Fenvi caddy

[Hexley]

I found a viable OCW Data Doubler alternative in the Fenvi caddy but have some questions I hope that can be answered.

Did you get the 9.5mm or the 12.7mm model?

Is it true that SATA speeds becomes limited to 3Gb/s instead of 6Gb/s?

I will be installing this in a late 2011 13-inch Macbook Pro.

My 1TB drive is 12.5mm in height so the 12.7mm may be what I will get if SATA drops to 3Gb/s.

 

[xxcysxx]

in the optical bay you can only use 9.5mm drives with a caddy. mid 2012 models has sata III 6GB/s on the optical bay, early 2011 and late 2011 only has sata II 3GB/s on the optical bay.

 

[CASLondon]

I found a viable OCW Data Doubler alternative in the Fenvi caddy but have some questions I hope that can be answered.

Did you get the 9.5mm or the 12.7mm model?

Is it true that SATA speeds becomes limited to 3Gb/s instead of 6Gb/s?

I will be installing this in a late 2011 13-inch Macbook Pro.

My 1TB drive is 12.5mm in height so the 12.7mm may be what I will get if SATA drops to 3Gb/s.

Relevant to your interests...

http://blog.macsales.com/10433-macbook-pro-2011-models-and-sata-3-0-6-0gbs-update-5272011

Sounds to me that, unlike my 2011 17", you are in luck with optical Sata III

My experience with Fenvi is that you need to make sure you get one with the right screw holes in the right places to secure it, and I found that they weren't necessarily drilled with precision (but I made it work).

This is for the optical drive, so I'm pretty sure its the 9.5mm.

 

[Hexley]

Thanks for the link.

I read that the MBP EFI update enables SATA 6Gb/s for both the optical and main bay. Or maybe I got confused.

My concern is that the caddy will not act as a pass through and drop me down to SATA 3Gb/s if I use the fenvi caddy.

Fenvi sells for $18.25 vs OCW's $70. Online stores arent an option as I'd be levied with tariffs and duties.

So even if I use a 12.5" height 1TB WD Blue drive I still use a 9.5mm fenvi caddy?

Relevant to your interests...

http://blog.macsales.com/10433-macbook-pro-2011-models-and-sata-3-0-6-0gbs-update-5272011

Sounds to me that, unlike my 2011 17", you are in luck with optical Sata III

My experience with Fenvi is that you need to make sure you get one with the right screw holes in the right places to secure it, and I found that they weren't necessarily drilled with precision (but I made it work).

This is for the optical drive, so I'm pretty sure its the 9.5mm.

 

[CASLondon]

Thanks for the link.

I read that the MBP EFI update enables SATA 6Gb/s for both the optical and main bay. Or maybe I got confused.

My concern is that the caddy will not act as a pass through and drop me down to SATA 3Gb/s if I use the fenvi caddy.

Fenvi sells for $18.25 vs OCW's $70. Online stores arent an option as I'd be levied with tariffs and duties.

So even if I use a 12.5" height 1TB WD Blue drive I still use a 9.5mm fenvi caddy?

That's right, as owner of the 13" you get SATA 6G on both slots.....unlike me

What country are you in again? I might have a link or two.

I'm pretty sure that the SATA connection in whatever caddy you use won't impact the speed of your passthrough.

Lastly, are you thinking of putting the SSD in the main slot and moving the HD into the optical? In that case, you would need the 12.5 I guess. I don't think this is an option though.

I'm pretty sure you can only put 9.5 drives in the optical slot. In which case, you'd want to put the SSD there. I was told there are reasons that its better to put the boot drive in the main slot, but with both 6g connections I'm not sure this is relevant for you. This requires investigation before you go forward.

Otherwise, make that 1Tb an external, put the largest 9.5 drive you can get in the optical (or put another identical SSD and go RAID 0 )

 

[Hexley]

With this much uncertainty I may go with the OCW solution. lol

In terms of placement I'd put the SSD and HDD in the most optimal positions. Whether the SSD in the optical bay or the HDD.

I am also looking towards enabling Fusion Drive if possible.

Thanks for the help!

That's right, as owner of the 13" you get SATA 6G on both slots.....unlike me

What country are you in again? I might have a link or two.

I'm pretty sure that the SATA connection in whatever caddy you use won't impact the speed of your passthrough.

Lastly, are you thinking of putting the SSD in the main slot and moving the HD into the optical? In that case, you would need the 12.5 I guess. I don't think this is an option though.

I'm pretty sure you can only put 9.5 drives in the optical slot. In which case, you'd want to put the SSD there. I was told there are reasons that its better to put the boot drive in the main slot, but with both 6g connections I'm not sure this is relevant for you. This requires investigation before you go forward.

Otherwise, make that 1Tb an external, put the largest 9.5 drive you can get in the optical (or put another identical SSD and go RAID 0 )

 

[Hexley]

I have a question. Did you guys remove the plastic front to make it fit into your MBPro?

 

[maw4bc]

I have a question. Did you guys remove the plastic front to make it fit into your MBPro?

Image

What ever came of this for you? I have an early 2011 MBP 13". I am looking at putting a SSD in the main bay and then moving my 1TB HHD over to optical, but my HDD is 12.5" and I'm afraid that it won't fit in optical bay. And I believe my MBP optical bay is only 3gb SATA so I don't really want to put my SD there.

 

[gngan]

I have a question. Did you guys remove the plastic front to make it fit into your MBPro?

Image

I have this same Cabby bay (9.5mm) and it fits perfectly. I put a M4 SSD in the main drive and WD 1TB in the optical bay. There are two types on WD 1TB (Scorpio blue); the old one is 12.5mm while the new is 9.5mm.