Replacing Harddrive in 4 y.o. Acer laptop

Hey all!

I have a, by todays standards, I guess, old laptop: Acer TimelineX 4820TG

The original 500GB WD Blue drive still spins, but, I'm starting to mistrust it. And - if nothing else - it's slow.

So I'm looking for a slight upgrade. Of course an SSD would increase the speed noticably, but, I don't really want to spend very much as I'll get a better computer soon anyway, and I like the storage space.

Though, I'm not really sure where to start looking.. I'm relatively sure I'd like 7200 RPM for the speed increase; but how much does it affect battery usage? Are there fast 5400 RPM drives?

All-in-all I'm looking for some general pointers where to start.

Here in Sweden, assuming I want 500GB or more, I can get a WD Black WD5000BPKX for a reasonable price. But I can get the HGST Travelstar Z7K500 for less, Seagate Video ST500VT000 for even less and at cheapest Seagate Momentus ST500LM012.

Of course there's a variety of other drives to choose from, but those were from a fast overview.

Tl;dr:
Which laptop drives are the fastest? (excluding SSD's)
Which laptop drives are the most efficient?
Is there any good middle-ground?

Thanks a lot in advance!
Matt

 

Mattedatten, I strongly suggest getting a Seagate Laptop SSHD, preferably 1TB (there's also a slimmer 500GB version). 7200rpm Momentus XT 750GB SSHD is also an option, but it is no longer produced thus hard to source. Used all those drives, they're great and much better than any HDD for an OS drive.

 

Starlight5, thanks for the quick reply! I didn't even consider those, as I assumed them more expensive than they actually were when I checked them out.
Though, they are more expensive than just simple spinning discs, hm.

The Momentus XT has limited availability here as well. I can obtain one, but it's a previous return or whatever, i.e., not completely new, so I think I'll ignore that one. Some Toshiba's MQ-series are available, as well as the Seagates you mentioned; both "Laptop Thin" and "Laptop SSHD".

I'll have to read up a bit on how these hybrid drives work - are they compatible with every old mainboard, and how is disk space distributed, as the SSD is only 4-8GB?
Whichever way, thanks for the heads up, I'll look into these hybrid drives a bit!

EDIT:
So, after looking into this a bit; The hybrid drives use algorithms for storage of the most frequently used data on the SSD-part? The Seagate available is 8GB SSD/1TB HDD, with discs spinning at 5400 RPM. The boot speed would be increased, but everything else run on the OS (larger software, games, storage, whatever) - wouldn't it be loaded from the 5400 RPM drive without any gains from the SSD? I.e. When frequently using a variety of software, and rarely rebooting, the hybrid drives won't give any noticeable speedup. Or am I overthinking things?

 

Mattedatten, not only does OS boot faster, but most often used programs as well. You shouldn't expect SSD performance, but it is indeed much snappier, and dancing circles around traditional HDDs in terms of everyday comfort. Momentus XT is best in terms of compatibility and may be a bit faster, but there shouldn't be any problems with Laptop SSHDs either. I would advice against Toshiba and especially WD because of aggressive heads parking.

You should also consider buying a 256GB SSD now and a 1TB+ HDD later, which you can put inside optical drive bay or use as external, that is really the best option. For reference, buying traditional HDDs of less than 1TB size is absolutely pointless - they are outdated and slow, not worth the money paid for them.

 

I'll consider the drive. I mean, I see the appeal, no doubt. Though, I'm still not sure how much it would increase daily life for me - considering I'm not that friendly towards my laptop, e.g.; it's gone 10 and a half day without a full reboot, at this time.

The Seagate SSHD is priced at about $100 here (converting to USD), where a 1TB Seagate 5400 RPM drive is at $65 and a 1TB HGST 7200 RPM drive at $73.
So it's a bit more pricey.
Then again, it has the potential to be noticeably faster than any HDD.
I'll think this over, thanks!

As you've used the drives - did you have them in a mobile unit? Because they seem to be a bit more hungry for power than some other drives, according to some reviews.

If I wasn't on a tight budget currently, this old laptop wouldn't have been my main machine, heh
I can't more than agree, though; the optimal solution would be a 100GB+ SSD and a storage HDD.
Then again, this entire laptop is "outdated and slow", with its 1st gen i5.
Oh well.

Again, thanks for all the insights!

 

Mattedatten, I use (and service) only notebooks for the last 6 years, so yes, those SSHDs were used inside them. In common everyday tasks biggest problem of old and/or cheap systems is slow storage, not poor performance. Even putting an SSHD alongside with disabling pagefile improves user experience dramatically. Some time ago I upgraded Samsung Q35 (with midrange older Core 2 Duo, much slower than your i5) which owner wanted to keep despite my recommendations of newer machine, with 750GB Momentus XT alongside more RAM and USB ports, Win 8.1 in place of XP - and it feels fast and modern, snappier than newer notebooks with HDDs, owner completely satisfied. Moreover that, I still use 1TB Laptop SSHD myself.

Talking about rebooting your notebook, I believe it's OK not to reboot it for weeks as long as you don't use sleep/hibernation, i.e. it's sitting on the desk always on. Otherwise, you should reboot once in a while.

 

Starlight5, thanks for all the help and replies!
Now I know what I should be looking for quite a bit more, at least.
It's very appreciated!

 

I believe hybrid drives are a waste of money and much less dependable than just an HDD or SSD is by themselves. Yes, I too have used them (briefly) in my mobile systems, but they did not increase the performance of my storage subsystems one iota above my similarly optimized HDD setups back then.

The HGST Travelstar Z7K500 drive you're considering is the drive that is in the good middle ground, ime.

Optimal setup is necessary for any drive (even an SSD), but especially for a HDD based platform.

Before any optimization of the storage subsystem is considered, the O/S needs to be current (Win8.1x64Pro) and the RAM should be maxed out (16GB or higher recommended).

Given these facts above, I would suggest you do not do any upgrades or side grades to this current system and just use it until you buy your new platform.

I do highly recommend you do regular backups of your data though. If you do not have an external drive to use for such backups, it would be wise to buy that instead of another system drive today. Even with the new system; you'll be using it daily/weekly/monthly anyways.

To fully optimize an HDD for O/S use you need to 'short stroke' it.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...tachi-7k500-benchmark-setup-specifics.442289/


If you are running the latest version of Windows (8.1x64Pro) on your system and you have maxed out the RAM and you then properly setup and optimize a new 7200RPM HDD, the cost may be worthwhile.

But simply buying a new storage component (even an SSD) without the O/S support and performance multiplying effects of maxed out RAM - you're simply wasting money if you're chasing after real world performance.

With SSHD's? You're simply trading your dollars for some small additional 'snap' in very specific scenarios. But also less reliability, ime. Definitely a waste of time and money from my point of view.

The TravelStar line of HDD's have been the best mechanical drives I have ever used and/or recommended to others. Buying anything else (if you have to buy a HDD...) is just not in my DNA. They are the most balanced when performance, power efficiency, noise levels and price are concerned. Nothing comes close (when comparing same gen products) in real world use.


See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/hitachi-hts725050a9a364-aka-7k500-benchmarks.441673/

Seagate is the last HDD company I would (ever) trust my data to again.

 

Thanks for an in-depth reply!
Now lets see here.

Everyone seem to have different experiences here. I've not done much hardware exchanges; but most - if not all - drives I've placed in different external cases as well as the drive in my current machine, have been WD; and I can't say I've had very unexpected crashes.
That said, I'm not against moving away from WD.

This I've seen mentioned in other places as well; so I'll continue reading up on the subject for a bit. In my case - using the laptop for a large variety of tasks - I'm not sure I would gain much from the SSHD, but neither am I sure there are much gains to be had.

I've maxed out the RAM afaik, which sits as 8GB. That was a noticeable increase from the default 4GB. I'm running Win 7 64bit, and probably won't use the free Win 10 upgrade in the first case, as I'm not sure of compatibility with this generation of switchable graphics and whatnot.

Why am I wanting to change the drive then? It all rolls back to that the current drive is slow, but I'm also not sure how much longer I trust it. I cap the read/write capability at times, sometimes when not expected. So that's why I'm looking into a replacement.

Currently I'm choosing between these (750GB-1TB and either 7200RPM or SSHD):
HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HTS721010A9E630
WD Black WD7500BPKX
Seagate Laptop SSHD ST1000LM014
HGST Travelstar H2IK10003272SE

Where the two different Travelstars are both cheapest (HTS) and most expensive (H2IK) of the bunch.
Of course there are others, but these are those I've narrowed down.

 

tilleroftheearth, you should have also added that (in your opinion) SSDs do not increase performance, they increase snappiness. =p Speaking in your terms, it's snappiness that is required for most common tasks - browsing, media and office, that is. With HDD, you have a slow, unresponsive system, no way around it. You have a point that SSHD is waste of money, though - unless it's used as a system drive that is.

Mattedatten, I would have adviced cheap 256GB SSD without doubt if not for transition period between form-factors making its' reusability in your new notebook questionable. There is a point in buying 7K1000 because it's cheap, better than your current HDD and you can put it in external enclosure later to use it with new notebook. It may be the best way if you're planning to sell your Acer with current HDD right after getting a new notebook.

 

Yes, everyone has different drive experiences but Seagate is the brand most likely to fail, ime.

Both the 7K1000 and the WD Black would be the only decisions I would make (if pressed) - but, if you're just looking to increase snappiness - a clean O/S install on your current drive along with optimal short-stroking/partitioning may be all you need to keep happy until your new system is a reality.

Don't know what you mean by you 'can't trust it' - a drive either works or not.

You didn't mention your backup plan and how soon you plan to move to another system - both of those affect spending your time and money needlessly - especially if you are planning to clone your current system vs. doing a complete and proper O/S and Programs re-install.

Depending on your platform/cpu - you may still be able to upgrade to greater than 8GB RAM. Give us more details if you want an opinion on that.

A new drive and a clean install will give a performance boost. But sticking with Win7, 8GB RAM and a mechanical HDD that is not optimally configured is money that is spent for a very short period of very slightly 'faster'.

The only advantage of a new HDD (or SSD) is to be able to do a clean install on it without worrying about getting it running asap (you can simply keep switching the original drive with the new one until it is properly installed and contains the data you need... and has proven reliable for at least a month too).

Good luck.

That is not just an opinion - storage subsystems do not increase performance one iota of what a CPU+RAM combination offers in most workflows. Snappiness, yes. Performance? Raw, real and in the flesh that actually increases your productivity substantially? Haven't seen it.

The thing most people ignore is that with enough raw power in the CPU/Platform and enough RAM to unleash that latent performance; the storage subsystem plays an almost insignificant role.

Does an SSD increase snappiness? Yes. But RAM is still superior and Windows 8.1 x64 Pro and higher use it better and better all the time.

The whole platform needs to be considered, optimized and balanced. The storage subsystem is the least important building block; it is meant to store data and code, not run it (it can't even if a user wants to; code is run always on the CPU + RAM). Note too that an old, slow HDD vs. an SSD is not what I'm comparing.

Give both the (current gen) HDD and the SSD the benefits of a fully optimized and balanced platform and the storage subsystem differences become almost unnoticeable for most consumer tasks.

Will people notice the snap? Sure. But the difference between an HDD and an SSD is around 3 to 5+ times greater for an SSD in the tasks that emphasize and rely on the storage component. But when comparing a 5400 RPM HDD to a 7200RPM HDD? Maximum around 60% better and that is why I say to not spend time or money when a new system is expected soon.

Buying an SSD now would also be an idea if it was planned to be reused - but a 'cheap 256GB' model is the last thing to put into a current platform...

 

tilleroftheearth, now that you mention productivity, you won't argue that in common home/office usage pattern, (reasonably) older/weaker machine with SSD simply rapes the **** out of whatever monster laptop you can imagine, productivity-wise - will you?

It's productivity that matters in the end, and this is where OP's notebook fails to satisfy owner. The only way to fix it is by replacing the HDD with SSHD or SSD, replacing with faster HDD being a cheap measure to make it less unbearable.

 

Huh, that's a lot of info, thanks, both of you!

Maybe a clean reinstall on this drive can reattain some "snappiness" into this computer. That's a valid thought. To be noted, I hadn't heard the term "snappy" before starting to ask around about harddrives - so I just have some assumptions on what you mean by it.

With trusting it - I... Hm. You got me there. I want to think it more often caps out at loading with the HDD-light flashing than it did before - i.e., it's even slower. Then again, it has never been re-formatted. The computer has only been restored to factory settings a few times.

For backup, I manually backup my most important files on two different harddrives (one LAN storage-server, one external harddrive) at different points. So any loss would be minimal. But I like having storage directly on the laptop as well, which is why I don't really consider a SSD.

Double-checked, I'm pretty sure 8GB is the max, sadly.
Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG
Motherboard: Acer JM41_CP
CPU: Intel i5 480M

Well, if the RAM is maxed out, there's not much else I can easily upgrade. A last stretch is replacing the HDD.

This is not a replacement I will do tomorrow. This thread was more to gain a general idea for learning how to pick a good harddrive, and to gain an overlook of what's out there and relevant.

I have not performed many steps towards optimizing this computer - rather the opposite - I'm everything but careful about this machine. Any measures to increase performance are done sporadically.

Thanks for all the information, both of you; it's given good answers to the original question!