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    Looking for 320+ GB laptop drive that runs cool

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by dpilot83, Nov 29, 2010.

  1. dpilot83

    dpilot83 Notebook Consultant

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    As the title suggests, I'm looking for a cool running 320+ GB hard drive for my XPS M1330. The 1330 runs pretty hot anyways, so I'd take it running cool over the speed. I'm not interested in SSD or hybrids. I just really want a reliable drive that's reasonably priced. Any suggestions? Thanks.
     
  2. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Do you care about performance at all? Cooler drives tend to spin slower. I have a WD 320 GB Scorpio Blue, the hottest I've seen it get with 23.5C ambient room temperature is 29C during max load. Course nothing scientific just pure observation with HWMonitor

    Edit: It is in a Dell Inspiron E1405, which has a HDD door, not integrated into the Dell chassis like many of the older style Dell models.
     
  3. dpilot83

    dpilot83 Notebook Consultant

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    I guess I do care about performance to a small degree, but not at the expense of reliability. I do not ever use the computer for gaming and very rarely for any type of graphical work. Mostly spreadsheets (not complex), other office documents and internet browsing. Very occasionally I'll watch a movie on it. Most intensive application is probably Quickbooks Pro 2011. The current drive is a 160 GB 7200 RPM drive. As long as it doesn't generate more heat than this drive then I'll be fine. I was looking at a WD Black 500 GB 7200 RPM drive on newegg and many of the reviews said that it ran very hot which lead me to this question. Many of the other drives available had poor reviews so I wasn't sure where to turn. Thanks.
     
  4. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    I have a Scorpio Black 320 GB as well. I can tell you it runs alot hotter than my Scorpio Blue which can be expected comparing a 5400 rpm vs a 7200 rpm notebook drive.

    As for reliability, anything with moving parts is bound to fail, even WD isn't immune against this. The best bet is to back up your data, turn off your laptop when it's not in use, and don't shake your hard drive when it is reading/writing data.
     
  5. User Retired 2

    User Retired 2 Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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  6. dpilot83

    dpilot83 Notebook Consultant

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    Hmmm. Oh boy. Looks like I need to avoid advanced format drives as well since I use XP as well and Windows 7 on the same drive. Now the decision gets even more complicated. Thanks for the suggestions so far as well as the links guys.
     
  7. dpilot83

    dpilot83 Notebook Consultant

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    Well, I went ahead and went with the 500 GB WD Black. My current drive is a 7200 RPM drive and I was just afraid that it would be warmer than that one, but hopefully it will be about the same. If it's about the same, I can handle it. I don't even know what brand my current drive is but it's a 160 GB one. I guess if it doesn't work out I can switch over to a Blue model and maybe use the Black in an external enclosure or something for extra storage. Thanks again everyone.
     
  8. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    It's all good. Good luck with the new WD drive :)