Sony Z custom SSD

I was wondering if I could install my own Intel X25M SSD drive in the Sony Z laptops. I was thinking of getting the Z series and I heard someone say that its not easy to upgrade the hard drive in the Z series.

 

I'm not sure about how hard it is to install but check to see if you need the 1.8'' or 2.5'' version in case you decide to order

 

This topic has been frequently discussed throughout the Sony section of NBR forum.

Sure, you can install your own Intel X25-M SSD into the (new) VAIO Z notebooks. But you can only do so at the optical drive slot. The following is one thread that may help you out a bit:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=469244

Good luck.

 

Aww... My hopes of getting the Z shattered

 

Why? The stock SSDs may not be Intels, but they're nonetheless performing quite well.

 

Why not get a VAIO Z notebook? The SSD RAID0 setup Sony is employing in the VAIO Z series is very, very fast.

 

Exactly! Performance is excellent.

 

Oh, I had the impression not to long ago that any that weren't the intel ones were crap. The main reason though was that I had already purchased the intel ones from newegg and they don't allow returns on those. I can find another use for it though if you guys say that the stock SSDs are almost as good.

If thats the case, which setup on them is good?

 

the best setup you can afford is "good"

 

I mean, what is the minimum setup that is comparable to the intel ones?

 

This was true when the Intels first came out - they were game-changing, in large part because they were first to market with some new/better controller techniques. Other manufacturers have since cought up, though many still sell inferior products at low price point, right alongside their better devices.

I have a number of SSDs, including an X25-M and one of the newer drives that is on par with it in most ways. The Z really screams. Testing seems to show that while it doesn't have TRIM, it is doing some kind of cleanup. Really wish a Sony dev could weigh in on this as it would put a lot of minds at ease and would certainly increase their sales if they demonstrated why their non-TRIM SSDs seem to return to full performance shortly after a file delete.

There's another thread here about long term performance with some fantastic info.

TL;DR version of what I've said: The Z speed is extremely fast and I believe would readily compete with the Intel. Don't let that stop you from buying it.

 

This is definitely not true - today good SSDs are:

- Intel, of course (SLC/MLC)
- SSDs based on Sandforce (SF-1200 and, better, SF-1500) also SLC and MLC
- SSDs based on Indilinx Barefoot controller (OCZ Vertex & Co)
- Samsung MLC SSDs of newer generation, such as those in Sony Z
- Even old Samsung and MTRON SLC drives were good...

Samsung MLC controller is doing something idle housekeeping called garbage collection, and this is used to optimize the performance and ensure the write endurance is good.

Alone, Samsung MLC is not as good as Intel, but it is definitely OK. However, what Sony did - they coupled 2 or even 4 of those SSDs in RAID0 array and considerably increased the performance. This makes those drives as good as Intel X25-M in many typical desktop cases.

Most importatly, none of the above mentioned SSDs have any issue with hang-ups etc... Those issues were trademark of the dreadful JMicron SSD controllers found in first-generation MLC SSDs.

 

So I want to make sure I pick a Z model that has multiple SSD drives in it?

 

Speaking of multiple SSDs, the SonyStyle website states that the 384GB SSD option consists of 1x256GB plus 1x128GB. I assume that the 1x256GB is actually two 128GBs packaged together? If so, does the RAID treat this as 3 SSD "drives"? And, if so, what would be the approximate read/write speed gain of 3 "drives" vs 2 "drives"?