Change HD with SSD in a VPCZ13B7E

I've a new Sony VPCZ13B7E, the cheapest one of the Z series. Instead of a SSD it has a Toshiba 500 Gb HD and no DVD built in. I think about changing the HD against one of the new, very fast SSDs like the OCZ Vertex.
Has anyone opened this Z type ? Do you expect any problem to do such a change ?

An alternative would be to connect an external SSD via express card and USB 3.0 connector, but I doubt, that it will be possible to boot from an external USB 3.0 device.

I would be very happy for experts opinion.

Horst

 

it's a 2.5" drive, so just follow this webpage to open your Z then just swap out the drives.

Sony Vaio Z installation guide 18

You don't need to buy a caddy as there's already one for your HDD in there, so yeah. Have fun (you have it the easiest )

 

You are sure, that in the VPCZ 13B7E a caddy is built in ? Would be great !

Horst

 

2nd hard drive / SSD caddy - Sony VAIO Z, Z11, Z12, Z13, VPC [SONY-2BAY-Z11] - $43.00 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

 

He has no need to buy another caddy from NewmodeUS. Yours has the 2.5" HDD so there has to be a caddy in there to set your existing HDD in place. It should be easy to swap the HDD for another 2.5" SSD.

 

I have uploaded a snip from the diagram in the manual. You are just replacing the HDD with SSD, the SSD will fit perfectly where the HDD was.

 

Yep. It is a straight forward swap.

Good luck.

 

Does anybody know the specification of the HD connection in the Sony VPCZ13B7E within the DVD slot: is it a SATA 2 (300Mb) or is SATA 3 (600) possible. This seems to be important, because if it is only a SATA 2 the newest and very expensive SSD models will be rather senseless, because for them SATA 2 will be a real bottleneck. Then a Vertex 2 type for example will be enough.

Horst

 

It's Sata II, Sata III is only in the latest chipsets

 

Just to be clear, will the SATA III interface SSDs not function at all with a SATA II supported chipset, or will it just not function at its peak, with the SATA II being the bottleneck - if the SSD is capable of speeds higher than its 300 mbs limit? It would seem worthwhile to purchase one with a SATA III interface if it is backwards compatible, because most people will likely lift it out of their present computer and install in into a newer model, which will have SATA III, in a year or so. Thanks.

 

Is this true for all Z series? I have the original launch model vaio (VGN-Z570N US model), and have been looking into swapping out my HDD with SSD. But last time I checked, 2.5" SSD did not fit within the HDD space, so people were disassembling the housing and taping it up to fit it. That thread is in here somewhere....


Here's that thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/511578-how-replace-ssd-vaio-vpcz11-vpcz12-non-sony-ssd.html

 

I think this one is if you replace the original ssd on Z model that came with ssd as the vpc Z ssd's are different. but if you replace the 2.5" HDD, any 2.5" ssd will fit as it is in a different place than the one showed in the thread you linked

 

cool. appreciate the feedback!

 

I got one of these (thanks for the link) and put a 750 WD Scorpio Blue in it. Great upgrade idea, but I've had two slight issues with this. The drive is incredible slow, and my start up and power down times have increased.

I'm sure I've read somewhere on this forum its to do with the way the drive is formatted so I'll dig further. For now I've taken it out and gone back to the DVD.

C.