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    SATA HD controller d630 question

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by zwoerdkop, Sep 1, 2007.

  1. zwoerdkop

    zwoerdkop Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi all,

    As the HDD bay of the D630 is very easy to approach, I think about upgrading the HDD myself. But... does anybody know if the HDD controller is of the 1.5 Gbps or 3.0 Gbps type? Or is this a (stupid) chipset related question? Anyways, I could not find the answer on the Dell site nor on any other site.

    What I do know is that the Hitachi HM12HII is a 1.5 Gbps type, and is found in some D630 notebooks. And I do know that SATA controllers are downward compatible, but I am just wondering if a 3.0 Gbps HDD is a waste of money (and speed) or not.

    Your input is appreciated!

    Cheers,
    Axel
     
    zwoerdkop, Sep 1, 2007
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  2. cvx5832

    cvx5832 Notebook Evangelist

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    From what I have read, unless you are running RAID, you will be hard-pressed to saturate even the 1.5Gbps SATA interface. The platter/head subcomponent of the hard drive is still the "weakest" chain in in the link.

    If you absolutely want that absolute edge in performance, there's material out there that suggest that PMR (combined with a high capacity drive, ergo 160GB+) may give you a slight advantage because of the higher areal density, assuming you've already gone the route of a faster platter and the above-mentioned SATA interface.

    Paolo
     
    cvx5832, Sep 1, 2007
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