What do i need in order to swap my DVD drive to an SSD?

Hi,
I have a SONY SVE1512J1EW that has a 640GB HDD

But i also have a Samsung 830 128GB SSD,

So as i never use the DVD optical drive i'm thinking of putting the SSD in its place and just installing the OS onto it.

Will using the SSD for just the OS and the 640GB HDD for my docs/music/videos (i only need 80GB though) make the computer run significantly faster?
The sony laptop has 4gb RAM, would increasing to 8GB RAM make more of an improvement on speed/booting/multitasking, than swapping the optical drive for an ssd?


if you think the best option to increase the laptop performance would be to use the ssd instead of the optical drive, do you know if the Sony SVE1512J1EW is compatible with SATA III SSD's?


If you think its better to remove the DVD drive for the SSD, what specifically do i need to make this exchange?
i assume i need a caddy but i dont know hat size in inches/spec, etc
would this caddy do the job: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal...es_HardDriveEnclosures_RL&hash=item5d41275055


This is the laptop spec: SVE1512J1E | VAIO E Series Laptop | Technical Specifications | SVE1512J1EW.CEK | SVE1512J1E | Sony

thank you

 

Yes the SSD will significantly increase your boot up times.

You should probably get a 8GB SODIMM. Since you only have one memory slot, that's the maximum you can go and you need the single 8GB module.

That caddy should be fine. It is very easy to replace the ODD. Here's a video to help you out though I doubt you'd need it.

 

thanks maverick

ill buy that ebay caddy i linked ^^^

do i need a specific size caddy though to fit my 830 SSD?

 

DVD drives come in two sizes, AFAIK. 9.7mm and 12.7mm. I couldn't find any references for how thick the one in your Sony is. Most are 12.7. 9.7 is for the super slim laptops. However, you could measure it yourself before purchasing the caddy. The SSD will fit in any caddy that fits 2.5" drives. I've yet to see a 12.7mm caddy that does not fit a 2.5" drive.

 

So let me get this right you want to remove the 640HDD and swap the 128SSD into it's place and put the 640HDD into the cd drive bay? That would be how I would do it. But is your CD drive bay Sata or IDE connections? I would advise using the cd drive bay as the boot bay instead use the HDD location as the placement for your SSD as it was intended for. That cd drive bay might not be protected as the HDD bay is from damage and movements or drops. Trust me most say they never use the cd drive bay til they need it and find out they need a drive bay for recover or rebooting their computer. It does serve a function for being there even if you don't use it so don't discount it because of it. I know people say they don't need much space for it but HDD or SSD can fill up faster then you think so don't think 128SSD won't get fill is a misnomer especailly in these days of large file and music and video data that can gobble up space before you know it. So you should really plan ahead not just cause SSD is speedier but what your future needs are going to really be. I myself got a Desktop with 12TB of video and anime and data just from all my computing days and they take space and increase weight. I might never access those data for some time but they are they should I need access to them. Oh and that Desktop is on a networking group so any computer connected to I can transfer my work to the Desktop which acts as the Server/Storage mainframe besides acting as secondary computer. I never planned this but this is how it turned out as a results.

 

thanks, i will take out the dvd drive and measure it,
by just measuring the height of the drive, whilst it is i the laptop, it was approximately 1.5cm tall

Storm, no i intend to just use the SSD for the OS and the 640GB for my files, this way hopefully the OS and programs will run at optimal speed

i'm a bit confused about the way you worded this:
I would advise using the cd drive bay as the boot bay instead use the HDD location as the placement for your SSD as it was intended for.

So which is best, the ssd in place of the optical drive or in place of the hdd?
bare in mind all that would be loaded on the ssd is the Win8 OS

On a different note, i am now selling my old ASUS laptop which doesnt have a HDD so i intend to use my external HDD which i dont use,
But its a HITACHI 500GB external HDD and as you can see from this pic, its a sealed case all round with no openings (besides the port for the mico usb:




so should i just 'carefully break it open in order to get the hdd?

 

I'll second StormJumper's recommendation: install the SSD in the storage drive bay, and put the hard drive in the optical drive bay. The setup would probably work fine either way, but consider a scenario where you'd want to use the optical drive - you couldn't do that if you had the SSD (OS drive) installed in the optical drive bay.

A SATAIII SSD will work just fine.

Regarding that external HDD - they're not meant to be taken apart. You'll void the warranty doing that (if there is any left).

 

good point, ill put the SSD in the current hdd bay, and the 640GB HDD in a caddy where the optical drive is


The external Hitachi HDD is out of warranty and i don't need it, i just want to use it in my old laptop so it sells for more than a laptop with no hdd

Are there any ways to open the sealed/moulded casing without damaging the drive?