Laptop Hard Drive : 5200RPM/16MB vs. 7200/8MB

[Chu]

Hello all, I'm a little tight on cash but reallly want to upgrade my laptop's hard drive because the 4200/2MB hard drive is really killing performance. For ~110 shipped I can get a 5400RPM drive with a 16MB cache, which is pretty sweet. If I want a 7200 RPM drive though -- the cheapest I can find is $50 more, and only has 8MB of cache (it is 20gb more space, but the extra 20gb really doesn't matter to me).

My question is basically this, how much of a proformance gain should I see going from 4200/2MB to 5400/16MB (my gut instinct is a lot considreing when I performed this upgrade on my mother's computer about 2 years back), and how much more to go from 5400/16 to 7200/8? Is it worth the extra 50?

Also, how much more power does a 5400/16 and a 7200/8 suck compared to a 4200/2?

Thanks in advance,

-Chu

 

[Gepost]

I went from a 5400 to a 7200. The difference is very noticable, well worth the $50. I don't know about the power comparison, but I did not notice any difference in the length of time on battery.

 

[Chu]

BTW, for those in the same boat, after a bit of research there was a very obvious conclusion.

The e7k60 by Toshiba. 7200 RPM, uses less power then most 5400RPM's, and also is $137 shipped for a 40 gig.

The 5400/16 drive is the same price, 20 gigs more, and has relitavetly the same streaming proformance but HORRIBLE random access performance. Considering random access probably matters more for what we use a laptop for . . . the choice was obvious

 

[karmasalad]

Originally posted by: Chu
The e7k60 by Toshiba. 7200 RPM, uses less power then most 5400RPM's, and also is $137 shipped for a 40 gig.

I think you might have gotten the manufacturers mixed up. The e7k60 is made by Hitachi. It also isn't meant for use in consumer laptops. What you want instead is the 7k60 hard drive.

 

[Chu]

Originally posted by: karmasalad

Originally posted by: Chu
The e7k60 by Toshiba. 7200 RPM, uses less power then most 5400RPM's, and also is $137 shipped for a 40 gig.

I think you might have gotten the manufacturers mixed up. The e7k60 is made by Hitachi. It also isn't meant for use in consumer laptops. What you want instead is the 7k60 hard drive.

Odd . . . from what I've gathered on storagereview the e7k60 and 7k60 are very similar in power draw/noise/performance . . . the difference being the platter setup i.e. one 60gb platter for the 7k60 vs. one 80 gb platter (40/80 gb sizes as a result) in the e7k60

 

[karmasalad]

Originally posted by: Chu
Odd . . . from what I've gathered on storagereview the e7k60 and 7k60 are very similar in power draw/noise/performance . . . the difference being the platter setup i.e. one 60gb platter for the 7k60 vs. one 80 gb platter (40/80 gb sizes as a result) in the e7k60

Both the e7k60 and 7k60 are 60GB 7200rpm drives. Hitachi names their drives by having xk indicate the spindle speed (7k = 7200; 5k = 5400), and the trailing numbers indicate the capacity.

While both are very similar drives, the e7k60 is meant for blade servers and not for normal notebook use. For more, check out this thread: http://www.leog.net/fujp_forum...&SearchTerms=e7k60

 

[Chu]

After doing some more research it looks like you are right Dammit, now why couldn't they build a 40gb version of the 7k60? The 60gb version is WAY out of my price range

 

[owl79]

hi chu!
I've been looking to upgrade drives... found the 7k60 on dell.com (dell home, not small business) for a LOW $140 + tax (not sure about shipping) for today only! I think the price expires tonite around midnight CST.

good luck! just wanted to let you know

 

[caivoma]

try to look for coupon too, it may lower more

 

[ThunderPC]

Originally posted by: Chu
After doing some more research it looks like you are right Dammit, now why couldn't they build a 40gb version of the 7k60? The 60gb version is WAY out of my price range

They do, or at least an e7k60 40GB

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=100526

 

[megatyme]

Originally posted by: Chu
After doing some more research it looks like you are right Dammit, now why couldn't they build a 40gb version of the 7k60? The 60gb version is WAY out of my price range

If you're looking for a 40GB 7200RPM, I think Hitachi has it. It's available on:

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=22-146-036&depa=0

Hope this helps??