The ICY DOCK MB974SP-B is the first product from ICY DOCK that Vortez have had the opportunity to look at. Personally speaking, I really liked this product despite its numerous shortfalls.



The good points that have come out of this review include the looks and general build quality. The unit certainly looks good in a case, yet still retains total functionality. The aluminium build (ignoring the door locks for now) is very good, and the product feels solid and durable. The feature set is also more packed than almost all backplane modules seen so far. Automatic temperature control, front panel connections, independent drive power switches and more really set this apart from other storage solutions. Finally, by far the best feature of this module is the ability to install and remove ‘naked’ hard drives with no fuss whatsoever. This simplifies the process of swapping hard disks in a machine considerably and is worthy of being put to use in a storage, backup or recovery machine context and it will excel in all.

If you’ve read the rest of the review, you’ll know it’s not all plain sailing with the MB974SP-B unfortunately. The main issues come with the installation process. If the module fits in your case, it will make cable management more challenging and perhaps starve some other components of airflow, depending on their position. You may also have trouble mounting it correctly in your 5.25” bays using screws, as it appears not to line up perfectly in all cases. In addition to this, once it’s up and running you’ll have to contend with a louder than average 80mm fan and possibly sticking doors and locks.

What the MB974SP-B really does brilliantly is simplify the installation, removal and replacement of 3.5” hard drives in your case. Similar ‘hot-swap’ designs have been introduced on high end PC cases for the home market, such as the Corsair Obsidian 800D, and these capture almost the same simplicity with less drawbacks but are not an option on all cases, nor do they offer as much flexibility as a dedicated module. It may be a matter of time before we see more widespread adoption of such designs in more PC chassis, and this is very much welcomed, but for now, products such as this one fit the bill very well indeed.





To sum up, the MB974SP-B is an impressive first look at a product from ICY DOCK, but it still has areas for improvement. When it’s all installed and working, this is the best way to manage HDDs, full stop. Vortez look forward to seeing what other useful products ICY DOCK can bring to market in the future. The module works so well when up and running that I believe it is worthy of a Vortez Bronze award and I hope that in the next incarnation the problems are dealt with and we can happily serve up an even higher accolade.