[SOLVED] What size hard drive can I use?

[jthorpe]

I have an old Sony Vaio All-in-One model VPCL216FX that I'm looking to replace the hard drive in, however I'm not sure what the maximum size hard drive I can use in it is.

Best Buy has a 1 TB (which is the size it came with when I bought it used) for $49.99, but they also have a 4 TB hard drive for $109.99, but would my system recognize anything over the 2 TB's? I know BIOS is capped at a max of 2 TB (if I remember right) and UEFI would be able to use drives larger than 2 TB's. I can't really find anything on Google for my model. I'm currently running Window 10 on it.

 

[jthorpe]

This is my system (until I can do a self build).

 

[NightHawkRMX]

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/check-if-uefi-or-bios
Try this to see if your machine is using UEFI or BIOS.

Personally, I don't see the need for a 4tb drive in that machine, but if your machine turns out to be running in UEFI mode it will work.

 

[jthorpe]

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/check-if-uefi-or-bios
Try this to see if your machine is using UEFI or BIOS.

Personally, I don't see the need for a 4tb drive in that machine, but if your machine turns out to be running in UEFI mode it will work.

Following the instructions on the page, on the search it comes back with "Callback_BootEnvironmentDetect: Detected boot environment: BIOS" ... so it looks like I'm capped out at a 2 TB max drive size.

I do quite a bit with scanning documents, videos, etc. that take up quite a bit of space. My current 1 TB (930 GB space available) has around 475 GB free. I figured if I could use drives bigger than 2 TB, then I might consider the 4 TB one as it's 4 times the space for the cost of 2 x 1 TB drives.

What is the difference between the WD's mainstream drives (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-mai...rd-drive-for-desktops/9312076.p?skuId=9312076 ) vs. the WD black (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-bla...-drive-oem-bare-drive/3055346.p?skuId=3055346 )??

 

[Obakasama]

Click on the specification tabs for both. WD Black HDDs tend to spin at 7200 RPM, which is true in this case.

EDIT: Originally thought you meant physical size of the drive....

 

[NightHawkRMX]

If you exceed 2tb, i believe you will either only be able to use up to 2tb or 2tb per partition. Cant remember which.

You can look for a 2.5in 2tb drive to avoid issues.

 

[jthorpe]

Click on the specification tabs for both. WD Black HDDs tend to spin at 7200 RPM, which is true in this case.

EDIT: Originally thought you meant physical size of the drive....

I did look at the specs tab for both and know these differences:

Mainstream drive
-5400 RPM
-6,000 megabytes per sec max transfer rate
-Usage: everyday computing (according to Best Buy Specs Page)

Black Drive
-7200 RPM
-768 megabytes per second max transfer rate
-Useage: NAS (according to Best Buy Specs Page)

I've been told a few times before when getting drives for other systems, that the black drive is for performance ... though the specs at Best Buy shows it as a NAS drive .... a NAS drive at 7200 RPMs??

So my question about the differences are:

1.) Would either work for the main drive in my All-in-One?
2.) Would I see any difference in performance if I went with the 5400 RPM vs the 7200 RPM (i.e.: faster program load times, etc.)? (Which would be better the 5400 RPM or the 7200 RPM)?
3.) Do they have the same potential usage life span?
4.) Are there any other differences, other than what is listed?

Basically would I benefit any (or much) if I spent the extra $50 for the Black drive?

 

[jthorpe]

If you exceed 2tb, i believe you will either only be able to use up to 2tb or 2tb per partition. Cant remember which.

You can look for a 2.5in 2tb drive to avoid issues.

I was just wondering if I could put it in there and just have the extra space available if it was ever needed, especially cause of the difference on price. Some don't make any sense. For example, Best Buy has a 500 GB drive for $44.99 (though it's laptop size), but they also have a 1 TB drive (for desktops) for $49.99 ... 500 GBs more for only $5 more. If my system could have used the drive, it probably would have been a better idea to spend $40 more to double the space from a 2 TB to a 4 TB and just have extra space if I ever needed it.

 

[Obakasama]

1. Yes. Though it will depend what your priorities are.

2. Higher RPM suggests quicker loading.

3. Trickier. The life of a drive is dependent on so many factors, but excluding faults then it comes down to wear and tear. Certain drives are designed for reliability, especially those for enterprise; I would assume those have a better life span. However those are also designed for 24/7 usage in mind (though that's not to say switching PC on and off will damage them).

Price isn't just about capacity if looking at a wide enough market. You compare a laptop drive to a desktop drive of different capacities but also different physical sizes. Typically in technology the smaller something is it'll be more expensive than something of a similar spec. SSDs of the same capacity as an HDD will be more expensive too.

As I previously mentioned, though somewhat off topic in a sense, I originally thought you were wondering about the physical size of the drive because it is an all-in-one you're looking to upgrade. Are we certain it can accommodate a 3.5" HDD?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

If you google the aio, the hdd upgrade guide shows a 2.5in drive bat

 

[Obakasama]

I suspected as much with an AIO PC as they tend to be, what I consider, fancy laptops so I had assumed it would use laptop components. Good find.

So it would seem the HDD upgrade is limited to 2.5" drives despite the pricing consideration as mentioned previously.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/res/manuals/W000/W0000034M.pdf
Never mind, i went back and looked again. The HDD replacement instructions clearly show a 3.5in HDD.

I am very impressed with the documentation on this PC.

 

[Obakasama]

Wrong assumption on my part then.

 

[jthorpe]

1. Yes. Though it will depend what your priorities are.

2. Higher RPM suggests quicker loading.

3. Trickier. The life of a drive is dependent on so many factors, but excluding faults then it comes down to wear and tear. Certain drives are designed for reliability, especially those for enterprise; I would assume those have a better life span. However those are also designed for 24/7 usage in mind (though that's not to say switching PC on and off will damage them).

Price isn't just about capacity if looking at a wide enough market. You compare a laptop drive to a desktop drive of different capacities but also different physical sizes. Typically in technology the smaller something is it'll be more expensive than something of a similar spec. SSDs of the same capacity as an HDD will be more expensive too.

As I previously mentioned, though somewhat off topic in a sense, I originally thought you were wondering about the physical size of the drive because it is an all-in-one you're looking to upgrade. Are we certain it can accommodate a 3.5" HDD?

The current drive in there now is a standard desktop 3.5" size, so yes it would accommodate a 3.5" HDD. At first I was questioning the size of drive I could use. Since I know I'm limited to a max of 2 TB, I'm now wondering what one would be the better drive.

 

[Obakasama]

I will fall back on the 'depends on your use case' position. For storage purposes a 5400 RPM HDD is fine; not so much for gaming.