Is a 5400rpm HDD really noticable?

in comparison to a 7200rpm HDD

 

Nope, unless you actually benchmark it. The larger size and buffer of a 5400 makes the performance almost similiar. Google up the two, I recall there being benchmarks/comparisons made.

 

thanks coriolis

 

Go to the Hardware section sticky.

 

Or read this thread and the associated links.

There are plenty more similar threads. This is just the most recent.

John

 

it is DEFINITELY noticeable to the human eye in certain applications
I am the first to say that upgrading a cpu to the next level or even the next next level is not noticeable at all
same with ram. upgrading from 1gb to 2gb will not get any better performance typing loading or anything thats considered regular use outside of gaming, rendering, editing or anything that requires expert knowledge.
hard drives when upgraded from 5400rpm to 7200rpm have a noticeable impact even under regular use

 

You can not simply compare the RPM's of a HD. Other things have a lot to do with the speed.

-The platter density. For example a 160GB 5400RPM HD, could quite possibly be faster than a 60GB 7200RPM HD. If your comparing HD's of a similar size, then the 7200RPM drive will be noticeably faster.

-Amount of cache. 2Mb's or 8Mb's.

-Interface. IDE or SATA.

If you will notice the speed difference or not, depends on what applications you’re running. If you’re copying large files back and forth etc, then a 7200RPM HD will be a good amount faster. If you’re just browsing the net, you will not notice a difference.

 

I use alot of music applications so for me a really fast hard drive is super handy. Everytime I load a different sample (sound), it has to load from the disc. Having the 7200rpm makes a huge difference. But in the end it depends what you want it for.

 

I came to understand the point you make here about RAM, figuring out that my 1 GB is plenty for me.

I may not even upgrade my 4200 RPM HDD, since it is under the right-hand palmrest, and warms up the area a little; a faster HDD, I am told, would be warmer. The 4200 seems fast enough for now. This warmth is considered by some a downside of the V6/VX1 chassis.

 

I notice that between my computer with a 7200 RPM HDD and a friend's similarly speced (even newer) notebook with a 5400 RPM HDD that mine loads most programs noticeably faster and definitely runs better in games.

 

More Faster Speed ^_^

 

to reiterate though, platter density DOES make a difference. if the 7200 is 120 and the 5400 is 160, then they will be the same speed (since the 7200 has to travel longer to get from bit to bit).

 

I know the platter density does make quite a difference, but are you sure that a 120GB 7200RPM drive would be the same speed as a 160GB 5400RPM drive? The platter of the 160GB drive would be about 33% more dense than the 120GB HD. Similarly, 7200RPM's is 33% faster than 5400RPM's. If anyone knows of any benchmarks for various notebook HD's please post.

 

Absolutely not correct. Rotor density makes a difference only when your drive is full and defragmented. Other then that the way that data is arranged (perpendicular vs non) and how many rotors exist makes somewhat of a difference. if you are comparing 100 to 120 to 160 there is practically no diff other then rpm. If what you just said was true then a 40gb 4200rpm drive would be twice as fast as a 160gb 7200rpm. Thats not the way it works.

 

not a scientific proof unless you just happen to clone yoru hdd onto your friends laptop. any number of soft factors can contribute to faster loads. spindle speed definitely will not contribute to "better" gaming