Fitting an SSD

Intifada

I'm in the market for a laptop and the main thing I want is an SSD. However all the affordable ones have pretty small drives and no HDD.

I've heard before that you can remove the optical drive on a laptop, and fit an SSD using some sort of bracket. Is this true? Would it mean I could have two drives (SSD for OS and HDD for files)? Would it be a more affordable option e.g. I could buy a cheap laptop without SSD and fit one myself

thanks

mod please rename to indicate this is for a laptop, or move to laptop forum

Skerries

if there is only room for one drive then no you won't be able to install an hdd and an sdd as there would only be only one connector

you can buy laptops that have the smaller mSATA ssd drives for your OS and then you can also have an hdd for your main files

I built one on PC Specialist which came with an 128gb SSD and then I installed a 500gb drive I had

you could as you say buy a cheap laptop and then install an ssd you have and you wouldn't need a bracket

whomitconcerns

or spend a little bit more and get a laptop with an ssd? no?

Skerries

sugarman wrote: »

If you don't need your disc drive, you can replace that with an ssd or hard drive.

depends on the chassis if it comes as a removable part though

Intifada

Skerries wrote: »

you could as you say buy a cheap laptop and then install an ssd you have and you wouldn't need a bracket

Why wouldn't I need a bracket, doesn't it need one to fit the SSD where the optical drive was?

whomitconcerns wrote: »

or spend a little bit more and get a laptop with an ssd? no?

Brilliant, thanks for helping

Skerries

Intifada wrote: »

Why wouldn't I need a bracket, doesn't it need one to fit the SSD where the optical drive was?

sorry missed where you said optical drive, yes you would need a bracket like this but you would need to know the right measurements

whomitconcerns

Intifada wrote: »

Brilliant, thanks for helping

well, you asked for a solution, and depending on your computer literacy, its probably the best option.

I mean when you count the costs of an ssd + bracket/fitting + the laptop and your time, is it that much of a price difference?

justsomebloke

truthfully it will depend on the laptop in question as to what can and can't be done. There is no one answer we can give.

ressem

A lot of laptops will have removable cd drives, some will have detachable external fronts to match the laptop.

Slot type trayless dvd drives mightn't work.

The Lindy version of hard drive -> CD caddy has more techie info that might trip you up.

1. height of the cd drive
2. height of the new hard drive for installing
3. hard drive power requirements. 5V works, 3.3 doesn't.

12.7 mm high
http://www.lindy.ie/components-tools-c7/drive-caddies-raid-c321/internal-drive-caddies-c322/slim-odd-caddy-for-2-5-sata-hdd-12-7mm-height-p6603

9.5 mm high
http://www.lindy.ie/components-tools-c7/drive-caddies-raid-c321/internal-drive-caddies-c322/ultra-slim-odd-caddy-for-2-5-sata-hdd-9-5mm-height-p6605#

the_syco

Check the laptop bay size; some laptops have very slim DVD drives, and the caddy may not fit into it.

Also, you'll be putting the existing HDD into the caddy, not the SSD. You'll be using the SSD as the main drive.

Serephucus

I think people are overcomplicating this a bit.

Any cheap laptop will use a standard 12.7mm optical drive. Caddies for these to accept hard drives (or SSDs) are easily available.

So, you can run two hard drives (one in the optical bay), or you can keep the CD drive and just replace the hard drive it comes with with an SSD.

Any 2.5" SSD will work. They almost always come with adapters if they're not quite the right height, and you can always just use a piece of cardboard or something to make up the difference.

Intifada

Thanks lads. So SSD replaced HDD and HDD moves to where the optical drive was - how does that connect to the mobo, same interface as the DVD drive? Is there any loss in performance there?

whomitconcerns wrote: »

I mean when you count the costs of an ssd + bracket/fitting + the laptop and your time, is it that much of a price difference?

Well that is what I'm asking, isn't it?

Serephucus

It is usually cheaper adding in your own SSD. That's one of the things companies usually like to charge through the nose for (and it's also really hard to find cheap laptops with SSDs, 'cause "1TB!" still looks better on the spec sheet to those who don't know any better.

Depends on the laptop RE performance. I'd move the SSD to where the HDD is, as that'll almost certainly be a SATA3 port. ODD might be SATA2 or 3. Doesn't matter much to be honest. Same connections all round.