Sneaky Hard Drive Upgrade

Hi,

I bought an FW configured with a 320gb 5400rpm hard drive, originally with a view to taking it out and putting in a faster one, 7200rpm or even an ssd. However, sony said this would void the warranty so I decided to just stick wit the 5400rpm option.

So my question is that if I bought a 7200rpm drive now, or an ssd when they are slightly cheaper, would I be able to slot that in, but then if something went wrong with the laptop and it had to be returned, simply slip in the original 5400rpm hard drive so the sony guys wouldn't know the difference?? Or would they be able to tell I had changed the drive??

Also does a regular drive and an ssd both fit in the same place in the laptop? are the ssds the same physical size as a regular drive?

Does a faster drive improve boot-up time?As at the moment it seems a little slow at 1-2 mins??

Thanks

 

I fear Sony is going to be a stickler about warrantying the machine only with its original configuration. I suspect that they will look for evidence that the case has been opened if it was done without their instructions on the phone to do so while they walk you through it.

Yes, some of the 7200 rpm drives will fit in each of the FW models but not all in each. Believe it or not, small changes in the interior disposition of the elements have taken place from model to model within the FW series. So, for example, a 200GB 7200 rpm drive was an option on the FW190 CTO, so you kow it fits -- but the 320GB 7200rpm was not an option and I'm told it won't fit in a 190 but it does in the 290 and 390. Same is true for the SSDs.

I have watched an FW boot up with a 5400 rpm drive which seemed slow compared to a 7200 rpm drive on an FW which was itself then definitely outpaced by an SSD on an FW. Hard to go back to moving parts once you have experienced the speed of an SSD boot-up. I almost never put the computer to sleep; I just shut down and reboot when I get back -- yeah, it's that fast.

Unless you bought extended warranties, a year isn't that long a time to wait to upgrade, is it? ;-)

 

There is nothing particularly odd with FW hard drive bay. http://www.docs.sony.com/release/994657100_VGNFWseries_HDD_CRU.pdf . I installed a 500GB 7200RPM HD with my FW190 with no issues at all. You can install any 2.5" 9.5mm hard drive, HD and SSD alike, from any manufacturer. Sony just told you that because they want you to spend your money for them instead of 3rd party vendor.