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    W520 Ultrabay Adaptor/HDD

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by cpm22, Apr 16, 2011.

  1. cpm22

    cpm22 Notebook Consultant

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    Hi,
    I just ordered an Ultrabay Adaptor for my new W520 and I want to get a 500GB 7200rpm HDD to put into the adaptor. Can anyone help me to make sure I get one that fits? Or will any laptop HDDs fit?
     
    cpm22, Apr 16, 2011
    #1
  2. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    For the W520 pretty much any 9.5mm laptop drive will fit into Ultrabay Adaptor quite easily.
     
    PatchySan, Apr 16, 2011
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  3. Volker

    Volker Notebook Consultant

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    12.7mm laptop harddrives will fit, too (up to 1TB but <= 5400rpm). Depending on which SATA ultrabay adaptor you ordered, it may leave a gap. But it will work fine.
     
    Volker, Apr 16, 2011
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  4. hrana

    hrana Notebook Evangelist

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    hrana, Apr 16, 2011
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  5. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thors.Hammer, Apr 16, 2011
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  6. hrana

    hrana Notebook Evangelist

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    LOL! I deserve that for not reading all the specs. I guess it'll be a good drive for a USB3 enclosure.
     
    hrana, Apr 16, 2011
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  7. khenobr

    khenobr Notebook Enthusiast

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    which one leaves no gap? (that goes for t420 too?)
     
    khenobr, Apr 16, 2011
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  8. pkincy

    pkincy Notebook Evangelist

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    The gap is in the Ultrabay Caddy III drive door. No problem unless you use the machine in blowing sand.

    Why not order the 500GB Hitachi 7200 rpm and put it in the caddy and put a SSD in the main drive slot?

    And if you want a HDD in the main slot match it by size and type in the Caddy and use cloning software to back up.


    Perry
     
    pkincy, Apr 16, 2011
    #8
  9. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    There's so far no official Lenovo 12.7mm caddy, however, there are some unofficial ones that are floating around--usually, these work as well.
     
    MidnightSun, Apr 16, 2011
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  10. Volker

    Volker Notebook Consultant

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    Actually, there is another problem with the 2.5" Enterprise SATA drives: They need 5V and 12V rails, but the ultrabay only supplies 5V.
     
    Volker, Apr 17, 2011
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  11. shashu

    shashu Notebook Geek

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    Any definitive answer as to whether the 43N3412 SATA Hard Drive Adaptor III leaves a gap when in the W520 ultrabay slot? Any pics if anyone has both?
     
    shashu, Apr 17, 2011
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  12. ThiPaX40

    ThiPaX40 Notebook Consultant

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    ThiPaX40, Apr 17, 2011
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  13. shashu

    shashu Notebook Geek

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    shashu, Apr 17, 2011
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  14. shashu

    shashu Notebook Geek

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    Also can anyone confirm SATA III 6Gb support in the ultrabay slot?
     
    shashu, Apr 17, 2011
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  15. intergalactic

    intergalactic Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just bought this, cheapest 3rd party 12.7mm ultra bay i could find ~USD$23 with shipping -

    2nd HDD hard drive Caddy F Lenovo Thinkpad T420 W520 | eBay

    Will post pictures once it comes. Have yet to decide on which SSD to go with... either 120gb OCZ vertex 3 or 120gb intel 510... both so expensive... :(
     
    intergalactic, Apr 22, 2011
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  16. hrana

    hrana Notebook Evangelist

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    hrana, Apr 23, 2011
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  17. kimocal

    kimocal Notebook Geek

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    Did your ultrabay adapter work?
     
    kimocal, May 2, 2011
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  18. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    How did you resolve it? Did you return your machine?


    So let me see if I have this straight. You bought two expensive SSD drives yet you decided it made sense to not buy a Lenovo manufactured part because you needed to save $20.

    No offense, but I'm not sure I would recommend this strategy.
     
    Thors.Hammer, May 2, 2011
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  19. hrana

    hrana Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes, I returned the machine. No restocking fee. Reordered a new W520 with 2 320GB 7200RPM drives for exactly $120 more over a single-drive configuration. People should be aware that Lenovo does not include a DVD drive with this configuration so the "net cost" is more than $120.

    I'm looking at this external blu-ray drive by Asus but may wait a bit to see if any USB3 models are coming.
     
    hrana, May 3, 2011
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  20. Volker

    Volker Notebook Consultant

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    The 240GB ssd drives are faster than the 120GB version of the respective vendor because the built-in flash controller has more channels. IMHO RAID in a laptop is stupid, but its especially pointless if you can only afford two cheap SSDs.
     
    Volker, May 3, 2011
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  21. blackomegax

    blackomegax Notebook Geek

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    There is no sense in spending 3x the money on a genuine caddy, all they are are simple pass-through plugs with a mounting frame. what lenovo sells you is barely worth $5 in parts.
     
    blackomegax, May 6, 2011
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  22. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    Well said. I dismantled my UltrayBay II caddy to check if there were any electronics inside. There are none although there is a simple circuit board between plug and socket. As a further test, although the caddy says SATA 150 on the label, I've just run a quick benchmark with an SSD and the transfer speed is around 220MB/s (ie SATA300 speed). SiSoftware Sandra also confirms that the port is running at SATA300 (as opposed to SATA150 when the ODD is installed).

    John
     
    John Ratsey, May 7, 2011
    #22