Upgrading Internal Hard Drive

Hi. Currently, my laptop has very limited storage capacity (80gb). I'm using an external hard drive to keep alot of useful stuff on, but its a chore having to have it plugged into the laptop all the time and obviously it restricts the whole 'mobility' concept of having a laptop. Anyway, I've been thinking about upgrading for a while and am gonna go for it. Problem is I'm no whiz kid at this sort of stuff. I've been looking at the WD Scorpio blue hard drives ( WD Scorpio Blue 500 GB SATA Hard Drives ( WD5000BPVT )) and they seem resonable (if anyone has any better suggestions I'm welcome to them!). I want to upgrade to 500gb. Now i wonder, will my computer be able to cope with this seeing as the old hard drive was so small? I've got 2mb of RAM and its got an intel Core 2 Duo processor running vista business. (if any other info is needed I can provide).

Also, will a new hard drive fit into my computer!? I opened up the back to check out the old one and have uploaded some pictures. I'm just wondering if this connection is standard for all internal hard drives or if theres different types of connections?

The actual connection in the laptop looks like this:
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4402/p1010019rw.jpg

The hard drive itself looks like this:
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/368/p1010020gd.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/5158/p1010021v.jpg

All help is massively appreciated, and if theres anything else that i should know before spending any money on this upgrade please let me know, thanks!

 

Looks like a typical Sata interface.

I would recommend the Hitachi 7k500 500GB or 250GB drive. Or if you have a little more cash the Seagate Momentus XT 500GB. If you have lots of money then even a 2.5" SSD will work.

 

I'm sure you have 2GB RAM (not 2MB as stated), but what I would recommend to you is to consider the following:

You can get a new notebook computer for around $600 or less with an i3 cpu, 4GB RAM and a 500GB HD and Windows 7 all with warranty too.

See:
Newegg.com - MSI CR620-223US NoteBook Intel Core i3 350M(2.26GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD DVD Super Multi Intel HD


If a new computer is not an option, then a Hitachi 7K500 would be the best upgrade you could do to your computer for around $70-$80.

If you need more computer than you have now, by the time you buy/upgrade to Win 7 (highly recommended), increase the RAM from 2 to 4GB and buy the HD. You will have spent close to what a new system costs and you will only have one (still older) computer to show for it.

For $70 a HD is a no-brainer. But try to think a little bit down the road and see if a new computer makes more sense for you in the long term.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for both your replies. Although I would love to start afresh with a whole new setup, its not really an option for me as I'm a student living on a tight budget! I had considered this before thinking about upgrading as this laptop is starting to go downhill. I'm glad you've both recommended the same hard drive, now i know its a reliable choice! I'm going to go with the Hitachi so thanks both for your help.

 

Glad to have helped a little.

Since you're going for the HD, this may help too:

Download Acronis True Image trial when you get your new HD and clone your existing HD to the 7K500.

See:
Complete hard disk recovery solution, backup, drive copy, clone and image computer software

When you've successfully switched HD's, simply uninstall Acronis (from the 7K500) and enjoy the newfound speed and capacity of your new HD.

Good luck!

 

The scorpio blue is a good, cheap (60$) choice to increase storage on a older laptop. I got one for my laptop and all is fine. Actually, I technically downgraded from the stock samsung 160gb/7200RPM harddrive but absolutly can't feel the difference in terms of speed.

Unless you really need more power right now for a specific application, there is no need to upgrade anything else to cope with such a drive.

 

Yes, the Scorpio Blue was a good drive.

But for $10 more, you get at least 40% more performance out of the 7K500 at similar noise, vibration and power levels.

 

https://www.pricelover.com/product/...A_2.5IN_16MB_7200RPM_0A72333/HTS725032A9A364/ so this is what I'm looking at. Decided I'm going to go for 320GB cause it really is more than enough for me and it's a bit cheaper which is good. This is the correct purchase I would assume?

 

Looks good!

 

Enjoy your new Hitachi drive! I certainly wasn't disappointed and this was coming from an SSD!

 

excellent drive.. u'll enjoy it.. still stuck with 5400rpm toshiba.. come on next week and G73