Question About 8510w Hard Drive Swap

I've been trying to find something with Blu-Ray disc built in, 1080p capable screen, that is as "T60-like" as possible, and it seems the 8510w might be the way to go.

I like the preconfigured one offered at New Egg for $2,650, but the one thing I'd like to change from the outset is putting in a bigger hard drive.

What is the best, biggest, and compatible drive to get?

What steps would I need to take to put in the new drive from the outset? I don't want to have to migrate everything over.

Can the drive in the preconfigured system be copied to the new drive?

If so, what would I need (cable or certain program)?

Or does it come with the discs necessary to just swap the drives and load the discs?

Also, I've got Vista Home Premium - any problem running that on the 8510w, or should I stick with the Vista Business it comes with?

Any other related thoughts/opinions appreciated.

Jason

 

The biggest drive you can get right now is a 250GB hard drive which are offered by several manufacturers. Some larger drives are on the horizon if you can wait a bit. The fastest drive you can get right now is the Hitachi 7k200 which right now tops out at 200GB.

 

Thanks for the info. So is it this one?

LINK

Do you know how to go about moving the content of the factory installed drive so it is seamless?

Thanks again,

Jason

 

Buying an external case for the old drive is probably the best way if you have lots of data. If not, just burn it onto a disc.

 

Is this Hitachi drive compatible with the 8510W? I think I'm going to take the plunge...

LINK

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
HITACHI Travelstar 7K200 HTS722020K9SA00 (0A50940) 200GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Notebook Hard Drive - OEM

Thanks!

Jason

 

Yes it is.

 

So my 8510w and 200GB hard drive are arriving today.

Another question...

Is the 2GB in the preconfig model one DIMM?

If I wanted to add more memory, can I just drop this in?



Thanks!

Jason

 

Mine was, I believe that is the default config with the 8510w.
Enjoy your new lappy!

 

Thanks!

I think I must have put in a link I shouldn't have, as my question is missing the link.

Let me rephrase my question...

Can I pair a non-HP brand of 2GB memory with the 2GB HP brand memory if the specs seem to match? I ask only because the site I was looking to buy from recommended pairing the same brand, and I didn't know if that mattered...

Thanks again (and apologies if I posted a link to a product if I wasn't supposed to),

Jason

 

I foresee no problems for you.

 

Thanks again!

Jason

 

Also, would the 800MHz memory modules make the system noticeably faster compared with the 667MHz modules?

Thanks,

Jason

 

I found the answer to the question above, so please disregard.

Does HP sell replacement/alternate trackpoint caps like they do for the ThinkPad?

Thanks again,

Jason