The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    New Hard Drive Help

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by stephanh, Aug 10, 2011.

  1. stephanh

    stephanh Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Hey guys so I'm planning on replacing my optical drive on my laptop with a new hard drive. I already have a SSD as my primary drive so I wondering what you would suggest for the best size for the cheapest price. I have been looking around and I have found these two..

    Newegg.com - Western Digital Scorpio Black WD7500BPKT 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

    Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint M8 HN-M101MBB 1TB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

    would it make a difference to my laptops speed if i bought a slower drive with more space? Or would it have no effect since all start up programs are on the SSD? Thanks for the help! I'm open to any suggestions you guys have on other hard drives as well.
    Stephan
     
  2. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    3,905
    Messages:
    6,116
    Likes Received:
    89
    Trophy Points:
    216
    If you're only going to be putting movies and large archive like files on the drive, the sammy should be fine. (I've recently purchased one of these, though I haven't received it yet.)

    If you're going to put other programs or games, you might want to look to the scorpio black.
     
  3. thetoast

    thetoast Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    70
    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I currently have both, and the WD is not appreciably faster than the Samsung when used as a data drive. The Samsung has more than enough performance for this purpose, and I suspect it is more friendly to my battery life. See sig for which one is actually in my machine :)
     
  4. stephanh

    stephanh Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Alright thanks for the help guys, it's a hard choice 0.o
     
  5. kent1146

    kent1146 Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    2,354
    Messages:
    4,449
    Likes Received:
    476
    Trophy Points:
    151
    If you are already running your OS, applications, and games off of your SSD, then get the Samsung 5400rpm drive. It will be cheaper, run cooler, and draw less power.
     
  6. madmattd

    madmattd Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    367
    Messages:
    1,138
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    The WD 750GB is a Newegg shell-shocker TODAY. Might be worth a gander, $100 normally, probably going to be $60-70. Bet they sell fast though. 3PM Pacific Deal.
     
  7. stephanh

    stephanh Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    wow madmattd thanks for pointing that out. I'm gonna get the WD cause I'm gonna be running games and apps off of it so itll be alittle quicker.
     
  8. madmattd

    madmattd Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    367
    Messages:
    1,138
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Well I was a little off, but still $90 isn't bad for that drive at all.
     
  9. stephanh

    stephanh Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    16
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    haha yeah I already ordered it :p