satisfied with the results.

Not too long ago someone, like yourself, suggested we use the type of adhesive tape you suggested; we had somehow never thought that type of adhesive tape would be strong enough for our purposes. Anyway we did experiment with it and found it to be incredibly useful (and easy!) to secure the SSD in the rack's removable tray. The Scotch product we finally decided upon is the Scotch "EXTREMELY STRONG" Mounting Strips" (red-colored package & strips) #414P-ST. Each strip is 3" long by 1" wide so we cut down the width (using scissors) to 2 1/4" to fit the width of the SSD and mount the strip just behind the SSD's data/power connectors.

We've found a single strip is sufficient to secure the SSD in the mobile rack's removable tray. Our work involves frequently using different SSDs during the operation of the PC (involving different OSs and other considerations), so we're more-or-less continually removing & installing the removable trays from the rack. They've held up quite well and we've experienced no problems.

 

[SearchingForIcicles]

I apologize but offering testimony for something I want to steer clear of does not help me find a solution.

I would like to state I am looking for a 3.5" HDD mount that could go into the PCI slot of a motherboard, made of hard abs, pc, metal or pcb board materials.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The report abuse button doesn't exist because you haven't got the answers you want yet.

I built my first computer in 98 and I wasn't even aware brackets like that existed. Neither of those products have a single review making me think there isn't much of a market for such a thing. Crazier things have happened but I'd be amazed if you get any first hand recommendations. Larger case? External enclosure? I've had great success with the double sided tape and velcro you don't want to hear about at least mounting SSDs in lower end or old cases without a dedicated 2.5" bay. A full weight 3.5" HDD I'm not sure I'd try.

 

[SearchingForIcicles]

The mod is right with one thing, that I won't find recommendations outside of mundane, and rudimentary from professionals. I think it took me only a few minutes to brainstorm something much more aesthetically pleasing and more reliable than using tape. The best part is I still don't need to go down the DIY or risk-taker road. With regards to the pros, their answer seemed to be much more efficiency and convenience-oriented, but I'm not a tech pro whose bent on doing things the quick'n'ghetto way.

There is no weight problem, graphics card with aftermarket coolers sit fine in their pci/pcie slots, and those weigh more than 3.5" HDD.

Anyways, I found my own solution, thank you all.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

See most of us don't do things the "quick and ghetto" way either. Most of us put some thought in our storage needs when buying a case. After moving to an NVMe M2 boot drive I was able to remove the bottom drive cage from my case for better airflow and still have 3 storage drives.

Forethought. It's your friend.