Best 7200rpm / Hybrid Hard drive

Hi Guys,

My 500GB WD 7200rpm drive for my laptop is almost full and I'm looking to upgrade to a 1TB/2TB Hard drive. I've been looking at the Hitachi Travelstar 7K 1000 7200rpm drive mainly initally but is there anything faster out there with as much capacity or greater? I've also been looking at the Seagate Momentus XT 750GB (I don't really want that as I want 1TB as a minimum with the amount of games I have) and the new seagate SSHD... I've also heard about the 2TB monster Samsung M9T drive but is it faster than the 7K 1000?

Thanks for your help
Tom

 

The Hitachi is the best 1tb drive out there for laptops. The seagate hybrids don't give enough performance to justify their cost, and all the other HDD are 5400 rpm. The Hitachi can be had for around $70-$80 on sale, and I have yet to have any problems with either of the 2 i have. The 2tb M9T is only 5400 rpm. Some of the older seagate hybrids were ok, as they had more nand flash memory. The newer versions only have 4/8GB. If you are going to keep your ssd, the m9t may be a good choice as it's the only 2tb drive out for 2.5 in form factor (9.5mm and below)

 

My SSD is staying for sure.. I just want more hard drive space.. The 2TB looks tempting and I can easily afford it however, remember, I'm playing games of it so the 5400rpm speed puts me off.. I want more opinions but I'm definetly tempted towards the 7K1000 and the seagate 1TB SSHD... The only thing is the SSHD better? Its almost 20 quid more for me however if it has any significant advantages, I would definetly get it...

 

I've got 2 of the 1TB Travelstars, they are rock solid and silent. I'm very happy with them. However, had those 2TB Seagates been out at the time I would have gone for them.
If I were you I'd go for the Seagate and do some SSD caching with one of your SSDs or Msata is perfect if possible. Otherwise if your dead set on the Travelstars I'm contemplating about getting rid of mine and may be able to do you a deal.

 

Well the thing with SSD caching is that I do need all the 240GB on my SSD and have no spare cash for a mSATA caching SSD... Also I seriously doubt that I need 2TB's so it seems to be unecessary money spent to me.. It looks like its going to be the 7K 1000...

 

Any more opinions before I pull the trigger?

 

TomJGX, there is no such thing as too much storage space. Unless you have another empty 2.5" slot or will to carry external drives with you, it is wiser to get 2TB M9T.

 

Hey TomJGX. You could also take a look at the WD Black² dual drive. It has 120GB SSD and the performance of a 1TB WD Black drive. It is recommended for gaming laptops, video editing, graphics design etc. Here you can check out all the features and software it comes with: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1190

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Boogieman_WD

 

Are you a shill or a WD employee?

 

Hi octiceps. I'm an official WD representative. I've tried to update my signature to make it more visible, but couldn't for some reason. I'm here to help with whatever I can concerning storage, troubleshooting, product info etc. (not necessarily WD related )

 

Perhaps you could let us know if WD bringing a 2TB or bigger 2.5' drive to market anytime soon? So far it's Seagate, perhaps Hitachi on the horizon.. any WD ?

 

Ah OK, good to know. I believe your signature doesn't show up until you've met a minimum number of posts. BTW don't take what I say too seriously. Facetious is my middle name.

 

Yes affordable 2TB+ Scorpio Black Boogie PLZ.

 

Guys, we actually do have a 2TB 2.5" drive - the WD Green drive, which however is not recommended for laptops, because it is 15mm instead of 9.5mm which are the most common ones. But your request for a new 2TB 2.5" drive has been send to the marketing and development teams.

 

WD Green you say? Appreciate the suggestion, but what we need is speed!

 

Looks like a great option but way too expensive... If I spend money on this, I'll be left with nothing to buy a monitor.. Anyways, I already have an SSD so I think I'll skip this..

Well looks like I'm going to pull the trigger on the Hitachi... I need the best performance so no 5400rpm drives for me..

 

Hitachi is owned by WD so you fill their coffers either way.

 

Yeah those I've noticed you've had those 2TB Greens for some time but are too high for our laptops. While we're on the topic. Could you request 3+TB 2.5 HDD to the marketing team? By the time the wheels are in motion 2TB won't cut it. Might as well 1 up the competition if it's a possibility yeah?! :thumbsup:

 

Yep, that's right, they are not suitable for laptops because of the 15mm height. As for your request - it will be mentioned for sure.

 

Boogieman_WD, do I get it right that WD Black2 is an SSD+HDD+SATA-port-multiplier in a compact case?

 

It is an SSD (which is the top cover of the WD Black² and underneath is the NAND and controller board) + the HDD and there's a SATA bridge chip to allow the single SATA interface to communicate to both the SSD and HDD through the same partition mapping.

 

Just a thought, it would be nice if some company make an ODD bay with both mSATA and 2.5" slots and similar chip to make it work togteher... =) Not that I really believe WD would, but who knows... =\

 

I've deployed quite a few of the Hitachis that you're interested in, and would recommend them highly. Haven't had an issue or a RMA yet.

Obviously, YMMV.

Happy shopping.

 

Yup, just ordered it off amazon in the morning along with a new mouse pad (well its the same one as the old one which is just completely worn out).