Laptop hard disk drive options

[AndyP123]

I'm just about to buy a laptop (for anyone that read my previous post (but didn't reply.. boo hoo) I'm going for the Dell XPS Gen 2.) I can configure the HDD to be either 4200rpm, 5400rpm or 7200rpm.

Now, I'm very tempted to go for the 7200rpm model, which is available at sizes up to 60gb (should be fine, and I can get an external one for home use if need be,) but was wondering what the advantages and disadvantages are.

Basically, does a higher rpm equate to better performance and a shorter battery time? Is the performance difference over 5400rpm noticeable, and if the battery time of the notebook is affected, is that noticeable?

Thanks for any replies this time

 

[AndyP123]

Here is some info I found.

Any more information from other experienced people would be more than welcome.

I'm thinking of opting for a 5,400rpm drive now. Bigger, cheaper, potentially more battery life, and not as hot. I think.

 

[bacillus]

contrary to what you would have expected, the hitachi 7k60 7200rpm laptop drives run quite cool & it is only in the spinup at startup that they use more power.
the new generation 7k100 are said to be even faster
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=13684

 

[AndyP123]

Thanks for the info, bacillus. Do you know how much battery life I might expect to lose from using a 7,200rpm drive, and would the performance gains be worth it?

Maybe I'll stick to 5400rpm and upgrade to the fancy new one that you mention when the time comes.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Your loss in battery life will be negligible and the performance gains VERY tangible. 7200RPM HDD is the best upgrade you can put into a laptop

 

[AndyP123]

thanks. I'll go for the 7,200

 

[railer]

Bah....waste of money.

I have both. 80 gig 5400 and 60 gig 7200, in 2 diff P M laptops. The 60 gigger benchmarks slightly faster....but as far as start up times, loading maps in D3....there is virtually no difference. I'm sure comparing two identical sized drives would make the 7200rpm drive look a little better, but then again for about the same money as a 60 7200 you could get a 100 5400, which would be even closer in performance or maybe even surpass the 7200rpm drive.

 

[Jassi]

railer - I agree, I have heard from many people that the higher platter density can make up for some of the speed and the speed difference can be petty. I would personally opt for a 100 gig 5400rpm given the choice.

 

[fbrdphreak]

There is also truth to this. Unfortunately I have no quantitative answer right now, but shortly we will have the new Seagate 100GB 7200RPM's in the lab for review And hopefully then we will have an end all answer

 

[RonS]

I also have both, th 8K 5400 and the 7K60.

I tested both drives in both the Dell Inspiron 8600 (1.7 Centrino) and IBM Thinkpad T42p (2.1 Dothan) and found that the 7K60 makes both systems significantly more responsive.

HDTach shows the 7K60 to perform better and I believe the world-world performance boost is even more than the bencmarks show.

 

[railer]

Ron....be more vague why don't you....

How did you test them? What does "significantly more responsive" mean?

How much better does HDTach show the 7k drive to be?

Sheesh....

My HD tach ave read was like 30 meg/sec for the 7200 and 28 meg/sec for the 5400.

The other thing I did was reboot windows simultaneously with both lappy's, and load D3 maps simultaneoulsy. Both of these tasks were ~ equal for both drives.

What drives have you reviewed phreak? Did you do a 100 gig 5400? Any 40 or 60 7200's?

 

[ShellGuy]

I would wait for the 100 gb 7200 rpm drives to come out and get one of those. Just get something 2 tide you over for right now.

Will G.

 

[railer]

Are you nuts Will? Do you know how much those drives will cost? I'm sure they'll be fast...but right now 60 gig 7200's are priced through the roof....more than 100 gig 5400's.
If money is no object I guess I agree......but.....

 

[uOpt]

I would expect the 5400 100 GB Seagate to be about as fast as the 7200 60 GB.

For me, the higher density of data has always turned out to make good for a good chunk of rotational speed in the past. It might be different for Windoze users, though.

The 4200 rpm 40 GB drives that slow down computers so much are just damn slow in every single respect.

 

[ShellGuy]

Yes i have been called Nutz many times before. But i am about gettin the most out of the instant cash i have on hand. You get the best of both worlds with that drive....


Will G.

 

[fbrdphreak]

What drives have you reviewed phreak? Did you do a 100 gig 5400? Any 40 or 60 7200's?

The 7200RPM Seagate will be my first hard drive review, but we have one of the 100GB 5400RPM Seagate
Link
Our review of the 7200RPM Seagate will also compare a 40GB 5400RPM and 60GB 7200RPM.

 

[railer]

Cool. I'd love to see a 60 gig 7200 rpm vs a 100 gig 5400 rpm....since they're about the same $$$$.

whoops....looks like the the 7200 rpm 60's are quite a bit more than the 5400 rmp 100's.

 

[Plester]

i have used both a fuji 60gb 5400rpm drive and a 80gb hitachi 5K80 and they 'feel' about the same as a run of the mill 7200rpm desktop hard drive - aka. very quick. 7200rpm lappy drives are currently a luxury item.