HDD: size or speed?

Well, I'm ordering a laptop (based on the M570RU from Clevo, aka Sager NP 5790).
The site where I'm going to order from, has 3 options:
250 GB 5400 rpm (included in price)
160 GB 7200 rpm (+€32/$43,6224/£21,6256)
200 GB 7200 rpm (+€92/$125,4144/£62,1736)

Question is: which one would you take?
It comes down to a rather personal opinion, I know that.
I also know that the speed is only noticable at loading stuff, and when doing AV-encoding and the like . However, it happens to be so that I buy a lot of DVDs, and I always make a copy off the disc. Hence, a fast HD would be benefitial. Problem is, I also need a lot of space (for Vista Ultimate, for Office, for installing games, but also for keeping the video-files).
The 160 GB isn't really an option, since both other drives are bigger.
It's between the 200 GB and the 250 GB.
Atm, I have a laptop with a 120 GB HD (4200 rpm), and that one is pretty full
So, which drive would you take? Argumentations are always welcome

 

Personally I would take the 200GB 7200RPM, unless price is a huge concern, then I would get the 250GB 5400RPM. The 160GB 7200RPM is basically a waste of money though, as it performs similarly to the 250GB 5400RPM, but with considerably less space.

 

Money isn't an issue (not these, in comparison, small amounts anyway )

 

Personally, I would go for the size. I am always needing the space. The higher data density almost compensates for the lower rpm to give very good transfer rates although 7200rpm will always win on access time because of the shorter wait for specific data to come to the head. However, this will be less of an issue when you are streaming data.

You will find HD Tune results for both 200GB 7200 and 250GB 5400 in other threads in this forum.

5400rpm also inherently uses a little less power and therefore creates a little less heat.

John

 

good point
heat might be an issue, since I'm not planning on using a notebook cooler

 

The heat difference on the latest generation of drives is essentially negligible. I wouldn't let that sway your decision.


(Though I would definitely recommend getting a notebook cooler just for the health of your notebook overall).

 

I don't know? But my thoughts are burning DVD's is not really a real time app so I would consider a higher storage lower speed. Unless you watch your computer with a stopwatch how will you know? I don't know but 12 minutes vs fifteen minutes don't matter to me. Because I don't watch!

 

Have you considered getting an external hard drive for your video storage? That would be cheaper and faster and bigger.

 

Yes, well, I forgot to mention that
External HDD isn't really an option I'm afraid. The laptop can't really have any external devices. Gf would start nagging

 

Then I would probably go with the 250GB 5400RPM. If you rip a lot of DVD's, you'll appreciate the space.

 

What would it cost to upgrade the GF?

 

The GF???

 

The girl freind, the bird?

 

hehe
she's priceless, so there's no upgrading her I'm afraid

 

Depends on useage - but if it's all about performance ofcourse you are going to want hd's with very low access times/high read rates.

 

160 GB 7200 rpm (+€32/$43,6224/£21,6256)

That's what I would take (out of those options). I only have an 80GB harddrive in my current notebook and I really don't use that much. So the extra space for me wouldn't be a problem. So I'd go for speed and the size that works for me. If you think you need a larger hard drive and money isn't a problem, go for the bigger 7200 rpm hard drive.
Keep in mind that you could just buy a smaller 7200 rpm HDD, and buy a slower but larger external HDD for storage.