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    Most power efficient drives?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Jengu, Apr 18, 2009.

  1. Jengu

    Jengu Notebook Guru

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    I have a Dell Vostro 1400 with the 80GB 5400RPM drive that it shipped with. I don't have any problems with its performance, but I need more space. And if I can get better battery life too, I'm ready to pay.

    I've read that 5400RPM drives usually consume less power than 7200RPM drives, but I noticed on newegg that some 7200RPM drives now come with 16MB of cache instead of the usual 8MB. Since more cache usually means less disk spinning, is it possible I'd actually be better off or break even power wise with the 7200RPM drives?

    Also, do two drives with the same RPM and cache size (assuming not SSD) consume the same amount of power?

    And finally, more space means cramming more into the 2.5" form factor means things are more densely packed which makes me think maybe a higher capacity drive would spin less and consume less power. Is that true?

    Basically I'm looking to get the best battery life and most space I can for under 150$. Best bet? ;)

    Thanks,

    Jengu
     
    Jengu, Apr 18, 2009
    #1
  2. chunlianghere

    chunlianghere Notebook Consultant

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    a little bit more wit 7200rpm, but not noticeable.
     
    chunlianghere, Apr 18, 2009
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  3. K-TRON

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

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    Your best bet is the Hitachi 5K500.B
    It is available on Newegg, for $90 with free shipping, and a $10 rebate, so it only costs $80
    As of now the Hitachi 5K500.B is the most power efficient 500gb 5400rpm drive, and it happens to be the fastest too, so you are in a win-win situation going with it.

    The 5K500.B has a 8mb buffer.
    There is not much of a performance difference at all between a 8mb and a 16mb buffer. Most manufacturers throw more cache on as a means for marketing.

    http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010134

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145257

    These mobile harddrives spin the same speed regardless of the cache on the drive. The cache stores files before and after read/write cycles, so the drive does not need to access as much.

    The 5K500.B is based on two 250gb platters, which is currently the highest data density you can get on a 5400rpm spindle for notebook drives

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Apr 18, 2009
    #3
  4. Fragilexx

    Fragilexx Get'cha head in the game

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    Does noise matter? The 7200 may also be a little noisier and a little warmer most likely. Again, both the increase in power consumption, noise and heat is not going to be that noticeable if at all - it depends upon the quality of the drives.

    There may be something about it on this site: http://www.storagereview.com
    It's the site I used to use to look for reviews, benchmarks etc. Not sure how well it's maintained nowadays?
     
    Fragilexx, Apr 18, 2009
    #4