Looking for modern laptop with 2 x 2.5 hard drive slots & CD/DVD bay

[SMGJohn]

Hello,

 

I am looking for some advice regarding more modern laptops I am talking post 2014 here and newer.

That contains 2 x 2.5" hard drive slots and a DVD drive bay with either mSATA or M.2 slot as well. 

 

I currently own a Dell Alienware M17x R4 seeing how its manufactured in late 2011, and my i7-3940XM is dying of old age, the replacement parts are getting more and more expensive.

 

The reason I want a machine with these specs is because I have 3 x 2.5" SSD's with 8TB each to allow me replace my NAS which is bulky, heavy, I need to be able to pick up my entire machine with all my storage on it in case something happens I can pack it down relatively easily, NAS systems are too massive for this. 

 

My budget is whatever fits the bill, the laptop has to be relatively comparable or superior to the M17x R4

Size does not matter too much, it could be as large as a 20 inch gaming laptop such as MSI Titan. 

 

And yes I know its not any easy task, I been trying to look myself for many months without luck, perhaps someone owns such a machine or knows of something similar could give advice, currently price of M.2 drives larger than 2TB is criminally high price.

[saturnotaku]

Doesn't exist.

[Papusan]

Not many options above Alienware 17/18 from 2013/14. Or replace the dying parts of your M17xR4. Another option is an used Clevo P870 series. They offer 2xM.2 + 2x2.5 HDD slots and a lots of I/O ports but no DVD drive bay. All we have left today is thin and slimy with 1 or two M.2 slots for storage/OS. All laptop OEMs nowadays try to match Apple's modern slim and thin chassis size and with minimal of I/O ports. Gaming books or laptops for creators is all the same. 

[Aaron44126]

There are some things like EUROCOM Sky X7W?

https://eurocom.com/ec/configure(2,334,0)SkyX7W

Two 2.5" SATA bays + two M.2 + Coffee Lake 9th gen CPUs.

(Not really cheap, though...  You can lower the default GPU and CPU options to shave some off of the price.)

[jaybee83]

what brother @Papusan said. basically impossible to find more than one 2.5 inch drive bay nowadays, even more so in combination with an optical drive (bay). ud have to go back a few gens and check the big DTRs of Clevo, MSI, Alienware to maaayyyybe find something along those lines.

[Reciever]

Best possible mobile server is likely to be the Ranger with the modification I ran on it.

 

I had around 12TB at the time, but with your 3x 8TB drives the Ranger could easily handle that and more tbph

[saturnotaku]

The only other option would be something like the eBlaztr, which is essentially a more portable iMac.

 

The Portable Gaming Desktop » eBlaztr

[Ishayin]

Any particular reason you need an integrated DVD drive, or might an external USB one suffice?

[SMGJohn]

On 10/11/2022 at 2:48 AM, Reciever said:

Best possible mobile server is likely to be the Ranger with the modification I ran on it.

 

I had around 12TB at the time, but with your 3x 8TB drives the Ranger could easily handle that and more tbph

Your Ranger still working fine after all these years or did you replace it? My i7-3940XM is an ES sample so it might be why its dying and the fact the head on the CPU is flacking away, not sure if you experienced any similar issues with the 4xxx series. 

 

On 10/11/2022 at 4:06 PM, saturnotaku said:

The only other option would be something like the eBlaztr, which is essentially a more portable iMac.

 

The Portable Gaming Desktop » eBlaztr

Thanks mate, thats actually a very interesting concept, I remember portable desktop PC's were all the rage in 2010 but no one really did anything with it. 

Only downside is the lack of a built in battery but I noticed PSU with like 30 minute power outage protection are a thing now although only 400W is max, it could be the thing I am looking for if they release it. 

 

 

On 10/11/2022 at 7:21 PM, Ishayin said:

Any particular reason you need an integrated DVD drive, or might an external USB one suffice?

DVD drive is simply to replace it with a hard drive bay, external USB have chance to disconnect, bad stuff for a mediaserver 

[Greybeard]

If you want a portable PC, could using a framework board in a case be an option? https://frame.work/gb/en/products/cooler-master-mainboard-case

Framework boards support multiple M2 modules for storage and while it doesn't allow re-use of your existing parts it should create an upgrade path for you as you can keep switching out parts - motherboard, M2 modules, CPU, etc - keeping costs down and allowing you to maintain your portable media server relatively easily.

 

It's something I'm tracking myself as the idea of user upgradable, lightweight PC that can be ported around is very interesting. It's everything modern laptops aren't - user serviceable, prospect of some longevity and part reuse, reduce ewaste, reduce financial risks (a decent laptop is a minimum 5 year investment for me, if I choose badly I have to live with it).

 

Edit to add: I immediately realized that the configurable storage is probably insufficient at reasonable prices. But something to think about perhaps for the future.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Greybeard
Storage!

[frelu]

Not big upgrade but Zbook 17 G1/G2 is capeable to fit 3x 2.5 HDD (2 in HDD bay + 1 in DVD bay with adapter). Haswell, up to i7-4940MX.

 

Zbook 17 G1 also has bootable mSATA slot.

Zbook 17 G2 has M.2 slot but there are problems with booting.

 

Don't know what is the maximum drive size supported by Zbook 17

 

Maybe Zbook 17 G1 with DVD>HDD and mSATA>M.2 adapter is good option. Should be also lighter than your Alienware.

 

1xSATA to 2xM.2 adapter is also nice thing if you consider switch to M.2