XPS 8950, add a 2nd SATA HDD

Dell MX550 for US on ebay.

or this one

or https://store.flagshiptech.com/dell-mx550-poweredge-r900-sata-cable-765mm/

note this cable + shipping is not cheap. You may also chat with Dell live agent to see if Dell has it in stock.  Dell price is probably better (not including shipping).

Then I just found this cable on Newegg.

Thanks for the infomation .. Question .. can you provide a link to those selling right angle SATA cables (2 ft or greater length) whose orientation is the reverse of what is typically available?  I ran through cables from Amazon and Best Buy and they all had the same orientation (the tab on the right angle connector points towards the cable .. I need one that points in the other direction ..

Is there a place on the Dell website to order the 3.5 hdd caddy? I have tried calling dell parts dept. but they act like I'm asking for a make believe part, then put me on hold and then I get transferred to an automated survey and then disconnected.

Re: Is there a place on the Dell website to order the 3.5 hdd caddy?

The easiest way to get the 3.5 Dell caddy is on eBay search for 65khd.  cheapest link is this one (shipping from US)

Dell price (shipping not included) 

to buy from Dell directly, try chat with Dell live agent online and get a quote.  The experience may vary from agent to agent.  I have had overall positive experience.  I am not aware of an official Dell spare part website that sells this.  The Dell parts and accessories site is quite limited and often useless.

Am I right in thinking the 65KHD is for a 3.5" drive only? I'd like to fit a 2.5" SSD so trying to find the right carrier for the XPS 8950. Presumably the carrier would accept a second too?

Re: Am I right in thinking the 65KHD is for a 3.5" drive only

you are correct.

for 2.5 drive you can use the Dell or non-Dell 3.5 to 2.5 adapter.  Dell Optiplex 3.5" to 2.5" Hard Drive HDD to SSD Conversion Caddy R494D F767D

Important to note that a 'left-angle' cable is required for the 8950. They're a bit harder to get hold of, especially in the required longer length for the 8950 chassis. The 2nd HDD bay and SATA motherboard connectors are at opposite sides of the chassis. 

The HDD caddy for the Dell XPS 8950 is not the same as the one for the Dell XPS 8940 (Dell P/N 65KHD), at least not on my 8950 . I bought a 65KHD from eBay but I found that the springy claw-shaped tabs that push against bottom of the steel bracket were too big and the caddy would not seat inside the bracket.

As a workaround I used to hacksaw to carefully saw off the bent 'finger' of each claw, leaving a short straight edge that allowed the HDD to slide fully into the steel bracket.

You need a left angle SATA cable (not a right angle SATA cable).  Left angle SATA cables are fairly uncommon. I found a 12" left angle cable at Amazon. It didn't reach HDD1 so as a workaround I swapped the existing 18" Dell cable from HDD0 to HDD1 and used the shorter Amazon cable to reach HDD0.

I just went through this whole thing and found the carrier on ebay from the only US shipper I could find. The are out of stock at Dell with no idea when. I used the cable for the optic drive but moved the other end of it to SATA1 instead of the white port. I mounted a SSD drive in a 2.5 adaptor into the carrier and then into the 3.5 slot. 

Kent

Dummy's question...

The XPS 8950 supports up to two M.2 2230/2280 solid-state drives.

So unless you already have two M.2 NVME SSDs installed in the XPS 8950, why would you want to install a SATA SSD, when an M.2 NVME SSD is much faster, doesn't require SATA data or power cables, or a drive tray...?

Because I have a brand new one sitting here in the box. It does me far more good in the 8950 than sitting in the box.

Kent

If it helps with the cable I found one in the UK that fits!

https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/i-o-c125/0-7m-sata-internal-cable-7-pin-to-90-deg-7pin-p9972/s10130

You can also use adapter similar to this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CJDTRL4

It will allow to use "normal" Sata cable with 8950

* disclaimer* - I'm not a fan of low quality Amazon products, so use at your own risk.

I just bought a SATA cable to add a 2nd HHD for my Dell XPS 8950 from Amazon. It arrives tomorrow.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FHGW5K?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

It was $8.