Need to upgrade my notebook's hard drive...should I get a 7200 RPM drive?

epp_b · July 1st, 2008, 12:41 AM

I'm running out of space pretty quickly on my 80GB drive and I need to upgrade it pretty soon, so I figure might as well get something faster while I'm at it.

I've never used a 7200RPM hard drive in a notebook and I'm concerned about heat. I currently have a 5400RPM drive in my HP Compaq nc8430, which runs between 32 and 37 degress Celsius pretty consistently, even under heavy load.

Will a 7200RPM drive run a whole lot hotter? Is the risk worth the performance gain?

Hidden_Hunter · July 1st, 2008, 01:05 AM

It will run probably slightly hotter and will more than likely reduce your battery life

The Chad · July 1st, 2008, 01:10 AM

Heat is always a concern, but loss of battery life seems to be a much bigger issue. I think right now a 5200rpm drive is a good trade-off. Just my 2 cents though.

Viper007Bond · July 1st, 2008, 01:34 AM

Get an external?

FATMOUSE · July 1st, 2008, 01:39 AM

It will take more battery life, but considering that IO is the slowest part of a modern computer...

I went with a 7.2krpm drive on my laptop.

kyoru · July 1st, 2008, 02:01 AM

it does not affect it that much

epp_b · July 1st, 2008, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Get an external?

Oh, yeah, those are fun to lug around.

Quote:

It will take more battery life, but considering that IO is the slowest part of a modern computer...

I'm not too terribly concerned with battery life. I get a solid 3 hours as it is, and I'm on external power most of the time.

Viper007Bond · July 1st, 2008, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epp_b

Oh, yeah, those are fun to lug around.

You're carrying around a heavy laptop but can't also carry a hard drive that's 3x5" and weighs 0.3 lbs?

epp_b · July 1st, 2008, 03:54 AM

Quote:

You're carrying around a heavy laptop but can't also carry a hard drive that's 3x5" and weighs 0.3 lbs?

It's just one more thing to carry around, one more thing to connect, one more thing to lose, one more thing to...you get the idea. The more components that are internal, the better.

The Chad · July 1st, 2008, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epp_b

It's just one more thing to carry around, one more thing to connect, one more thing to lose, one more thing to...you get the idea. The more components that are internal, the better.

If you're on power most of the time, then odds are you are at your desk or workspace most of the time, making an external drive a viable option.

Drives are so cheap that you'll get more for your buck going this route. However, a bigger internal drive would be nice (though you still should have a solid backup solution).

When I purchased my current computer, I avoided the 200gig option because it was on a slower drive, but also wasn't sad to be missing the 7200rpm drive. I'm on power most of the time, but this computer is hot enough as is, and battery life is quite excellent.

The space limitation of notebook drives does suck when you are using a notebook for your primary computer, but I've realized that I don't need all my data with me at all times, so a good external drive to put all my "sometimes used" data on makes a good amount of sense to me.

Now, if you wanna go geeky, get a solid state drive. No major power issues and should be much cooler. images/smilies/lol.gif

epp_b · July 1st, 2008, 04:55 AM

Quote:

If you're on power most of the time, then odds are you are at your desk or workspace most of the time, making an external drive a viable option.

Indeed. I have plenty of external drives lying around, I'd rather have everything with me on my internal drive.

Quote:

However, a bigger internal drive would be nice (though you still should have a solid backup solution).

I have plenty of backups, plus I'll be able to use my current drive as another backup by buying a different drive to use internally.

Quote:

Now, if you wanna go geeky, get a solid state drive. No major power issues and should be much cooler

Well, I'll just go pluck a few Ben Franks of the tree in the front yard and pick one up images/smilies/tongue.gif

Andrew911tt · July 1st, 2008, 09:01 AM

i am regretting getting a 7200rpm HDD my laptop gets really hot and sucks my battery life

epp_b · July 1st, 2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

i am regretting getting a 7200rpm HDD my laptop gets really hot and sucks my battery life

What laptop do you have?

The Chad · July 2nd, 2008, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epp_b

Well, I'll just go pluck a few Ben Franks of the tree in the front yard and pick one up images/smilies/tongue.gif

Let me know how that goes for you. I want a new car and maybe I can plant some in time for the fall harvest images/smilies/lol.gif

Seriously, just take your budget, and buy the biggest drive you can. Or if you want a 7200rpm drive, get the biggest you can in that speed and budget. Based on the information given, you won't suffer by having a faster drive.

Andrew911tt · July 2nd, 2008, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epp_b

What laptop do you have?

dell E1505

core duo
15.4"
60GB 7200rpm

NooDle · July 2nd, 2008, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Get an external?

yup.

7200 rpm drives are a bit quicker but I dunno about heat (don't have a laptop)

do they still make "slower" ones though?

_HighVoltage_ · July 2nd, 2008, 09:40 AM

Do not get an external drive...unless you like losing all your data. I had one of those slim WD Passport drives, put all my music on it. One day it slipped from a coffee table a foot of the ground and fell on hard surface. Dead.

I'm currently using the 5400 in my Dell and it sucks. Compared to the 7200 in my desktop it is a lot slower, especially when I try to copy files. How much do you care about battery life anyways? Just get a bigger battery. I'm going to change my POS 6 cell very soon.

Viper007Bond · July 2nd, 2008, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

Do not get an external drive...unless you like losing all your data. I had one of those slim WD Passport drives, put all my music on it. One day it slipped from a coffee table a foot of the ground and fell on hard surface. Dead.

Well it's rather stupid to not back up any important data, external drive or not. images/smilies/wink.gif

_HighVoltage_ · July 2nd, 2008, 11:05 AM

I do have the originals somewhere around. But that's a whole lotta ripping images/smilies/sad.gif

I knew hard drives are delicate machinery, but that was hardly a big drop. They are supposed to have drop sensors and some cushoning inside.

The Chad · July 2nd, 2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

I do have the originals somewhere around. But that's a whole lotta ripping images/smilies/sad.gif

I knew hard drives are delicate machinery, but that was hardly a big drop. They are supposed to have drop sensors and some cushoning inside.

The Sudden Motion Sensor you speak of is not built into the drive, from my understanding, but built elsewhere in the computer and then parks the HD head when it detects a drop. At least, that's how it's listed on my Mac's system properties.

July 1st, 2008, 12:41 AM	#1
epp_b n00b of the year Joined: Jun 23rd, 2006 Last Online: 05:41 AM Location: Canadaland :) Posts: 4,907 Car: 1995 Nissan 240SX Rep Power: 45	Need to upgrade my notebook's hard drive...should I get a 7200 RPM drive? I'm running out of space pretty quickly on my 80GB drive and I need to upgrade it pretty soon, so I figure might as well get something faster while I'm at it. I've never used a 7200RPM hard drive in a notebook and I'm concerned about heat. I currently have a 5400RPM drive in my HP Compaq nc8430, which runs between 32 and 37 degress Celsius pretty consistently, even under heavy load. Will a 7200RPM drive run a whole lot hotter? Is the risk worth the performance gain?

July 1st, 2008, 01:05 AM	#2
Hidden_Hunter D: Joined: Oct 7th, 2006 Last Online: 12:08 PM Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 20 Posts: 4,503 Car: '08 Honda Accord Euro Rep Power: 49	It will run probably slightly hotter and will more than likely reduce your battery life __________________ My car is dark grey not black!

July 1st, 2008, 01:10 AM	#3
The Chad Joined: Feb 22nd, 2005 Last Online: 04:21 AM Location: Northwest Ohio Age: 25 Posts: 504 Rep Power: 21	Heat is always a concern, but loss of battery life seems to be a much bigger issue. I think right now a 5200rpm drive is a good trade-off. Just my 2 cents though. __________________ Computer: 2.4GHz MacBook Pro, 4GB RAM Drobo: 1.7TB Usable iPod: 32GB iPod touch, 2nd Generation "- ... But don't dawdle. Get the car into top gear as quickly as is reasonable. Fifth gear, remember, is no good at all." -- Jeremy Clarkson

July 1st, 2008, 01:34 AM	#4
Viper007Bond Lazy Head Dude Joined: Sep 21st, 2003 Last Online: 10:01 AM Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 21,086 Car: Dodge Viper (I wish!) Rep Power: 237	Get an external? __________________ Fight back against the evil Quiky by +1'ing this post! There is no replacement for displacement. - Wolfgang Bernhard, Chief Operating Officer, Chrysler Group talking about the Dodge Viper SRT-10 ... I ask Herb Helbig, vehicle synthesis manager for SRT and a member of the original Team Viper development group since day one, if they'd ever thought of adding traction control. "It comes with two," he says, pointing at my feet. "Learn to use them." Got it. - Motor Trend on the 2006 Dodge Viper Coupe, November 2005

July 1st, 2008, 01:39 AM	#5
FATMOUSE Joined: Jun 30th, 2005 Last Online: 05:28 AM Location: NYC Posts: 3,090 Rep Power: 35	It will take more battery life, but considering that IO is the slowest part of a modern computer... I went with a 7.2krpm drive on my laptop. __________________ woohoo someone changed my sig

July 1st, 2008, 02:01 AM	#6
kyoru Joined: Oct 31st, 2007 Last Online: December 30th, 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 102 Car: G35 Sedan Rep Power: 9	it does not affect it that much __________________

July 1st, 2008, 09:01 AM	#12
Andrew911tt Joined: Feb 2nd, 2004 Last Online: 07:10 AM Location: San Diego Age: 23 Posts: 423 Car: 2008 MazdaSpeed3 GT Rep Power: 24	i am regretting getting a 7200rpm HDD my laptop gets really hot and sucks my battery life __________________ Nothing better than a Porsche except a better one!! 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

July 2nd, 2008, 09:40 AM	#17
_HighVoltage_ Joined: Aug 5th, 2006 Last Online: 12:50 PM Location: Bulgaria / Athens, WV Age: 21 Posts: 1,180 Car: 1998 VW Polo 1.0 Rep Power: 19	Do not get an external drive...unless you like losing all your data. I had one of those slim WD Passport drives, put all my music on it. One day it slipped from a coffee table a foot of the ground and fell on hard surface. Dead. I'm currently using the 5400 in my Dell and it sucks. Compared to the 7200 in my desktop it is a lot slower, especially when I try to copy files. How much do you care about battery life anyways? Just get a bigger battery. I'm going to change my POS 6 cell very soon.

July 2nd, 2008, 11:05 AM	#19
_HighVoltage_ Joined: Aug 5th, 2006 Last Online: 12:50 PM Location: Bulgaria / Athens, WV Age: 21 Posts: 1,180 Car: 1998 VW Polo 1.0 Rep Power: 19	I do have the originals somewhere around. But that's a whole lotta ripping I knew hard drives are delicate machinery, but that was hardly a big drop. They are supposed to have drop sensors and some cushoning inside.