7200rpm HD uses more power than 5400rpm

Hello,

quick question : does a 7200rpm HD use more power than a 5400rpm model ? Is it massive (like battery life reduced by 20%) ? I'll use my MacBookPro for photo editing, so fairly intensive on hard drive usage.

Thanks !

 

I'm not sure why Western Digital lists the same current draw for their 7200 and 5400 rpm models but the difference is almost nothing. A hard drive uses 1W at idle and 2-3W at load. I know my laptop uses 16W idle after undervolting and whatnot, stock it was over 30W. With a hard drive versus no hard drive, this would change the average battery life some 5% on an undervolted system. You would likely see a 1-2% difference, if that, in battery runtimes.

Data for WD's 7200rpm and 5400rpm drives:
WD Scorpio Black 320 GB SATA Hard Drives ( WD3200BJKT )
WD Scorpio Blue 320 GB SATA Hard Drives ( WD3200BEVT )

 

Mine uses ~10-12W idle. It's C2D with integrated graphics. So if you got a ULV laptop or a netbook, the figures add up more.

 

it depends from model to model but if u get a proper one like a 7K500 , it should use less.. anyways , it doesn't matter much how much power a HDD uses.. a processor or screen uses much more easily.

 

It really depends on what model you get. For example: Hitachi 7K500 is quite power efficient for a 7200rpm drive and consumes less than some 5400rpm drives.

Here's an overview of popular hard drives:
Charts, benchmarks 2009 2.5" Mobile Hard Drive Charts, Streaming Read Operations

Unfortunately manufacturers data are often unreliable. For example: WD Scorpio Black can draw 3.2 watt while WD says 2.5 watt
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/...ve-charts/Streaming-Read-Operations,1126.html

Buit it gets more complex, because the 7200rpm is quicker, more work can be done is less time.

You'll finish your work quicker with a 7200rpm hard drive, so the little extra power consumption doesn't matter.

I'd recommend getting the Hitachi 7K500. It's a good mix of performance, power efficiency and relatively quiet.

 

This is true but there are even more variations then these too. In general through, it is unnoticeable with a few percentage points more draw against a fully idle laptop (and even less under load). 2.5" hard drives are very quiet also so noise isn't much of a deciding factor either. I say go 7200 for any laptop today - models may vary.

 

Thanks guys. I think I'm sold. This is to design my MacBookPro 15" and I'll definitely take the 500GB 7200rpm HD.

 

Do you know what brand Apple currently uses?

If it's not Hitachi I would recommend doing the upgrade yourself.