XPS 15z (L511z): Replacing the Optical Drive with 2nd Hard Disk

Hey,

I am planning to install an SSD instead of the HDD that I have and replace the optical drive and put the 750G HDD in caddy.

Here is a link to caddy:
Caddy

And this is the SSD that I will buy:
Samsung SSD

My Questions are:

1) Did anyone tried this before with XPS15z, if yes, are there any problems with this setup ?

2) Will this setup affect battery life ?

3) What do u think of this Samsung ssd that I linked above (any issues) ?

Thanks in Advance

 

1- Your caddy is perfect.
2. Highly Recommended for Samsung 830 256 GB
3. Many people install the caddy in 15z know-one faced any problem. You can see in 15z thread may page is 64 or 84, go back and forward.
4. Well Samsung 830 power consumption is more than M4. But it's not like draining the battery.
5. There was an issue in CXM02B1Q , Its release went mostly unnoticed due to CES, hence you never saw it until today. All new 830 is coming with CXM03B1Q firmware, So you don't need to worry any more.

I try to answer to your query with my limited knowledge, I hope it will help you.

 

I am also looking for a caddy as I've just upgraded mine to Samsung 830 128GB. eBay has the cheapest prices and I see some sites that sell a lot more expensive. like this one:

2nd HDD or SSD Caddy for DELL XPS 15 (L501x, L502x) [OBHD-SATA12-SATA-BU] - $44.75 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

I think I am just going to try the cheap alternative from eBay. I'm pretty sure they are all the same.

Regarding your question, I think the second HD will definitely affect battery life as it is always running unless you can put it in sleep mode. Whereas the CD Rom is off most of the time that you are not using it. I have done so much research on SSD before I went ahead with the Samsung 830. You can't go wrong with either the Samsung 830, Crucial M4 or the Intel 520

Another thing I recommend is getting a larger SSD(256GB) and then just use the older HD in a enclosure so this way you get to keep your DVD drive.

 

Ordered a caddy off of eBay... no problems at all and even came with a case for my DVD drive. I also inserted 16gb of ram into the system at the same time.

 

What? 16Gb of ram on XPS 15z? As far as I know the max memory is 8Gb, if I am not wrong!

 

Nope running two 8-gig SODIMM's right now on my XPS 15z.

 

I don't how but I also saw 8GB max

 

Could you tell us which brand and speed memory you installed?

thanks!

 

Yes this... CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333

Here's another thread about the 15z and 16 gb of ram... XPS 15z Ram Limitation

 

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Thank you.

 

Hi Tefaa89,

Did you go ahead with the swap ?
Did you install the SSD as primary disk holding the OS ?
Does it work fine ?
Any problems to report ?

Thanks.

 

I just ran the swap, installing an OCZ Vertex 3 in the main bay, and putting the spinny drive in the optical bay.

I tried pulling the caddy from my ASUS, but it was too thick and didn't fit into the 15Z, so I ordered this caddy and it fits just fine. Win 8 installed without any problems, and the SSD is fast. I've attached a benchmark for those that are curious.