Hardrive upgade / How do I know?

How do I know if hard drive can be installed in the notebook that I have? What do I look for in the description?

 

You tell us the brand and model of the computer.

 

I have a Gateway 8510GZ.

 

According to the Gateway site...

http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gateway/6800Series/104489/104489tc.shtml

ATA-6.

Here is a guide how to replace it

http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gateway/8000Series/5010faq7.shtml

Edit: You also want to make sure the one you buy is 2.5"

 

Thanks Greg, but in the information that you led me to(which I have already been to) only lists the factory specs of what is installed. That would make it a replacement, not an upgrade.

What information do I need from specs that I need to find on a possible upgrade? Am I looking for one with the same Form Factor and Interface?

EDITED: Please excuse me for my ignorance. This is my first laptop, and I have never changed a hard drive in a laptop. It's been over five years since I changed one in a desktop computer. I have already upgraded the cpu and memory to the max.

Let me guess and tell me if I am wrong. IF a hard drive has the same interface and form factor, then I should be able to install it? Or is there another spec that I need to be looking at as well?

 

Sorry man I guess I should have included the important pointers

Things to look for in a hard drive:

size= 2.5"

Interface= ATA6 Which is PATA [not SATA] (someone correct me if I am wrong but ATA6 is the last generation of parellel ATA correct?)


RPM= The one with your computer is 5400. 7200 is better... But it costs a little more and I would suspect might decrease battery life. However, if someone who has upgraded to a 7200rpm in your series laptop could chime in, they would be a more appropriate judge. It would be significantly faster though.

GB's= You already have 100gb's, so I'd imagine if you are upgrading for this purpose you would want 250gb.


This is a nice 5400 rpm 250gb for $140

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136159

This is a nice 7200 rpm 100gb for $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822146052

Both should work, but you might be able to shop around for a better price. Post back any that you might consider buying... As I indicated, I'm not 100% sure how feasible a 7200rpm would be for you... But I know many others here have done it in their laptops.

 

Personally I have upgraded my drive from a 7200 RPM to the Western Digital Scorpio 250GB 5400 PATA. I would actually recommend the Scorpio over any 7200RPM PATA drive under 160GB simply because the size difference and speed difference between them is negligible, infact the transfer speeds from the Scorpio is faster than my old Hitachi 7K100 100GB.

The WD Scorpios are relatively new generation compared to the PATA 7200RPMs which both Seagate and Hitachi are not making new PATA versions of their larger/speedier drives that are available in SATA. Who knows why, but the PATA Scorpio performance from a 250GB SATA compared to the PATA counterpart is virtually identical.

 

Thanks alot Greg.

With the information that I had, before I came back and read your last post, confirming that I was on the right track, I had found that 5400 rpm 250gb for $140 at Newegg.com.

With your assistance, I can make my upgrade purschae with confidence.

Again, Thanx. Gregory is Cheap & D3X.

 

The WD 250GB is a good choice and will be as fast as the 7200 as D3X said because of greater data density.

 

By the way, ATA-6 = PATA = IDE = ATA-100 all the same thing Just make sure its not SATA and you'll be fine.