internal hard drive upgrade questions (noob)

[gristle]

I will be getting a used HP 8440P EliteBook with a core i7 processor, 2.8GHz, 4GB ram and a 320GB hard drive. I would like to upgrade this to a 1TB hard drive. Will this computer handle a HGST 1TB, 7200 RPM, 32MB cache internal hard drive?

 

[popatim]

As long as it will fit in a 9.5mm (drive thickness) bay it will work.

 

[gristle]

As long as it will fit in a 9.5mm (drive thickness) bay it will work.

Thanks popatim!

Now, after re-reading my original post I have another quick question. Is the 4GB of memory already on the computer the same thing as cache or ram? Will I be downgrading or losing anything by putting in a hard drive with 32MB cache? I'm really confused here, as you can tell.

 

[why_wolf]

As long as it will fit in a 9.5mm (drive thickness) bay it will work.

Thanks popatim!

Now, after re-reading my original post I have another quick question. Is the 4GB of memory already on the computer the same thing as cache or ram? Will I be downgrading or losing anything by putting in a hard drive with 32MB cache? I'm really confused here, as you can tell.

nope the 4 B you stated is your system RAM, nothing changes (though I'd recommend thinking about going up to 8GB at some point.). The 32MB cache is what is on the hard drive itself.

I don't know what your storage space requirements are but I really would recommend going with an SSD even if its a smaller size as that will give you a massive general performance increase that is very nice to have.

 

[gristle]

As long as it will fit in a 9.5mm (drive thickness) bay it will work.

Thanks popatim!

Now, after re-reading my original post I have another quick question. Is the 4GB of memory already on the computer the same thing as cache or ram? Will I be downgrading or losing anything by putting in a hard drive with 32MB cache? I'm really confused here, as you can tell.

nope the 4 B you stated is your system RAM, nothing changes (though I'd recommend thinking about going up to 8GB at some point.). The 32MB cache is what is on the hard drive itself.

I don't know what your storage space requirements are but I really would recommend going with an SSD even if its a smaller size as that will give you a massive general performance increase that is very nice to have.

Thanks why_wolf!

I'm glad there's no rush on any of this - I really need a crash course. The HP won't be used for gaming or anything too taxing, but I really hate a sluggish computer. I'll look into the SSDs - I've read they even help the computer run cooler.