Can I switch from this 5400 RPM HD to this 7200 RPM HD for this Laptop

A

amodoko

Member
I currently have a Seagate SATA 120GB 5400RPM Firmware: 3.CDD. It is the Seagate Momentus 5400.3 with model number: ST9120822AS. This hard drive recently died on me and I am going to buy another one on ebay. But I was wondering about possibly upgrading a bit to make the laptop faster (which I have never done, except for RAM, I've always just swapped out parts with identical parts).

Will my Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop have any issues switching to a Seagate Momentus 7200.3 160GB HD? Model number ST9160411AS.

I would like to be able to just swap them without having to upgrade anything else (such as some connectors, firmware, bios data, etc.). If I swap the old bad one out for the new one with more space and speed, will I have to make any changes or will it be an easy plug and play? Will it cause the laptop any long-term negative effects, such as over-heating, read-errors, etc?

Thanks, just never made any upgrades to a computer besides RAM.
 
Last edited:
The only problem you may encounter is that a 7200 rpm drive generally uses more power than a 5400 rpm drive. This may cause your laptop to run a little warmer (not a problem as long as you're not having heat related issues now) and the battery run-time may be reduced.

I have replaced 5400rpm drives with 7200 rpm drives in a number of my personal laptops without issue. To me, the small, but noticeable, performance boost is worth it.
 
Awesome, thank you. Do you think I will have to get a new hard drive caddy? I didn't know if the one that fits my old seagate 5400.3 HD would fit the new one since they are selling the new HD without a caddy. Thanks again
 
Just swap the drive. It's a direct swap fit. You can find cloning software on the drive manufacturers page to clone all your data over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top