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    Inspiron 600m Hard Drive upgrade.. Please suggest

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by 9bluebane, Jul 25, 2009.

  1. 9bluebane

    9bluebane Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello,

    I have a 2005 (December) Inspiron 600m with 80GB HDD. I want to upgrade my HDD as I don't have enough space to run multiple OS. Could anyone please suggest me brands and models of hard drives (> 80 GB) that are compatible with Inspiron 600m.

    Thanks in advance.

    - Blue
     
    9bluebane, Jul 25, 2009
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  2. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Samsung HM160HC would be my pick. Fast, quiet and cheap.
     
    Phil, Jul 25, 2009
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  3. 9bluebane

    9bluebane Notebook Enthusiast

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    Phil, thanks for the response. Could you recommend any good HDD >= 250 GB compatible with 600M? Thanks.

    - Blue
     
    9bluebane, Jul 25, 2009
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  4. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    The only model is WD3200BEVE. Newegg has it.
     
    Phil, Jul 25, 2009
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  5. K-TRON

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

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    The only three worthwhile drives are the HM160HC, HM080GC and the WD3200BEVE.

    In the 250gb and larger category, you only have two options, the WD2500BEVE and the WD3200BEVE. The 320gb WD3200BEVE is a bit more expensive but it is faster than the WD2500BEVE. The WD2500BEVE is based on dual 125gb platters, meanwhile the WD3200BEVE is based on dual 160gb platters. The higher data density will yield about a 10% performance increase.

    Keep in mind the WD3200BEVE, HM160HC and the HM080GC are all tied for the fastest PATA notebook harddrive. All three are based on 160gb data density platters.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Jul 25, 2009
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  6. 9bluebane

    9bluebane Notebook Enthusiast

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    nice summary.. thanks man! so, if price is NOT a constraint, which one do you recommend? HM160HC vs WD3200BEVE? Is WD3200BEVE as reliable and as fast as HM160HC?

    Thanks for your suggestions K-TRON & Phil
     
    9bluebane, Jul 26, 2009
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  7. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I'd take the HM160HC. Although I don't have data I'm pretty sure it's more quiet, cooler and better for battery life.
     
    Phil, Jul 26, 2009
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  8. 9bluebane

    9bluebane Notebook Enthusiast

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    Phil.. based on other reviews (amazon.com, newegg), I am also slightly Pro-HM160HC... but just wanna hear K-TRON's suggestion before pulling the trigger...

    Thanks Phil for your suggestions.. repped! :)
     
    9bluebane, Jul 26, 2009
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  9. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Well all I can tell is since I put it in an old Asus laptop it's getting over 4 hours of battery life. I never got that before.
     
    Phil, Jul 26, 2009
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  10. 9bluebane

    9bluebane Notebook Enthusiast

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    @K-TRON: Thank you sir for your suggestions... repped! :)

    @Phil: I am about to pull the trigger on HM160HC.. Thanks once again!
     
    9bluebane, Jul 27, 2009
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  11. K-TRON

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

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    I would stick with the HM160HC. I have had a very good experience with the drive. I have not heard of many reviews of the WD3200BEVE, as its a pretty expensive drive, and I doubt most of the older laptops will see 320gb in the BIOS.

    The HM160HC and the WD3200BEVE will perform the same, however the Samsung will be quieter, (since it only has one platter) and it will yield better battery life (it takes less current to keep one disc rotating at a constant speed than a two platter solution)

    The only reason to get the WD3200BEVE is to get that capacity. Other than that its a bit too expensive to consider when the samsung drive can be had for ~$50

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Jul 27, 2009
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  12. contactstevew

    contactstevew Newbie

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    So I am in the same boat and I would like to upgrade the existing 60GB HD in my Dell Inspiron 600M. Ultimately I purchased the WD3200BEVE because of the larger capacity and because on Western Digital WD3200BEVE Scorpio Blue 3200BEVE - Hard drive - 320 GB - internal - 2.5" - ATA-100 - 5400 rpm - buffer: 8 MB Reviews - PriceSpider someone posted that they upgraded their Inspiron 600M to this hard drive without issues.

    Well I have the hard drive and I am using Amazon.com: CMS Data Transfer Kit For Notebook Hard Drives DTK-25U2 (Silver/Grey): Electronics to transfer the contents of my existing drive to my new drive.

    Well I have now learned that the Bios in the Inspiron 600M does not support internal hard drives larger than 140GB. In XP & via USB, the Western Digital is correctly recognized as 320GB. However when I try to boot from it, the Bios cannot find any bootable media and only sees the HD as 137 GB.

    Can anyone help me so that I can get my Inspiron to boot off the Western Digital once all the contents are transferred from my existing 60 GB drive? This has obviously been done by others but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do it.

    Thanks in advance
    Steve
     
    contactstevew, May 10, 2010
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  13. florisz

    florisz Newbie

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    @Steve
    Can't you split up the harddrive in different partitions of max 140Gb?

    I also have an 600m.
    Bought it in 2005(got a new battery from Dell 2 years ago, because of fire hazard). Still making 4hours on battery. I chose for the 1440x900 screen back then.(most 14+" laptop still don't get this)
    Upgraded 1 Dimm to 1GB which makes a total of 1,25GB Ram.

    I also want to upgrade mine. Beside another 1GB ram Dimm I'm also thinking of replacing the Harddrive.

    I would either go for the Samsung or a 64Gb SSD. 64GB would be enough for me.(the only possible option I can find is the Transcend TS64GSSD25-M 64GB.

    What would you or suggest to me?

    Thanks in advance!

    Florisz
     
    florisz, Sep 28, 2010
    #13