A Closer Look

Taking a closer look at the ToughArmor MB720M2K-B, essentially every structural element is made out of some sort of metal. The outside is all black with the individual tray-locking mechanisms also utilizing the sturdy material. Viewing it from the side, you can clearly see that this isn't simply a folded steel plate, as quite a bit of engineering has gone into the unit to make it as robust as possible. Once again, if someone like a government entity or big firm uses these in the field, it needs to be able to take the wear and tear. In the rear, you will find all the connections and external electronic elements of the hot-swap enclosure.


There are two 40 mm fans from Young Lin with the model number DFC401012M. I had a bit of a hard time finding some specifications on these, but ICY DOCK was kind enough to fill me in with the details: these run at 0.6 A and 0.7 W with 5400RPM while pushing 5.62 CFM and generating 24.87 dBA, each. There is an embedded fan switch that allows you to toggle these between an off, a mid, and a high state. Behind each of the square covers is a Mini-SAS interface to transfer data back and forth, while two SATA power plugs provide the juice to the four drives.


You may pull out the trays by pushing down on the smaller metal bit in the front that releases a lever arm. Once removed, you can see that there is a large, black aluminium heatsink for each unit. The only tangible plastic parts are the actual trays themselves, which seems a little out of place as steel would be safer if you were to, say, drop a tray. However, the plastic also acts as a good insulator to the otherwise bare M.2 NVMe drive.


Taking a peek inside the empty enclosure, you can see the green PCB that leaves very little room for the fans to push through with three small rectangular openings for each.


Before we dive into the assembly and testing of the ICY DOCK ToughArmor MB720M2K-B, putting the full unit on the scale, it quickly becomes apparent how uncompromising their approach is as it clocks in at 1335 g. Each individual aluminium heatsink puts a relatively massive 94 g on the scale.