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    the right HDD caddy?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by PiRoDa, Jun 17, 2011.

  1. PiRoDa

    PiRoDa Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey!

    I am planning to buy a caddy for my dell studio XPS 16. I can find lots and lots of caddys which are 12.7 mm in height, but almost no ones that are specific for studio XPS 16. So is that the same? Or what are the measurements for studio XPS 16? I don't want to buy something that does not fit :) What connections should be on it?
     
    PiRoDa, Jun 17, 2011
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  2. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    You need one designed for a slot-load drive. Most on ebay are designed for regular drives, and may not fit without modification. There is one on newmodeus.com that is designed specifically for the XPS16, but it's expensive, just over $40.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 17, 2011
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  3. Darkstone

    Darkstone Notebook Consultant

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    Morale of the story: buy an apple replacement caddy for cheap. Should be under $10.
     
    Darkstone, Jun 17, 2011
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  4. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    edit: all of the apple caddys I found were 9.5mm instead of the XPS16s 12.7mm, and on most of them the mount points were very different.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 17, 2011
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  5. Brendanmurphy

    Brendanmurphy Your Worst Nightmare

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    Brendanmurphy, Jun 17, 2011
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  6. PiRoDa

    PiRoDa Notebook Enthusiast

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    But 40 dollar is quite expensive in comparison with 10 for the other 12.7 mm caddy's I found. Why is there such a big price difference?
     
    PiRoDa, Jun 18, 2011
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  7. Brendanmurphy

    Brendanmurphy Your Worst Nightmare

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    It is specifically designed for the 1640/45/47. Not all hard drive caddys are going to mount into the same spots so a generic one will not work. So mosey up the extra 30$ and suck it up lol :p
     
    Brendanmurphy, Jun 18, 2011
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  8. Darkstone

    Darkstone Notebook Consultant

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    I though the xps 16 used 9.5mm drives.

    I got this one for my studio 15: 12.7mm SATA 2nd HDD caddy for ACER BENQ HP DELL ASUS | eBay UK
    Cheap, and builld quality is crap. But it works. I removed the annoying LED though.
     
    Darkstone, Jun 18, 2011
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  9. Brendanmurphy

    Brendanmurphy Your Worst Nightmare

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    It uses a 12.7mm optical drive but a 9.5mm hd. I think you could put a 12.7mm in the caddy correct me if im wrong?
     
    Brendanmurphy, Jun 18, 2011
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  10. Darkstone

    Darkstone Notebook Consultant

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    Not sure.

    Give me a few minutes to open my notebook and take a look.

    Edit: yea, there seems to be enough space for thicker drives than 9.5mm.
     
    Darkstone, Jun 18, 2011
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  11. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    I was looking at that one too, but I'm not sure if it will fit length-wise, as the slot-load drives don't have a face plate, making them slightly shorter. You might be able to take the plastic face off the one side and get it to fit, but I'm not sure.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 18, 2011
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  12. Darkstone

    Darkstone Notebook Consultant

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    I broke the face plate for it to fit.
     
    Darkstone, Jun 18, 2011
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  13. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    How well does it work? Is the fit acceptable after the modification, and is it solid? I was thinking of getting one myself. I have my old 500GB HDD as an external, and I use it much more often than the DVD player.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 18, 2011
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  14. Darkstone

    Darkstone Notebook Consultant

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    It's pretty weak, try to not attach the screws more than once...

    But it doesnt matter, i have my SSD in in, an HDD would probably make alot more noise than in the normal bay.
     
    Darkstone, Jun 18, 2011
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