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    How much faster is a 500 GB 7200 RPM hard drive vs. a 320 GB 7200 RPM hard drive?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by JWBlue, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. JWBlue

    JWBlue Notebook Deity

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    I heard the size of the hard drive can increase speed.

    What percentage faster (i.e. 10% faster) will programs load on the 500 GB drive?
     
    JWBlue, Jul 9, 2009
    #1
  2. AppleUsr

    AppleUsr Notebook Deity

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    just be aware that alot of sites advertise that they have the 500gb 7200 rpm drive in stock when they dont have em. just dont be surprised if you get a backordered notice.

    I think that because the 500 gb 7200 drives are new they have a higher failure rate then the 320gb 7200. I have no proof just my theory.
     
    AppleUsr, Jul 9, 2009
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  3. Soviet Sunrise

    Soviet Sunrise Notebook Prophet

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    That used to be the case. Many vendors have a healthy supply of them now, and warehouses in central California have plenty of bare drives in stock.

    That's not a theory. That's a blind guess. Back in February when the 500 GB 7200.4's were released under the initial firmware, some users were reporting failures, especially when they put them in RAID, and some users weren't. I am typing on one of those first batch 7200.4's as we speak and so far it is running beautifully. Nevertheless, Seagate has revised the 7200.4 and all of the newly released drives are running just fine now.
     
    Soviet Sunrise, Jul 9, 2009
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  4. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Currently there is only one 500GB 7200RPM model out (Seagate) and althought in theory, it should be faster, real life tests show otherwise. If you have a 320GB 7200RPM drive (or even a 500GB 5400RPM drive), stick with what you have. If you are upgrading from say a 80 or 160GB drive, 320GB 7200RPM or 500GB 5400RPM might be a more cost effective solution.
     
    sgogeta4, Jul 9, 2009
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  5. 8hkl

    8hkl Newbie

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    All things being equal, the increased areal density on the platter of a larger capacity drive should result in faster transfer rates at a given RPM. However, as sgogeta4 wrote, the only way to do an apples to apples comparison is to do a head-to-head benchmark.
     
    8hkl, Jul 9, 2009
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  6. davidkneiber

    davidkneiber Notebook Consultant

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    no... thats not true....
    or at least nothing noticable...
    i think what they meant was that BIGGER hard drives are faster
    as in 3.5 in DESKTOP hard drives are faster than 2.5 in laptop hard drives...
    (just as if a 5400rpm 1.8in hard drive excisted then it would be slower than a 2.5in 5400 rpm hard drive)
     
    davidkneiber, Jul 15, 2009
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