I bought HP EliteBook 8770w HDD caddy instead of HP EliteBook 8760w caddy... did I mess up?

Ah, a misfortune struck recently. I wanted a third HDD in my laptop for maximum storage capacity (I already have my two HDD slots filled). I bought a HP 8770w HDD caddy from hddcaddy.com, because I thought that the website I was buying from didn't have a 8760w model. It turns out I was sorely mistaken. Now, my only question is whether a 8770w CD/BluRay burner is also compatible with the 8760w model? If so, my caddy will most likely be interchangeable as well. If not... Well, RIP 30€, I guess. Don't hesitate to hit me with the hard truth...

 

Considering both have similar chassis, I think you'll be fine.

 

Pfuuuu, that's a big relief. You've made my day. Though I still can't understand why on earth the 8770w caddy only costs 23,95€, while the 8760w caddy costs 28,95€. Any ideas as to why this is so???

 

Wish I knew. They're virtually identical so I guess it's for those gullible ones? You saved some €€€ anyways!

 

Hmmm, it may be because 8770w was more widely produced than 8760w and 8570w? Maybe... Well, if everything turns out well, I know where to get parts for my laptop more cheaply, he he.

 

Caddies are universal because the ODDs are. There are only two SATA variants; 9.5mm and 12.7mm tall (either at most $3, inc. shipping). It's only the clip-on bezel that is system-specific, but you might've re-used the one from the player. That 'hdd caddy' site buys the two SATA types in bulk and re-sells them as being 'specifically designed' for a certain laptop. They don't even include the bezel, so they make over $20 for every caddy they sell, a ~733% profit margin.

 

Well, I got ripped of then... But honestly, I couldn't find a caddy with the label of my specific model... Only this site advertised a "8760w specific caddy", so I though "Yeah, that's it!" Well, the joke's on them, I double-ripped them off, because I didn't buy the 28.95€ version, if that can be a good enough "sliver lining" he he (let's be honest, I got monumentally ripped off). In the future, where do you recommend I buy these widely produced laptop parts? Thank you for the answer in advance. Cheers.

PS: Both 8770w and 8760w have a 12.7mm/9.5mm SATA, right? Right...? Judging by the picture, they are exactly the same, I just want to hear it, so my already-overpayed 30€ won't be a complete waste.

 

You're hardly the only one, so don't worry about it too much (might cancel the deal too, if sales laws in your country have a buyer's remorse window). And both ebay and aliexpress are very cheap since a lot of the sellers are China-based and the Chinese government refunds export shipping costs to the sellers, so they're very hard to beat. Mind that all caddies are produced there as well, including those from the 'hdd caddy' site and any other non-China based seller, so you're skipping a middle-man or two as well.

Don't know about the 8760w and 8770w, but the easiest option is simply to search for a matching dvd or blu-ray player on ebay using the laptop model number and checking the specifications of the drive; often the height is listed and if not then you can google that drive's part nr. and find out its height via that route.

Odds, hard drives, memory, cpus, wifi-cards and lcds are basically generic components, so none of these have to be bought laptop-specific. Some research is of course necessary due to generation differences in the technology and sometimes bios compatibility or even white-listing (Lenovo, for one).

 

Thanks for the answer!