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HP Recommended

EDIT:  Clarified that the side/bottom SSD screws are different from the 6/32" screws used for mounting 3.5" hard drives..... they are the slightly smaller metric screws also used for mounting optical and floppy drives.  You'll want short ones or they will bottom out in the threaded holes in the SSD.

 

The use of 2.5" form factor SSDs in HP workstations instead of standard 3.5" hard drives provides a significant boost to the user's experience, but getting a 2.5" SSD mounted properly has been kludgy, expensive, difficult, or all three.  I have posted here on my prior favorite 2.5" to 3.5" adapter, the Western Digital IcePack, which was reasonably priced off eBay used (bit over $20.00).  Below is info on my new favorite, a HP part, and it is a much less expensive version of the "slip-in" type (HP P/N 675769-001) shown in the first picture below.  Don't buy that one.

 

The "slip-in" adapter type is made by Foxconn, and it has a black plastic 2.5" SSD holder you can see below which slides into the metal frame of the adapter.  The end result exactly duplicates the form factor of a standard 3.5" drive, including standard side and bottom mounting holes.  HP uses those side holes to mount 3.5" form factor devices into the different types of workstation sleds/trays/drawers.  Note the "Adapter Blindmate REV. B" green PCB which receives the SSD's SATA combined data/power port, and translocates those to the left (view from rear of the drive) so that the adapter now has the SATA components lined up properly to match a normal hard drive.  That unit can then be placed in the standard green or black sleds of the HP workstations, or the newer drawers of the later Z workstations, and slid into place.  This type of adapter costs about $120.00 each, and this is the view from the "rear" of the drive:

 

HP 2.5 to 3.5 2.jpg

 

 

The one below , also made by Foxconn for HP, is much less expensive but of equal quality, and can be found new on eBay for about $12.00 if you hunt, but even cheaper if you're willing to wait and get it shipped from China.  We'll call this one the "screw-on" type, and it uses the same BlindMate REV. 2 adapter to shift the SATA data/power connectors to the left.  The metal is the same strength, and it has HP Assembly number 654540-001 stamped on the metal.  The 4 screws are not yet added in the pic below, and they go into the SSDs side holes through the upright metal tabs.  Buy this type:

 

654540-001 Rear with SSD.jpg

 

 

654540-001 Side.jpg

 

 

The 4 screws may not be included with your purchase, so have some of the standard metric (M3 x 0.5 x about 6-7mm long) screws available.  These are the same fine thread short screws you'd use with standard floppy and optical drives, not the slightly larger coarser thread 6/32" screws used as the side/bottom screws for most 3.5" hard drives, and as case screws.

 

You can search eBay for these screw-on HP adapters under 654540-001, but also will find them listed potentially for lower cost by searching under:

 

HP 2.5" TO 3.5" HOT-SWAP HDD/SSD ADAPTER

 

HP 2.5" to 3.5" SATA SSD HDD ADAPTER

 

Finally, here's a close look at the BlindMate REV. 2 PCB that HP is using to shift the SATA connectors to the left.  That device ensures that if you're using the newer Z workstation's drive drawers they will mount in perfect alignment when you slide the drawers in.  Finally, the inside of the exposed socket you plug your SATA data and power cables into is of the proper type for those of us who like to use latching cables..... the necessary ridges are molded in there for the latches to work properly.  A+ quality part:

 

BlindMate Rev. 2 Adapter pic.jpg

 

 

 

 I think HP over-ordered these..... there's a bunch available.  :smileyhappy:

 

 

 

654540-001 by Foxconn.jpg

 

 

 

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

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HP Recommended

Don,

 

I don't have access to one of those to take a look.  My advice is to take off that right side panel (the one that easily opens is the left side panel) and look in from that right side perspective, from behind the inner metal shell of the case.

 

I'd bet that there is actually a double ended SATA cable that goes from the back of the "drawer" receptacle over to the motherboard, but have no way to prove that.  If that was the case then the replacement by a longer SATA data cable would be easy.

 

If you do figure this out please get back to the forum with the info so that others can consider using one of the SATA generation III PCIe cards to get faster SATA drives going in their SATA generation II Z600/Z800 workstations with the drawer type drive holders.

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6 REPLIES 6
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Hi Scott, good info!

We've been using icydock products in all of our HP workstations, spnding between $15-$30 new on Amazon.

 

 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00540OMYG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  

 

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Icy-Dock-EZConvert-2-5-Inch-Converter/dp/B002Z2QDNE/ref=pd_sim_e_1

 

HP Recommended

Those look good too..... metal and plastic versions there.  Both look like they properly shift the SATA power/data connectors to the left.  More expensive than this HP device.  Amazon.com has reviews worth reading on the IcyDock devices.

 

The newer workstations that use drawer-like devices to place the 3.5" form factor drive/SSD into interface with the drive via fixed connectors deep in the drawer receptacle build into the workstation.  Kind of like a hot swap plug and play mechanism where you don't need to mess with cables, which is handy.

 

I was thinking that the HP Blindmate device would ensure proper mating given its extra recesses built into the butt end on either side of the SATA connections.

 

You using the HP drawer type drive mounts with these IcyDock devices?  Those are in the Z620s, and others.  Good to know of the options out there.

 

By the way, I did get a few via China post..... took a couple of weeks, came through just fine, and I was pleased with how well that worked.  I was half expecting a bad experience.

 

Scott

HP Recommended

We had some plastic ones, but as soon as the metal ones came out, we got some of these...  They go into Z820 sleds...

We also tried some of the dual drive ones (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047PHPTS/ref=oh_details_o07_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), lets you put 2 SSD into one sled, with the ability to even RAID0 them, but the I/O is limited to SATA II speed...

 

 

And for the scatch filesystem on our Z820, we use 4xSSD in RAID0 on these little babies: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040Z924Q/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

HP Recommended

These look excellent and exactly what I needed last week for an SSD upgrade - except - for a Z800 - most SSDs now are Sata3, whereas HPZ800 mobos have only Sata 1 & 2 ports.  No problem you say - just add a Sata3 PCIe adapter card - except - the SATA cables that go to the HDD bay connectors have pretty much no extra slack, so you can't actually get one over to a PCIe card.

 

Is there a way to get back in there to replace the original cable with a new longer one so that Z800s can benefit from these adapters?  Or are they hard-wired at the connector?

 

Thanks.

HP Recommended

Don,

 

I don't have access to one of those to take a look.  My advice is to take off that right side panel (the one that easily opens is the left side panel) and look in from that right side perspective, from behind the inner metal shell of the case.

 

I'd bet that there is actually a double ended SATA cable that goes from the back of the "drawer" receptacle over to the motherboard, but have no way to prove that.  If that was the case then the replacement by a longer SATA data cable would be easy.

 

If you do figure this out please get back to the forum with the info so that others can consider using one of the SATA generation III PCIe cards to get faster SATA drives going in their SATA generation II Z600/Z800 workstations with the drawer type drive holders.

HP Recommended

Rather than removing/replacing the cover/cables i simply ordered several male to female SATA extender cables

and upluged the HD cable from the motherboard,

and attached the extendar cable which now  reaches the SATA III card

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