320gb replacement hard drive compatible with G1s A1?

Hi,
I am interested in swapping out the stock 160gb 5400 rpm hard drive in my Asus G1s-A1 for a 320 gb 5400 rpm model from either samsung, WD or Toshiba. I have searched through the forums and can't find information to verify whether or not any of these drives would be compatible with my laptop. Asus' support page does not have info. on drives this size either.

Can anyone assure me that that one of the following (below) would be compatible? Also, does anyone have views as to which of these models would be better, if it were to fit (for some reason the Toshiba runs about $30 more than the other two)? Finally, is there any real difference between 1.5 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s such that I should worry about it?

1) SAMSUNG M6 Series HM320JI 320GB 5400 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s Notebook Hard Drive - OEM
2) Western Digital Scorpio WD3200BEVT 320GB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Notebook Hard Drive - OEM
3) TOSHIBA MK3252GSX (HDD2H01) 320GB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Notebook Hard Drive - OEM

 

What is your present HDD? (Look for the model number in Device Manager). Then you can look up the specs.

I would expect the G1S to use a standard 2.5" 9.5mm thick SATA HDD. If so, all three of the HDDs you list would be compatible. I think the choice should be between the Samsung and the WD with the performance being very similar. Samsung probably uses slightly less power and is normally very quiet. However, I don't know if the 320GB version gives the occasional "clunk" which the 250GB version is reported to do.

John

 

Thanks for the response John. Any other opinons?

In particular, does anyone have any personal experiences with these drives? Any thoughts on the 1.5 vs. 3.0 gb transfer difference?

Finally, will I have any issues installing Vista on this new drive, when i swap out the old. I see that only 2 discs were included with the g1s, an asus driver disc and "asus" vista disc? Would I just physically install the new drive, turn on the machine and put in the vista disc to install?

Thanks,

 

1. You will find ardent, vocal supporters of all three drive manufacturers being better than the other two (well, maybe not so much Toshiba). As for the 1.5 vs 3.0 interface, it's really only a theoretical issue since the transfer speeds of every HDD in existence (including SSD's) cannot saturate the transfer bus of even the 1.5 GB/s. The fastest SSD model, after all, is below 150MB/s transfer, and every platter-based drive is below 85-90MB/s. Sometimes the 3.0 drives are cheaper, and since they're back-compatible you might as well go there if possible - but you won't see a functional difference.

2. Yes, you should be able to use your Vista recovery DVD, but be sure to change the boot order in BIOS to the optical drive first; remember, this will install everything to factory-shipped state. Else, you can clone your existing HDD using an external enclosure and either commercial software or those provided by the manufacturers at their websites.

 

Those are some great explanation and suggestions. Thank you all very much. Since the WD is tied for lowest price, and also has the 3.0 gb transfer rate (not to mention positive reivews on newegg), I think I'll purchase that.

Thanks again.

 

I'm running the 320gb WD on my G1S....the hard drive is much faster than the 160gb, even though both are 5400rpm.