Can I replace the HDD with a SATA SSD on a HP Pavilion Gaming 15 (2018) notebook?

[es483]

Hello,

I'm actually considering to buy an HP Pavilion Gaming 15 (2018) gaming notebook, in particular, I was thinking about the "cx0007nl" model.

The problem is that I would really want (and probably, need), in case I decide to buy this model, to replace its 1 TB HDD (7200 rpm) with a SATA SSD, as I work a lot with virtual machines which are quite big (and they would fill the included 256 GB M.2 SSD quite quicky) and which run much better from an SSD (sometimes using them on an HDD brings down the performance to an unacceptable level, especially when performing an heavy work on them).

I've seen that this model has no removable panel, like other HP notebooks I have, to easily replace components such as RAM or memory supports and that it requires to dismount the back panel in order to gain access to all the PC components (including the battery). My doubt is whether I could replace the HDD without voiding the warranty, as I was not able to find any maintenance guide for this specific model.

Of course I would keep the original HDD in a safe place, ready to be re-swapped in in case of problems, but I don't know if I would be allowed to do such an operation without making the warranty invalid (taking into account that my current country is Italy).

Thank you very in advance.

[iomare]

Hi,

Upgrading RAM and hard drive is an accepted practice and will not void warranty. You can replace the mechanical hard drive with a 2.5" SSD such as the Samsung 860 Evo or similar of your desired capacity.

You could also replace the M2 PCIe NVMe drive with a much larger capacity drive (example Samsung 970 Evo 2TB).

Max RAM is 32GB DDR4 2666Mhz (2x16GB) even if service manual mentions 16GB.

On page 47 of the service manual, you can see the steps to replace the hard drive.

Spero sia di aiuto,

David

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[es483]

Thank you very much for your reply! This is very good news.

I just looked at the service manual, but it tells to remove the battery in order to dismount the HDD, together with removing some additional Phillips screws in order to successfully remove HDD and battery.

Moreover, on page 29, at the beginning of the chapter about replacing parts, it says "Components described in this chapter should only be accessed by an authorized service provider. Accessing these parts can damage the computer or void the warranty", together with this sentence on page 35 of the Italian user manual:

"La batteria o le batterie in questo prodotto non possono essere sostituite con facilità dagli utenti. La rimozione o la sostituzione della batteria può influire sulla copertura della garanzia"

Which can be translated as:

"The battery cannot be easily replaced by users. Removing or subtituing the battery may influence the warranty coverage"

Will this make the warranty still valid, even if I have to remove the battery pack? In case I decide to buy this notebook and replace the HDD, could I proceed without worrying about warranty seals being broken when removing the panel and/or unscrewing?
I'm just asking a confirmation because, as I wrote before, the possibility to install a SATA SSD without voiding the warranty can really influence my decision about this product.

Thank you very much in advance!