Laptop hard drive... 5400 or 7200 ?

[Armando]

Yet another hard drive question.

I'm going to buy a new HardDrive for my laptop. I'm looking for a 160gb SATA (Seagate),  instead of my current 80gb.

I was going to buy a 5400 rpm model (ST9160821AS). The recording method of that drive is supposed to perpendicular, which is considered a good thing (but I'm no specialist...)
 
But now I'm hesitating : should I go for the 7200 rpm (ST9160823AS )?? This one uses similar technology (perpendicular), but Seagate also mentions "16/17 EPRML" (I thought that was pretty standard, ….. anyway). Seems faster according to the specs, but I wonder about 2 things :

- Heat (will my laptop run significantly warmer ?)
- Battery life (will the battery life decrease significantly ?)
 
Anybody ?
 
Thanks!!

[Lashiec]

Not much experience with laptop hardrives, but since performance is not a key factor in a laptop, I'd go for a 5400 rpm disk, less heat and power consumption. If both use perpendicular recording, I'd say it's a no brainier.

EPRML means, basically, more density without more errors in data reading. So it's a good thing. Don't know if it's something you should consider when you're buying it.

[Ralf Maximus]

Too bad the solid state drives are still so small and expensive; that'd be ideal for a laptop.  But 16GB still costs ~$300 USD.

[mouser]

hmm.. in general the answer is always that, all things being equal, go for the faster hard drive.
having a faster hard drive will noticeably speed up your computer use.
i dont know about battery and heat though.. but for me, even though i agree with lashiec that performance isn't usually the end-all be-all for notebooks, i'd still go for the faster hd.

[Darwin]

I looked into this A LOT in the spring and as far as I could gather from my research, the heat and battery issues are non-issues when deciding between a 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm laptop drive. I didn't jump then because the larger capacity and faster second generation drives were just out and crazy expensive, but I'll be considering it in the new year.

[vegas]

7200 drive all the way, it definitely makes a difference.  Read the reviews out there on sites like NewEgg.com to get the most RELIABLE.

[mouser]

Read the reviews out there on sites like NewEgg.com to get the most RELIABLE.

good advice. 

[f0dder]

Humm, I thought 5400 vs 7200 rpm in a laptop did make a difference wrt. heat and power consumption - if it doesn't, then indeed it's a no-brainer. There's probably some review out there somewhere which has something to say...

[Darwin]

As I recall, opinions about the extent of the hit in terms of heat generation and battery consumption varied but overall the "tone" of reviews seemed to be that while both do go up, the degree is not significant compared to 5400 rpm drives (not nearly as dramatic as 4200 to 5400 rpm, apparently). As I am wed to XP for at least two more years, I'll probably upgrade to a 7200 rpm drive myself in the future and be in a position to "comment from authority" at that point 

[Carol Haynes]

A friend just ordered a MacBook (I don't really understand why because all she does is web surf, email, iTunes and iPhoto but its up to her is she has money to burn) ... I was really shocked at the price they were charging for hard disc upgrades - and they were all 5400RPM.

To change from 120Gb to 160Gb (and the colour of you machine from white to black - but there are no other changes in spec I can see) they charge a whopping £120 (~$250) !

If you want to be flash and upgrade to a 250Gb drive then it will cost you £150 (~$310)

I was checking prices and you can get a new WD 250Gb 5400 drive (laptop profile) for £77 or less!!! How much are these drives actually costing Apple?

I was also shocked to see a 1Gb to 2Gb memory upgrade is £90 (~$190) ... WTF !!!

Anyway back to the question ...

I looked up laptop drives on www.dabs.com and they all seem to be 5400 RPM (except for one which was 4200RM) ... there must be a reason ???

[Armando]

Many thanks everybody !

I just came back from work and found all these posts... 
So I also checked some reviews, etc. and, yes,  it seems that going for the seagate 7200 rpm would be a better choice (especially that I'm an impatient computer user...).

as I already suggested, I'll get this one : ST9160823ASG . The "G" ("gravity") indicates a special anti-shock sensor (only 5$ more!). This Seagate offers impressive performance and it comes with a good warranty (5 years). So... Off to the store. (please, don't disturb : I'll be transfering data tonight  )

[Darwin]

I'm so jealous - none of the stores near me have much in the way of notebook drives available, and nobody has 7200 rpm drives on the shelf. I have to order in from Vancouver... Ah, the life of a country bumpkin!

[Armando]

Ah !  Well... They had it yesterday... But they're all gone.  I hate it when that happens. So, Darwin, let's weep together (until friday, or maybe the 28...)  It'll be fun though when I finally get it -- especially for 1) storing more cra...err... essential stuff, 2) and for backups, indexing, farr's search, etc. Woo hoo! maybe X1 will actually start to feel responsive. 

[Armando]

A friend just ordered a MacBook (I don't really understand why because all she does is web surf, email, iTunes and iPhoto but its up to her is she has money to burn) ... I was really shocked at the price they were charging for hard disc upgrades - and they were all 5400RPM.

To change from 120Gb to 160Gb (and the colour of you machine from white to black - but there are no other changes in spec I can see) they charge a whopping £120 (~$250) !

If you want to be flash and upgrade to a 250Gb drive then it will cost you £150 (~$310)

I was checking prices and you can get a new WD 250Gb 5400 drive (laptop profile) for £77 or less!!! How much are these drives actually costing Apple?

I was also shocked to see a 1Gb to 2Gb memory upgrade is £90 (~$190) ... WTF !!!

Anyway back to the question ...

I looked up laptop drives on www.dabs.com and they all seem to be 5400 RPM (except for one which was 4200RM) ... there must be a reason ???

-Carol Haynes (December 19, 2007, 10:20 AM)

Yep. Once you get into that bandwagon, certain things are just more expensive. eg : my girlfriend wanted to buy an mp3 player and basically had to buy a IPod Nano, even the SanDisk was cheaper and has more features -- mic., FM stereo...-- plus an easily replaceable battery (the IPod Nano battery thing — $$$ + userfriendliness —- is such a scam!!).

Of course, for hard drives, you can always buy it and change it yourself. Same thing applies for almost all components (but, lucky Apple, most -- not all, of course -- mac users will prefer to purchase stuff directly from Apple... Oh well).

It seems to me that most computer dealers (like Dell, for instance) overcharge for components and peripherals.

[Stephen47]

if you want to order one these guys seem to have a good price:http://www.provantage.com/seagate-st9160823asg~ASEGH01V.htm

[Carol Haynes]

Depends where you live - Provantage have good prices but if you live anywhere other than continental US their shipping prices are ridiculous (and will probably cost more than the drive).

[J-Mac]

5400.  On the notebook you will NOT notice the difference, except for the price. Not worth the cost, in money and battery duration.

Jim

[vegas]

5400.  On the notebook you will NOT notice the difference, except for the price. Not worth the cost, in money and battery duration.

Jim

-J-Mac (December 28, 2007, 02:43 AM)

When I got my notebook with a 5400 hard drive, I reformatted and reinstalled drivers & software to my liking.  But I still wasn't satisfied with the performance, so I ordered one of the newer 7200 Seagate notebook drives and I can say there is a night & day difference (for me).

[Armando]

Thanks for the extra feedback. I haven't actually bought the thing yet.

@J-Mac : I actually suspect that I'll see a difference with the new Seagate. I've read that because of perpendicular recording  newer 5400rpm hard drives were almost as fast as older 7200rpm hard drives, but now the "newer" 7200 generation does really make a difference.

All I can say is that the bottleneck in my current laptop configuration really seems to be the hard drive speed... and the USB port. So I'm expecting to see faster indexing performances (X1, Archivarius -- by the way, guys, there's a new version... --, locate32), faster backup, faster resuming from hibernation, faster saves for huge documents (25 mb +), faster searches (FARR, and any other "real time" searches), etc. But I'll see... I'll keep you posted.


@Stephen47 : The price is not bad at all, and with Canadian currency being super high... it amounts to a grand total of 177.025 Canadian Dollar with shipping (shipping is the killer : 30 $). Still not bad though. I can have $179.00 for it nearby, but that doesn't include taxes. Whe I order stuff, the tax thing seems a bit aleatory : I never know when they're going to charge something. With eBay they usually don't.

And I wonder if ordering a hard drive is risky business... Fragilitywise.

Darwin : do you often order (fragile) stuff through stores like that in the US? And what about taxes ?

[Darwin]

I've ordered four harddrives over the years (if memory serves - might be more) through the post and have never had a problem. Regarding taxes, though WATCH Canada Border Services Agency!!!!! They'll slap a $5 inspection fee onto your package and then PST and GST and possibly duty as well. I got my Donationcoder mug in the post and had to pay $18.16 in taxes and inspection fees to be able to take possession (NB it shipped with an invoice indicating the price as $99.99). The problem is that they are entirely random about whether or not they inspect a package. Just be prepared...

It'd be tempting though... as TigerDirect.ca has the same drive for $195 CDN. before taxes and shipping  FWIW, if it was me and I could get it in person for $179 + taxes, I'd take that route...

[Armando]

Thank you very much Darwin, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

WATCH Canada Border Services Agency!!!!! They'll slap a $5 inspection fee onto your package and then PST and GST and possibly duty as well. I got my Donationcoder mug in the post and had to pay $18.16 in taxes and inspection fees to be able to take possession (NB it shipped with an invoice indicating the price as $99.99).

(Yes : I vaguely remember a book costing me 40$ instead of 20$, and taking 3 weeks to make it to my mailbox...  Somehow, everything I ordered through eBay never went through this lengthy and costly process...)



Edit : I just can't write...

[Carol Haynes]

Thank you very much Darwin, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

WATCH Canada Border Services Agency!!!!! They'll slap a $5 inspection fee onto your package and then PST and GST and possibly duty as well. I got my Donationcoder mug in the post and had to pay $18.16 in taxes and inspection fees to be able to take possession (NB it shipped with an invoice indicating the price as $99.99).

(Yes : I vaguely remembered a book costing me 40$ instead of 20$, and taking 3 weeks to make it to my mailbox...  Somehow, everything I ordered through eBay never went through this lengthy and costly process...)

-Armando (December 28, 2007, 12:57 PM)

It's also been my experience sending things to Canada to my parents in Ontario when I buy through an online dealer and get it sent direct. I have stopped doing it now and try to buy at Canadian online stores instead because I got so fed up with my mother being stung for inspection charges, import duty and any other random taxes that occur to them! Canadian import inspectors seem to be particularly vigilant IME and, unlike the UK, they don't seem to observe a minimum value before the clobber you.

Be aware that a lot of countries also have a range of tarrifs depending on what you are importing and in some countries they can be very high on electronics. Best to check before you order or you may find it was cheaper to buy it at a Canadian store (and probably quicker delivery).

Having said all that the UK inspection fee/import duty applies to items over £18 - and they charge £8 for the inspection alone (that is nearly $17 CAN) before they even begin on tax!

[Armando]

Thanks Carol...
I guess I've been lucky in the past with eBay... i just hope that the 2 hard drive enclosures I ordered won't cost me an absurdly high amount of money.   

[f0dder]

One thing is burst drive speed, that's usually what the drives are sold on, and that's utterly useless imho.

What's more interesting is sustained data speed (which you'll only really see when copying larger files), and seek speed. Seek speed is one of the most important features for day-to-day usage like application starting, file searching/indexing, defragmentation, handling small files (word documents/whatever) etc. Higher RPM should help increasing seek speed.

[Darwin]

Armando - I eagerly await your report on the effect of upgrading to 7200 rpm! I realise that I'll have to wait until you actually buy and install the beast... but I'm curious as to whether or not you will see the performance gains you are looking for. I'm also interested in the hit on your battery and any perceptible increase in the operating temperature that you see. I'm leaning towards waiting now until I get a modern machine as the laptop I am on now has a slow CPU and a slow bus speed - they're the real bottleneck.