Best 1tb drive as a secondary.

I see a couple of new 2.5 inch 1tb hdds in amazon nowadays.
The last time I checked (less than a year ago), 1tb internal hdds were slightly fatter than 2.5 inches and could pose installation problems.
I plan to use this drive with my odd sata 2.
So are there 1tb drives now that are standard 2.5 inches in dimensions and which is most recommended for performance and battery savings?

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

The Western Digital WD10JPVT has been out for a while and it's a 9.5mm, 5400rpm drive with good performance and reliability. But you might want to consider a 7200rpm, 750GB drive like the Scorpio Black WD7500BPKT - I didn't think there was much of a difference, but it is indeed faster - when doing more intensive reads or writes, the Scorpio Black is noticeably faster than the Scorpio Blue...

 

I have a new HGST 1TB Travelstar in my Sager as secondary storage. Less than $85 a couple of weeks ago. It is in my ODD caddy and works well.

 

^ I have this drive also with no problems.

 

Yep, 7K1000. The only 1TB 7200rpm so far.

 

If it's just for storage, I'd opt for a 5400RPM drive.

 

I will be using it for data, as a scratch disk, and as a page file disk for legacy programs. So I ideally want it at 7200.
For the 7k1000 users, is it normal 2.5 inch hdd dimensions, and how would you compare it's power draw to a 500gb 7200 and 5400 hdd?

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

Same as others, go with the Hitachi. Newegg has a deal on it right now:

Hitachi GST Travelstar 0S03563 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$89.99
Your Price: $74.99
With Promo Code
EMCYTZT3319

Deals expire at 11:59pm PT on Saturday, 04/20/13!

I just bought two for myself to replace my old Hitachi 7200 and WD 5400 500GB HDDs.

 

Ya just saw this on slickdeals and ordered one myself.

 

I probably get the Hitachi myself.
So if i were to partition this drive into three, how would I know which is the fastest partition (outer)?

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

The first partition you make on a 'raw/new' drive will be the fastest.

 

i also noticed that there is a sata 3 version of the 7k1000. could these drives actually saturate a sats 2 connection?

 

Saturate, no. But with everything in the system at the same 'level' of performance - there will be a much better match between all the different components - and to me that is usually translated into how 'fluid' the system/platform is during use (in light or full bore workloads).

 

Have you tested the two tiller? Any noticeable difference in heavy and normal workloads?

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

the first partition you create is the fastest

 

What if you expand the first and only partition the entire span of the hard drive? Or do you have to create two or more partitions?

 

My 'tests' don't mean much here, but I'll link you to an article that I feel supports what I've said - even though their conclusions are the opposite of what I would come to.

See:
Is A SATA 3Gb/s Platform Still Worth Upgrading With An SSD? : Are SSDs Still The Most Noticeable PC Upgrade?


SSD's have not significantly increased my productivity (even in storage sub-system heavy workloads) - but they have greatly decreased the time it takes me to maintain my systems (and to setup and configure them too). When I say 'my productivity', I mean of course in the workloads that put money in my pocket.



The link above doesn't take into consideration the fact that even 'normal' uses can tax a system beyond their 'real world workloads'... and that is exactly where having the SATA3 connection is far above a 'good enough' SATA2 one.


For example: when I'm updating (many) systems on MS Tuesday's each month - the SSD powered systems are completed much, much sooner than almost any mechanical HDD based platform I have. What this allows me to do on those systems is essentially queue up all the various updates needed (video drivers, Intel RST drivers, flash, java, browsers, programs, AIR, etc. and of course the MS updates themselves) and have them installed/completed on ONE reboot - all while doing a virus scan and running a defrag (yes: even on the SSD's). Doing that on the mechanical based platforms would make a couple of hours of updating into a whole day affair on EACH system. Very similar to running an SSD on a SATA2 port in my experience - yes; it's that noticeable vs. SATA3.

Sure, even the SATA2 based SSD platform would finish faster than an otherwise identical HDD based system - but it is like running an F1 based supercar on Costco gasoline (better to simply leave the car in the garage... indefinitely imo).

Sorry for the late reply... hope it helps.