m1330 - can't choose hard drive

Hi all,
I don't know if it just me being stupid....but I don't know what hard drive to choose.

160 gb (5400 rpm) or 160 gb (7200 rpm)?

Is it much difference between the drives, regarding noise/heat, weight, power consumption? I need battery life and mobility bad....sure the weight can't be much of a difference but I count every gram/ounce so...

I was set for the Sony SZ61XN/C (1.79 kg) but have switched to the m1330 (2.17kg - 9 cell)

Help!

/$

 

Insignificant noise, heat, weight and power consumption. If you are looking for every ounce of speed when opening files and programs, get the 7200 RPM disk. Otherwise, save your money and get the 5400 RPM. Everyone likes to brag about a 7200 RPM disk, but it does not make a huge difference.

 

Depends on the price, the configuration of other parts. You will surely feel the performance increase though.
So post some more specs so we can dudge better.

 

Ok, here's the specs
- T7500 (2,2 ghz)
- LED
- 8400GS
- 2GB ram
- Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth
- Wireless N
- Fingerprint Reader

9 cell or 6 cell, dunno yet...prob 9 cell.

/s

 

get the 6 cell, it's lighter and the life is sufficient for most uses. plus the 9 cell just looks funky.

 

I use a 5.400rpm drive and like it. Notebook used for light gaming (mostly online games, nope no WoW) and photoshop while stationary. Video, Navigation, Photoshop and Office stuff while mobile.
I rarely notice the drive working. Its quite, gets a bit warm but it is just that: warm. About bodytemperature i guess, probably slightly warmer after some gaming.
I don't regret getting the 5.400rpm drive and my recommendation would be:
Go for the 7.200 if you need to squeeze every little bit of performance out of the notebook. Otherwise go for the 5.400rpm if you can live with the compromise. I don't think the 7.200 is worth getting for the "nice to have" factor.
BTW, i hate that there is no option for a 200 or 250GB 5.400rpm drive in europe. a pitty.

The speed is sufficient, i decided to stick with the 5.400rpm cause of power issues (same reason to go for 2.0 instead of the 2.2GHz cpu), just because it is enough.
I have both, the 9 and 6 cell, i find myself using the 9cell battery more. But i actually never run it lower then 25% so i assume the 6cell would be enough. I just prefer the 9cell battery for the angle it gives me while typing.

If it is weight that concerns you, stick with the 6cell, cause there is a noticable difference between them. Can't give you numbers, but it feels way lighter with the 6cell.

 

Some 7200rpm drives are faster than others. Newer Hitachi Travelstars use vertical recording to pack more data into the same space, which also means they read more data for a certain amount of head motion. Since moving the heads takes time, these are some of the fastest 7200rpm laptop drives. I'm using a Hitachi 200GB Travelstar in my m1330 and it is clearly faster than the 5400rpm drive I bought the laptop with. Of course this only affects disk operations, not the whole experience.

Because Dell overcharges for hard drives (and RAM, etc), it is cheaper to buy the smallest configuration and then add the drive yourself.

The drive is also almost silent and fairly cool-running. I don't know about reliability yet.