Latitude serie E Modular bay compatibility between different models?

Good evening,

I was wondering whether the modular bay (media bay, etc.) is the same for all of the E-series latitude ?

More specifically, I'm owning a latitude E6500 and busy configuring & purchasing one of the new E6430s (the ones with 14" screen in 13" chassis). If I purchase any accessories for the media bay (additional HDD), will it be possible to use the same in both computers; or do I need two different caddies/HDD ?

Also -- browsing the web reveals a rather large range of caddies, with prices ranging from 10 € to 60 € or so (for the 6500), and even higher (120 €) for the 6x30. What does justify such a price difference ?

Some suppliers (CMS) offer a full set (HDD + caddy) (250GB Module Bay Drive for Dell Latitude E-Series, Precision M Series unfortunately it is not clear whether their model works for the 6500, the 6x30 ... or both !

Thanks

Jeff

 

It won't fit correctly because the design was changed during the E6X20 cycle. Many retailers are not aware details like this, so you need to double-check to make sure the bezel looks correct.

 

All the E series use the same 9.5mm tall slim drives/caddies. The difference is the face plate used for each model generation. You can use one in the other, but it will not "look" 100% proper.

I suggest a Dell eSATA external drive hosuing so you are free to do as you wish with either system in regards to an opticle drive or SSD/HDD. I do this for my E6410, E6320, E6420, and E6520.

Scott-



I have tried various HDD caddies as well:


E64XX

 

Thanks, that's very helpful.

Scott -- I think I'll still go for the internal (the new 6430s will be my primary laptop anyway, plugging into the old one was meant for data transfert etc. so not really critical).
As a follow-up question, I then have a couple of options :

1) buy Dell caddy HDD; for instance this one, Hard Drive : E-Modular 320GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM) For External Media Bay (Kit) : Storage, Drives & Media - Accessories | Dell Emerging Countries , part nbr. 400-22644 . Although in France we seem to have only the less attractive 120 Go/5400 rpm option (duh).

2) Buy a third party caddy (from newmode for instance) + a HDD.

In terms of comptibility again,
- Do the two caddies accomodate drives with the same size (2.5" 9.5 mm for newmode, but dell does not say) ?
- Can I fit a "regular" dell laptop drive, such as this one : Hard Drive : 750GB 2.5inch Serial ATA (7.200 Rpm) 512e Hard Drive : Storage, Drives & Media - Accessories | Dell Emerging Countries (400-24145) , in the dell caddy ? in the newmode caddy ?

Dell is not very explicit on the specs (especially physical size) of its disks...

Thanks again

Jeff

 

Jeff,
The NewModeUS caddy is very nice, but very expensive. THIS compatible drive caddy will fit nicely in the newer E series as well and has the correct face plate.

Either way, all standard 2.5" HDD's up to 750GB should be 9.5mm tall so any should fit fine in whatever caddy you choose. It is when you get into the 1TB+ size, things get weird and the drive can get up to 12mm tall due to the additional platters.

If you're looking for a 500GB drive, I will have one available in the next day or so. Just send me a PM after you get to 5+ posts and we can discuss price with shipping to FR. I can even preinstall it in a caddy of your choice since I am close to NewModeUS here in California if that is the one you choose.

Scott-

 

Thanks again, very helpful and knowledgeable reply. I'll mull over it and let you know...

 

This is exactly what I want - an external enclosure, preferably esata or usb3. Where do you buy this, and does it work for the Blu-ray burner?

Thanks, friend!

 

Here's the E-series Media Bay (designed for E6X00/E6X10):

New Dell Latitude E Media Bay External E SATA Drive Housing CP110 | eBay

and here's the E-series Media Bay II (designed for E6X20/E6X30):

New Dell Latitude Precision External E Media Bay E Series 5M75X w P022P | eBay

It'll work with any media bay device, but you'll need the faceplate to match otherwise it won't fit properly. Basically, buy your Blu-Ray burner first and see if you need to get the E-Media Bay I or E-Media Bay II.

 

This is the one I am using now with my E6410, E6520, and M6600 eSATA port - New Dell PD02S Latitude E4300 E5400 E6400 ATG Media Bay Shell Cable Case | eBay

Scott

 

This is the one i have right now, just got it - have a DVDRW for it, and was looking at alternatives, but i am considering swapping it for the 5M75X model, which will accept the E6420 modules, because for that there are the genuine Dell 320 HDD units on ebay UK as well as the USB 3 hub (P5MKF) available over here that wont fit the PD02S so i am tempted to try and switch, but they are not so easy to get here in the uk by the looks of it.