vgn-z51xg replacing hard disk

[darrentweedale]

Hello,

I have a rather nice vgn-z51xg laptop but kinda disappointed with its speed especially with virtual machines and big apps!  (and turned off all power saving features)

So, thinking of replacing the hard disk with a faster speed - more specifically

Seagate Momentus XT Internal Hybrid Hard Drive - ST95005620AS - 500 GB - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm - 4 GB Solid State Memory

I am hoping this will speed it up a bit - but what I am not sure about is the sata interface type - is the laptop sata-300?

anyone know?

Thanks for looking

Darren

[Blencogo]

Hi Darren.

I don't think that information is readily available.

I think you will need to look in Device Manager to see exactly which HDD is fitted in your Vaio now and then look up the specifications.  Check the transfer speeds because being 7200 RPM is no guarantee of increased speed and may just be noisier, use more power and get hotter - changing it may also invalidate the warranty.

Practically, any SATA drive will fit and work OK because the SATA Standard insists that all SATA devices are backward compatible - there is only one physical interface. However, SATA III should be quicker than SATA II even if other influences can affect speed.

:smileyconfused:.

[petsorre]

Hi Darren,

A bit of a late reply, but I'm wanting to do exactly the same with my Vaio VGN-AW21M (I had already posted to the forum when I spotted yours).

Have you replaced the hard drive and if so, is there a noticeable improvement?

Cheers,

Peter

[darrentweedale]

Hello Peter,

its never too late to reply!

Whilst I don't have the exact same model as yours, but I did replace the HD with a faster RPM hard drive.

Unfortunately, I would say it didn't really make much of an impact for me.  very small, but not really improve the speed somewhat.  So must be a bottle neck within the laptop somewhere

I've put the old hard disk back in, and made a better use of it (and it really flies!)

Maybe SSD might improve things, but unfortenately out of my budget!

Hope that helps.

[petsorre]

Hi Darren and thanks for the speedy response.

I've had a bit of a re-think after reading various reviews and recommendations. I still intend to replace the hard drive, but with a Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB unit. This is supposed to be the fastest 2.5" internal HDD around, plus it's a lot bigger at 1TB. For £42.49 from Amazon, it's a bargain. Let's hope I see a speed increase!

Of course I could go for a Crucial 250GB full SDD, but at £325, perhaps not!

Cheers,

Peter

[darrentweedale]

ah, spinpoints.  those are fine hard drives.  The F series has a good reputation, but I thought those were 3.5' hard drives?  better double check - I might be out of date!

For that price, thats a very good bargain though!

For hard disk replacement of the sony laptops if you need it - http://www.notebookforums.com/forum/thread/225904/vgn-z21wn-harddisk-replacement

However, sony hard disk replacement (at least for the model I have) is a right faff/pain in the butt to replace unlike some other laptops I have.

Good luck

darren

Message was edited by: darrentweedale

Message was edited by: darrentweedale

[petsorre]

Hi Darren,

Many thanks for that information. Yes you're right, it is a 3.5" drive!

Looks like I'll be sending it straight back to Amazon when it arrives (too late to cancel) - oops!

Cheers,

Peter

[petsorre]

Just thought I'd update you.

I fitted the Seagate Momentus XT as per the original plan and it was a doddle: just one screw to remove the cover, three for the bracket and four for the drive itself. (I think that some Vaio models require a virtual strip-down to replace the hard drive).

After some initial hiccups using Acronis True Image to restore my backup image, everything went well and I'm pleased to say that my bootup has decreased from typical times of 2 to 4 minutes, down to about 1 minute.

The hybrid drive needs several "learning" cycles to determine the most frequently used files and puts them into the flash memory area, speeding things up no end. My most commonly used apps also now run significanlty faster.

So, a good result eventually. I've just sent back the 3.5" Samsung SpinPoint drive, which would have been great if I'd still got my old desktop machine!