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    Hard drive Upgrade: Worth it?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Newb888, Aug 26, 2007.

  1. Newb888

    Newb888 Newbie

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    My 4800 rpm Toshiba 60GB hard drive is freaken slow. It is in my Inspiron 1150. Is it worth it to upgrade? Is there a substantial performance gain in upgrading now and what about heat and temperature? The laptop can get quite hot sometimes. Me thinks adding a bigger and faster drive will make this even more toasty for the laptop. But then again, I haven't kept up with the advances.

    Thanks
     
    Newb888, Aug 26, 2007
    #1
  2. Agent CoolBlue

    Agent CoolBlue Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    A bigger and faster hard drive doesn't necessarily mean higher temperatures. I would definitely recommend a new hard drive that is either 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM.

    As for your heat issue, trying cleaning out your fans.

    Refer to Chaz's thread on the matter in the Dummy Articles section.
     
    Agent CoolBlue, Aug 26, 2007
    #2
  3. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    You can get a good impression of 2.5" HDD power demands from the chart here.

    New models of HDD tend to be less power-hungry than the old ones, while giving better performance.

    Just check whether your existing HDD is IDE/PATA or SATA before going shopping. The replacement will need to be of the same type.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Aug 26, 2007
    #3
  4. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Hard drive is usually the biggest reason laptops are slower. A new faster drive will make it seem like a new machine.
     
    ZaZ, Aug 27, 2007
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  5. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    How much RAM do you have in your laptop? A low amount of RAM is a performance bottlneck too although I'd do a hard drive upgrade first and foremost.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Aug 27, 2007
    #5