Looking for inexpensive laptop with multiple hard drive support

anesthetic · 30 Aug 2017

Hello all!

Currently, I am having a difficult time finding a manufacturer who makes an inexpensive laptop with multiple hard drive support. I'm needing either dual m.2, dual SSD, or m.2 + ssd. It appears that HP and Dell do provide laptops with dual HDD support; however, both clear the $1,000 range. I don't need a $1,000 laptop. I already have a monster

custom PC for that.

I'm looking for something small and simple, following the above as a backup pc to test software applications, especially backups and just basic web browsing.

Any ideas?

cereberus · 30 Aug 2017

Why not look for an inexpensive laptop with an internal dvd drive. You can simply remove dvd drive, and replace with an HDD in a very cheap dvd to hdd converter caddy e.g.

Universal 2nd Hard Drive Optical Bay Caddy SATA 9.5MM for Laptops; add second HDD/SSD to your laptop, for ACER ASUS DELL HP LENOVO SAMSUNG TOSHIBA SONY etc: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

There are even cheaper caddies if you look on Amazon

Usually, 2nd drive will only operate at SATA II speeds, but that is only a concern with very fast SSDs.

If you then need the dvd drive, put that in a usb caddy.

anesthetic · 30 Aug 2017

That's something I actually read about and found interesting, but the Sata II is a bit too slow for me.

indianacarnie · 30 Aug 2017

Well ....... depending almost exclusively on your budget, finding a laptop with 2 drive bays may be a little tough. I use lappy's exclusively and while my last 3 have all had multiple drive bays (my Gigabyte had THREE!) they were also very high dollar machines. Just what would your budget be? Knowing that would help us make a recommendation.

MattMcD488 · 30 Aug 2017

Does this particular laptop need to be new? You can score pretty good deals on refurbished enterprise laptops around the net and they're usually pretty decent feature-wise. I got mine on ebay. Its an HP EliteBook Folio 9480m. Mine came with a 180GB SATA III SSD and an empty M.2 slot. It only set me back about $265 shipped.

cereberus · 30 Aug 2017

anesthetic said:

That's something I actually read about and found interesting, but the Sata II is a bit too slow for me.

No way for an HDD. Only top of the range ssds might be limited.

copiertech25 · 30 Aug 2017

MattMcD488 said:

Does this particular laptop need to be new? You can score pretty good deals on refurbished enterprise laptops around the net and they're usually pretty decent feature-wise. I got mine on ebay. Its an HP EliteBook Folio 9480m. Mine came with a 180GB SATA III SSD and an empty M.2 slot. It only set me back about $265 shipped.

I agree with this. Find a Thinkpad W530 or W520 and they are really inexpensive now. M.2 slot and a SATA 3 2.5" drive bay. You get a quad core i7 and support for upto 32GB DDR3 and a dedicated graphics card. I've had both and they were great machines.

anesthetic · 02 Sep 2017

Hello all! I've decided to up the budget and I picked out a laptop. I appreciate everyone's help. Truly, to get a laptop with such a seemingly simple feature, once must definitely spend a little bit more money Lol.

Berton · 02 Sep 2017

Might I suggest keeping an eye on that product as things tend to disappear from the market in a relatively short time. I recall working on a 17" Gateway Notebook a few years ago that had 2 x 2.5" HDD bays inside the case but they were of the PATA style [before SATA became popular].

essenbe · 11 Sep 2017

If you want a new one, this may work. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LD4MGY4...=157V345D175A4

It has an M.2 SSD and a space to put another SSD/HDD in if needed. It has good specs and seems to get good reviews.