HD Upgrade for SZ

How do I know which HD are compatible with the SZ?

Currently lookin at this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146052#Combo

Has anyone else upgraded their HD?

 

Is the harddrive swappable without opening the laptop?

 

I think that should be fine jandro. Though I wouldnt buy it on my say only.
Neverwinter a notebook has to be opened to place the hard drive. Most notebooks have a slot under them tightened with 2 screws that when opened will show the hard drive.

 

the previous s-series was a pain in the wrong place to change hard disks. U had to take more than a couple of screws apart...u had to open the back side completely. I am not sure the new S-series or SZ as its called is any better.

 

So to change the SZ laptop's HDD requires only unscrewing a small panel at the bottom?

 

Should do the trick.

 

so does anyone know how this affects the warranty? Any owner is allowed to do it?

 

This guy upgraded his SZ's hard drive.

http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=UNIGO&book=2

 

That looks like a pita.

 

That link is for ATA drive, u need a SATA version for SZ.

 

Ok, this one should do than:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146226

Course it comes out on Apr 3rd

Thanks everyone.

 

If you get it, let us know how it goes - installation, and resulting speed increase, heat output and vibration (and I mean real vibration).

 

like i mentioned, looks like u have to take out the kbd and stuff to install a new HDD on the SZ. it is a painful upgrade from the looks of it unless u've done stuff like this before. U might want to check with sony on warranty b4 starting work. RAM upgrades are usually OK but I am not sure about this.

 

I've replaced my hard drive to the seagate 100gb 7200 rpm drive. I was literally shocked at the performance difference it made. Installing the hard drive is not easy, and those who are brave enough should proceed with extreme caution.

http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=UNIGO&book=2

Here is a photo gallery showing step by step what screws and ribbons you have to remove to replace the hd. Here are a couple of things I learned from installing mine:

• Be gentle when prying off the keyboard because it bends easily (I bent mine slightly)!! Use a credit card or drivers license to release it, but make sure you don't pull on it too hard or the keyboard will bend!

• Make sure you have some tiny philips head screwdrivers around for the install.

• Don't pull too hard trying to remove the ribbons. Be gentle and notice that some ribbons are held on using clips on the side

 

yes, you can definitely feel the difference from a 5400rpm drive to a 7200rpm drive! I upgraded my old Dell 600m to a 7K100 drive, man, what a night and day!! especially noticeable when opening big apps, like photoshop, etc.

and yes, you do need to semi disassembly the laptop in order to upgrade the HDD on the SZ (which is SUX as most laptop is very simple to swap HDD)!!

 

Did you go from a 4200 to a 7K100 RPM drive? Because only then would it be a massive change. Not much change from a 5400 to a 7K100 RPM drive.

 

Actually it looks very easy to get to. Probably just the screws under the front of the palmrest, and it pops right off. kbd probably slips out after that. Its not as easily swappable as some other models, but not difficult at is may seem at first.

Has anyone tried the "bootable USB" option yet?

 

yes, I went from 4200 to 7200 on the dell. however, when I went back from 7200 to 5400 on the SZ, I still do feel a difference. may be it's just me, may be it is there....

 

So I guess it is safe to say that it won't void the warranty, huh?

 

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that upgrading the hard drive WILL void the warranty. There is a large sticker inside that you have to remove to change the hd out and it is easy to tell whether you did or not.

 

There is a big difference going from 5400 to 7200. If you do any serious work, 7200 should be standard. Shame on Sony for not offering it as an option.

 

I guess in that case, that is what makes Dell such a good company to buy a notebook from. From what I remember, you are allowed to dissasemble and upgrade anything you want w/out voiding the warranty. Ridiculous though, given that Sony's notebooks are so expensive...companies like these are so greedy. They want you to pay for an upgrade.

 

They should offer it but probably would be too expensive... If something goes wrong u can always swap the drives... I think in america they have to prove that the hd caused whatever problem...

 

A 7200rpm 100GB drive is $200-$250 depending on where you look. I'd pay a small premium - say $350 if it saves me hassle and I get what I want. But it shouldn't be an arm and a leg more. For example, you can get 2GB of memory for $200 - $300US. Sony is charging, what, $600 or $700? 100% markup is ridiculous, but for those people who don't want to (or can't) do it themselves, it's easy pickins.

 

... and get a **** notebook. The Dell I had once was THE WORST notebook I ever owned. Period. I would never buy a Dell product except for a monitor.

A hard drive to me is like normal wear and tear - like your breaks or breakpads on a car. Those are never included in the warranty.

 

Sony is a ripoff but for what u get in the sz I think it is a good deal... Ram should be cheaper and one gig so you can just add one stick instead of having to buy 2 sticks... The computer would be better w/ a nicer keyboard and no electricuting people. Sony is huge and can still make money selling cheaper ram or on hdd's that they don't have...

 

I think their would be less complaints if they put more power into the laptop. I think there image is, nice looking laptops for an arm and a leg and some more. Realistically it is a bad deal. Most people want a VAIO because they "think" Sony is better or because it looks nice.

 

What do u think about using an external drive at home instead of an internal drive? And why does sony use 2 512mb instead of 1gb of ram?

 

It's cheaper.

 

I just ordered a 2 mhz SZ 140 from sonystyle. They have a bunch in stock. I would like to know if anyone has upgraded their HD to a 7200 RPM. If so, was it worth it in terms of percieved performance improvement? Thank you.

 

Actually, it's more to do with the fact it's dual channel - you'll get better performance from 2x512 than 1x1GB in a machine that supports dual channel.

 

Actually I have a external 200 GB HDD at home, but I definitely don't carry that around.

 

can anyone pls help me on how to replace the hdd on sz vaio (somewhere i saw a link with step by step pictures but its not working)
pls any help would be very welcomed
manollis

 

Maybe here: http://www.laptoplogic.com/resources/detail.php?id=43&PHPSESSID=b8aa2d59ede346bc25e8bb56da9f5f68

 

Hi, can I install a 160G HD on it? What is the best option to go for a 160G HD?

Can I put one of this:

http://www.skycomp.com.au/product_i...68350&osCsid=13bfd1934b5dd610340d0fa3c7b00238

Thanks.

 

Yes, you can!

Did a week ago.
But buy the HDD here:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&sku=341-4636

Seagate 7200.2 160GB for $130. If you pay with Paypal it is 10% less, so 117 Bucks!

 

I have the SZ650. Access to the drive is NOT straightforward.

If you are adept with tools, it should be no problem. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to tear into it if I wanted to put a bigger drive in there.

One thing you should consider is heat. I can't comment on the Sony, but when I put a new 7200 drive in my Dell they ran too hot and would die very quickly. The Dell didn't have good ventilation for the drive making it a bad combo. No idea if the Sony would take it or not, but it's something I would consider before making the change.

 

hm ... i wonder if i can get a hybrid drive or a 7200 rpm hd and put it in my sz483 and have it working. anyone have any idea?

 

Actually it looked more like a well thought out move. Not only is it cost effective but spin up to 5400 is usually faster though those times are so small its marginal to try to compare seek times.

5400 also runs alot cooler saving the drive and internal components the burden of excess heat.

Hybrid drive should work fine provided you are using Vista. XP does not have the "ReadyDrive" feature as tauted by Vista.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

I upgraded both the memory (1g to 2g 667mhz) and my HD (120g SATA 5400 to 160g SATA 7200). Not a problem if you go slow and methodical. Performance increase was noticable in HD intensive (World of Warcraft) and memory intensive (database recalcs) operations.

I bought the memory from Newegg (Crucial 2 @ $67 US each) on special and bought the HD from dell parts its a 7200.3 HD rebranded Seagate ($100 US). The drive runs cooler and quieter than the 5400rpm that was in there. There are 4 screws on the bottom that need to be removed first. 3 on the front edge of the laptop and 1 towards the middle (to release the keyboard). Then 3 screws that hold down the HD under the wrist rest. NOTE: BE VERY CAREFUL OF THE RIBBON CABLE ASSEMBLY!!!!!

Total time to upgrade was about 15 minutes. LOTS longer to use the recovery DVDs and reimage the drive.

 

Do you take pictures?