2530p - can you have 2.5" PRIMARY HDD (not in caddy)

Hello awesome folks (and specially nando4),

I am hunting for a used 2530p (bidding on a few at the bay) and am prepping for when it arrives.

I see extremely well written and generously published posts from nando4 on how to make use of the Optical Drive Bay caddy with a 2.5" SATA drive.

What I fail to find is a definitive answer if I can swap whatever is inside the 2530p primary drive locker with a 2.5 inch as well, or I am limited to 1.8 inch only?

Thank you for your comments and ideas!

 

Hi! 2530p owner here! Unfortunately you can't fit a 2.5" drive in the primary drive locker in the 2530p. You do need the caddy for a 2.5". I recommend getting a Vertex 2 1.8" ssd if you have the money. I've been using the DVD-ROM a lot lately although I still wish I had the caddy because the 1.8" 5400 rpm drive feels painfully slow. (Can't imagine the 4200rpm one in the Latitudes D430 a friend has)

 

fakeplasticblah is righ on the mark. The primary bay in a 2530P can only accomodate a 1.8" microsata drive. The expansion for a 2.5" sata ssd/hdd requires using an optical bay caddy. In losing the optical drive the system becomes like a Lenovo X200 except has the option adding a 1.8" SSD as well (eg: Intel X18M G2).

If you want a 12" wth 2.5" HDD + optical drive, consider a Toshiba R600. Or even a 13" Toshiba R700.

 

Thank you guys! I am tempted by the SSD as primary for both performance and battery life but the 1.8" are yet a bit steep in price.

I am trying to assemble the best mobile companion for long trips, that will double as a storage for videos and pix; Buying it second-hand + the added caddy + second HDD will jack the price but eventually deliver something solid (unlike current Atom netbooks). I like to believe that it will be on par with other ultraportable business devices which cost 1,500+ when new.

As super-speed is not what I am aiming for, rather reliability, I picked a solid built business notebook to start with. I will get the 2530p off ebay, just like nando4 suggested in another thread. I cannot see a Toshiba coming close to the build quality of IBM or HP, so the 2530p gets my vote

Currently, I am tempted to buy the smallest 5,400RPM 1.8" as primary and add the 1TB WD 2.5" with the drive bay caddy. Do you think 1TB is overkill at this stage? The thinking behind is that for roughly 40% more on the price of a 640GB drive I will get almost double capacity and certainly a huge storage to go with...

 

@defcon - there's no 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm drives. They go up to 640GB atm. If looking to keep costs as low as possible consider:

-the ebay "Fenvi' 9.5mm sata caddy for the 2530P. It's US$20-delivered, can have the faceplate swapped but has no additional USB port like the HP caddy has.

- you could have a L7700-1.8 2510P + 64GB ZIF SSD for the price of a 2530P. Linked unit with a brand new 9-cell too, likely going for ~US$250. With the 2510P overclock mods it would actually be faster too. Though you'd be looking at a dearer 9.5mm sata-to-pata newmodeus caddy with slave jumper for your purposes if going a 2510P.

 

Thank you, nando4

I am considering to go 2530p with

- primary 1.8" HDD - SATA
- original HP caddy with USB
- secondary 2.5" HDD - SATA
+1 9-cell battery to complement the original

The HDD I was referring to was this WD WD10TPVT: WD Scorpio Blue 1 TB SATA Hard Drives ( WD10TPVT )

It is 1TB and from what I see, it is a 2.5 inch mobile drive; might very well be wrong.

I hope I am making the right decision going for a full native SATA platform, albeit for a higher price. I do think that looking ahead it will be easier to service/upgrade/maintain as a travelling machine

 

It's too tall. 12.5mm sata drives cannot fit in the 9.5mm optical caddy from a 2530P. 640GB is the largest 9.5mm 2.5" sata HDD.

You might want also want to look at a $631 Lenovo X200 as well. Also, Dell are doing a $535 13" E4310 deal, which is too good a deal to miss imho.

 

Ugh, where are my manners... THANK YOU, nando4! You help me avoid all the newbie mistakes! I would have so bought the 12.5mm drive and then struggled... Thank you.

As big as a fan I am of IBM/Lenovo/ThinkPads (I own several 15 and 14 inch ones), I am sad to see X200 without touchpad.

The touchpad was re-introduced in the X201s (some models) but this is way over budget for what I have planned.

The Dell is sweet indeed - if all bids I have on the bay fail, I may consider it; although having a second drive there is unclear to me, don't know if it can battle the 12 inch hp2530p in battery life and build quality.

The link to Dell's Outlet is showing lowest price of a E4310 to be $699; I am cautiously optimistic that for the same price I can have:

- lightly used/brand new 2530p (old stock)
- with additional battery
- with additional caddy and second HDD
- with twice the RAM (4GB)
- with an optical drive / ability to use drive bay

all this in a smaller package... Call me a dreamer, but I think 2530p is ticking all the boxes I have in my head.

If only there was a X200/X200s/X201/X201s with a touchpad + DVD/RW in the same price range... I would look nowhere else; alas, this is not the case. Lenovo seem to be making small but critical mistakes since they are no longer paired with IBM

EDIT: I noticed that there is a 750GB WD7500BPVT, which is yet 9.5mm high - yuppie! http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=815

 

Apply the 25% off coupon: ML9TJNK27F0KF9 here which will bring it to $525. E4310 is a business spec build. Admittedly heavier than the 2530P but comes with an i5-5xx cpu, a 1366x768 LCD, 2.5" primary HDD and sata optical drive.

 

You drive a compelling argument, nando4 Will bookmark in case all 2530p bids fail

 

Yep, that's me

I just won a sweet deal on eBay - fully loaded, brand spanking new 2530p with docking station AND warranty...

I will be going though your signature, nando4, for tips and tricks on buying the additional battery + caddy; I'll be ordering them and the second HDD as soon as I get the USPS tracking number

YUPPIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE