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    Best 7200rpm Hard drive for around 100 bucks

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008.

  1. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    Hello I am looking to upgrade my hard drive to a 7200 rpm drive for my Vostro 1500. I was looking into something in the 120-160 GB range. Are there any suggestions? Im looking to spend around 100 bucks, give or take.
     
    MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008
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  2. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Greg, Sep 9, 2008
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  3. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    WD1600BEKT, ST9160421AS(G) and HTS723216L9A360....
     
    Andy, Sep 9, 2008
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  4. nizzy1115

    nizzy1115 Notebook Prophet

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    I think it would be better to get the 5400rpm 320gb hard drive which can be had for $85 as it is just as fast as that 160gb 7200 drive and has 2x the storage.
     
    nizzy1115, Sep 9, 2008
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  5. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    No, actually the 160GB 7200RPM drives are much newer, and hence much faster than any of the previous notebook HDDs.
     
    Andy, Sep 9, 2008
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  6. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    Storage isnt really an concern since i have an external hard drive. I am just looking for something that help open programs quicker and boots a little quicker.
     
    MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008
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  7. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008
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  8. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    You'll find reviews of the 320GB version if you search here, on Google or Tomshardware.
     
    Andy, Sep 9, 2008
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  9. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    the 320GB version is 170 bucks on newegg and thats more than I want to spend. But i did read the other thread comparing 3 different drives and they seem to like the 320GB 7200.3 drive.

    Has anyone shopped from PC Connection before? Are they pretty reliable and quick?
     
    MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008
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  10. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Any single platter 160GB 7200RPM drive will be faster in all aspects (and probably consume less power, be cooler and quieter) than a 320GB 5400 RPM drive and maybe even the 320GB 7200 RPM drive too.
     
    sgogeta4, Sep 9, 2008
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  11. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    The 160GB and 320GB version will be faster than the 250GB.

    Reviews for the 320GB are on Tom's hardware, but some members here have already shown that theirs was much faster than Tom's.
     
    Phil, Sep 9, 2008
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  12. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008
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  13. Phil

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    Good drive, but price should be lower.

    The Seagate 7200.3 250GB is $87. I'd go for the Seagate in that case.
     
    Phil, Sep 9, 2008
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  14. Phil

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  15. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    Wow i am going to pull the trigger on the one at Buy.com. Will it work for sure on my Vostro 1500?
     
    MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008
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  16. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    If it has a SATA interface it will work. I would think it does.
     
    Phil, Sep 9, 2008
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  17. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Wow, now I feel like I was ripped off getting my 160gb 7k320's for $90.
    thanks phil, *urrgh*

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Sep 9, 2008
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  18. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Yeah man it sucks. But on the goodside, your 7K320 may be faster.
     
    Phil, Sep 9, 2008
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  19. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Who knows, I will eventually test, but this week has been bad, two all nighters one on saturday, and one last night, have some homework to do than sleep. Maybe thursday night, send me a reminder.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Sep 9, 2008
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  20. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Take your time K-Tron. What do you plan on running?

    HDTune isn't very interesting imo.
     
    Phil, Sep 9, 2008
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  21. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    pcmark, hdtune, hdtach, and maye atto if i can find a download.
    I only use XP and Server 03, so vantage may not be very helpful, (I believe you or Andy mentioned that its innacurate when run on XP)

    I will do tests with single drive, than double drives in raid 0. I have hardware raid so the drives should perform well in raid 0.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Sep 9, 2008
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  22. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Bootup time decreased by ~23 seconds over my last generation 7200 drives from Hitachi. Go figure, these 7k320's must scale better in RAID 0
    Boot time is 43 seconds. Keep in mind the Bios takes 28 seconds to load, so after the bios loads xp is fully loaded ln 15 seconds.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Sep 9, 2008
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  23. sreesub

    sreesub Notebook Consultant

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    sreesub, Sep 9, 2008
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  24. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    ^^They arent selling them. It was probably a price error or something of that nature.
     
    MXandSXracer21, Sep 9, 2008
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  25. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    swarmer, Sep 9, 2008
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  26. Phil

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    Phil, Sep 10, 2008
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  27. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Phil, I installed both 7k320's in raid 0 last night, and they are whisper quiet. I cant hear them at all. The harddrive caged has shock absorbers on it, and their is no vibration coming at all from the drive. Its slightly quieter than my 7k200 array, but that not really what matters to me. The extra speed matters ;)

    I didnt get to sleep last night from doing homework, so probably wont get results in for a while. The drive is mighty fast, is all I can say so far


    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Sep 10, 2008
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  28. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Yeah it's interesting, the first 7K320s seemed to be really noisy and have lots of vibrations. But recently more and more people are saying they are very quiet.
     
    Phil, Sep 10, 2008
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  29. Harper2.0

    Harper2.0 Back from the dead?

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  30. Andy

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    Andy, Sep 10, 2008
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  31. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Wow! That Seagate is cheaper than most 320GB 5400RPM!! I did read about the 7200.4 from Seagate... (new 500GB 7200RPM drive coming soon, it's in their press release).
     
    sgogeta4, Sep 10, 2008
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  32. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Seagate manufacturers all of their mobile harddrives in their China plant, which is why they are alwys substantially cheaper. The place of manufatcuring is important to me, which is why I buy from Hitachi, cause I know they design their harddrives in USA, Korea and Japan and manufacture them only in Thailand. The reliability of a hitachi drive is always worth the extra money to me.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Sep 10, 2008
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  33. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    So whats the verdict on performance...160 vs 250 vs 320 Gb 7200 rpm? What is the best deal out there for a 7200 rpm hard drive?
     
    MXandSXracer21, Sep 16, 2008
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  34. Phil

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    Does not matter much. In HDtune the 250GB was faster, in PCMark the 320GB was faster.

    In most regions Seagate 7200.3 is cheapest.

    I believe it was $87 in US for the 320GB. Not sure where though.
     
    Phil, Sep 16, 2008
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  35. MXandSXracer21

    MXandSXracer21 Notebook Consultant

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    Does anyone know where to get the best deal on either the 7200.3 350GB or 7200.3 320GB?
     
    MXandSXracer21, Sep 16, 2008
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  36. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    Checkout all the retailers here....
     
    Andy, Sep 16, 2008
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  37. Phil

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    Phil, Sep 16, 2008
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