The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Should I upgrade the hard drive?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Chuck6780, Jul 20, 2007.

  1. Chuck6780

    Chuck6780 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I have been thinking about going with the 7400 RPM upgrade over the 160G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive, but I can't make up my mind. I have been searching for a similar thread but am having no luck. I keep getting lost in non-related threads...lol

    Anyone have an opinion on what kind of difference there is make between the two drives and if it's worth the upgrade?
     
    Chuck6780, Jul 20, 2007
    #1
  2. staffsMike

    staffsMike Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I went with the 200gb 7200rpm because it didnt cost me anything lol

    I think i would have anyway though as i want the closest thing to desktop power and 5400rpm hard drives have never quite seemed up to the task..although the new ones are supposed to be as good as 7200rpm ones for some reason.
     
    staffsMike, Jul 20, 2007
    #2
  3. Jagsfan61

    Jagsfan61 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    181
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    well everyone said that it isn't worth it for the money, you can upgrade it by yourself for a lot less.
     
    Jagsfan61, Jul 20, 2007
    #3
  4. Chuck6780

    Chuck6780 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    The dell site says it cost an extra $50 for an upgrade. I thought that sounded kind of cheap. If you think about it, I will need to buy the 5400 and the 7400 if I end up going after market.

    I am not a hardware person by no means...Is it that big of a performance boost?
     
    Chuck6780, Jul 20, 2007
    #4
  5. joseyu

    joseyu Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    181
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Not all true. The new 5400 rpm drives with perpendicular recording is almost as fast as the older 7200 rpm drives without perpendicular recording. However, there is a significant speed difference with the newer 7200rpm drives, such as the Seagate 160GB or Hitachi 200GB drives, because they both spin at 7200 rpm and also has perpendicular recording.

    Also, the power consumption and noise for the faster drives are almost the same as the 5400 rpm drives, so if you can get the upgrade for 50 bux or a little more, you should go for it.
     
    joseyu, Jul 20, 2007
    #5
  6. Chuck6780

    Chuck6780 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Thanks for the advice.
     
    Chuck6780, Jul 20, 2007
    #6
  7. chuck232

    chuck232 Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    274
    Messages:
    1,736
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    55
    If it's $50, it's definitely worth it - sequential transfer rates are 10-15% faster than a similar sized 5400RPM drive. Add on the fact that there's about a 0.5W difference in power consumption, it's well worth the money - if it's only $50. With hard drives these days, I'd take as fast as I can get for my budget.
     
    chuck232, Jul 20, 2007
    #7
  8. HCW

    HCW Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    246
    Messages:
    1,575
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I just installed my new seagate that I got from Dell for around $106 and it is superfast . Seagate 7000.2
     
    HCW, Jul 20, 2007
    #8
  9. Chuck6780

    Chuck6780 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Awesome, I am going to do that first thing on Monday morning then. I don't think the hard drive is $50, but it says to add an additional $50 for upgrade.
     
    Chuck6780, Jul 20, 2007
    #9
  10. chuck232

    chuck232 Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    274
    Messages:
    1,736
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Sorry, yeah that's what I meant - it's only $50 more. It's worth it. :)
     
    chuck232, Jul 20, 2007
    #10