Is it possible to upgrade the SSD in the Z1

I'm interested in upgrading to this internal SSD: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128N/AM 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Notebook Upgrade Kit
Will I able to swap the existing Sony SSD for this one?

 

No. If you want that drive in your computer you need to put it in the ODD.

Sony's SSDs on the Z1 are 2X 1.8" and it's not as simple as plug and play even if you bought another 1.8". The drives need to be removed from the existing casing. (lots of hassle and only worth it to some)

 

If you want to swap the 2x64GB drives for a 1x128GB drive, it's not really possible but besides that you probably won't notice any difference between the two.

 

You can't install that "in place of" the Z1's internal SSDs. As mentioned earlier, they are the size of 1.8" SSD's - without their casings, whereas the Samsung you want (an excellent drive, by the way) is a 2.5" drive. It will fit perfectly in the OD bay with a caddy adapter. The other thing to consider is that the Z1 has Sata II disk but while newer SB-based notebooks have Sata III, which is double the throughput of SATA II. If you buy a SATA III drive and put it in a computer with a SATA II port the throughput will be 50% slower. It's a matter of paying for a capability you can't use. Another consideration is that a SATA III drive will perform very well in a computer with sATA II bus speed, and in the future, you will be better served if you want to "transplant" the SSD to a newer computer with SATA III down the line.

Whew! Didn't realize there was so much to explain! Someone did it for me once, so I'm glad to "pay it forward." (Hopefully got it right, lol)

 

Thanks for the input, I was hoping that I could install this excellent SATA III drive but the stock Sony one is still really fast. It is my first rig with an SSD.

 

Assuming you caught this, but a re-emphasis never hurts: you can install that, or any other 2.5" drive, but you have to be willing to give up the optical drive in your Z1. Most people lately are just deriding the DVD drive as outmoded and unnecessary, though I am not one. If you are, it's a simple matter of buying a Newmodeus caddy for $55 and easily removing the DVD drive and fitting and plugging in the new SSD drive.

You can't do much about the existing 128GB "drives" (which are really just circuit boards with 128GB of NAND chips and controller, etc, but 256GB is really a more practical amount of storage.

Just want to be sure you got that, and of course any other newcomers, looking to expand SSD.

 

I already have a 750GB HDD in place of my optical drive...

 

I can't find the guide to upgrading either the DVD drive or the internal SSDs.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/469244-z11-replace-dvd-hdd-working-solution.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/511578-how-replace-ssd-vaio-vpcz11-vpcz12-non-sony-ssd.html

Here you go! There are some other threads too though.

 

Thanks so much for that. I was going through the FAQS and sticky but couldn't find them. Perhaps I missed them.

 

Never mind

Then I guess you can always consider replacing the installed SSDs with any 1.8" commercial SSD, pull the casing off and increase your SSD capacity. Computer Cowboy did it with two Intel G2 160GBs. I'm guessing that ran him about $500 to go from 128GB to 320GB. Frankly, with that large HDD on board, I would think you can fit all the programs you need on the 128GB installed. You do not really benefit from SSD speeds accessing data files, unless the files are massive. Certainly not for music of video.

Enjoy. You have a great rig.