Things to look for when buying a harddisk

Hi, I have a 120gb 2'5" harddisk for my laptop, but it is really not enough.

I was thinking of upgrading to a 200-250gb harddisk and I am really confused. There are a lot of different laptop harddisks and they all have different prices, I was just wondering what to look for when buying a harddisk?

And if you have any suggestions for a laptop harddisk, that will be great aswell.

Currently I am looking for a 7200rpm drive for my vostro 1500.

Thanks!

 

Firstly if storage and money isn't a concern go for an ssd.

Don't bother with a 7200rpm drive, they run too hot and suck too much power. The largest 7200rpm drive is 200gb, capable of 50mb/s transfer speeds. This same speed can however be reached by a 2 platter 320gb 5400rpm hard drive, so that is what I recommend!

the only advantage of a 7200rpm drive is its access time, although the difference compared with a 5400rpm hd is negligable.

 

SSD costs a lot may be even more tan your laptop

For HDD look at a good brand and some one who offers good warranty.Then look at size,rpm's doesn't matter much.

 

????
I thought they had 250 GB 7200RPM drives, and Seagate, Hitachi, and Fujitsu all have 320 GB 7200 RPM drives?

Yeah SSDs are the way to go if money isn't a concern.

 

Well, it sort of isn't within a reasonable harddisk cost.

But SSDs are currently grossly overpriced and I would never consider buying one before they find a way to lower the prices to a place that is near normal harddisks.

Edit: What is a 2 platter and how can you see if the harddisk is a 2 platter?

 

But the 250 GB 7200 RPM drive and the 320 GB drives DO exist right? Lol I'm not crazy am I?

I don't know who makes the 250 GB 7200RPM drive, but again, Seagate, Hitachi, and Fujitsu make the 320 GB 7200 RPM drives.

 

2 platters means data is stored on two rotating disks. Basically higher hd storage = higher platter density meaning data can be read and written quicker. The 320gb 5400rpm hds wud be equivalent in speed to the highest current capacity 200gb 7200rpm hds. You have three options:
Toshiba 320gb (MK3252GSX)
Western Digital (WD3200BEVT)
Samsung(HM320HI)
or even the seagate st9250827as (although this is 250gb)

A few have been released to oem manufacturers, however I am not aware of any that are available to consumers, although I am sure they will be released in a few months.

 

Ohh alright, thanks for that, never new!

 

Check this out : http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hard-disks/average-read-transfer-performance,675.html

Performances is real use depends on many things : access time, transfer rate, disk cache, head management IC, data per in², plate number and so on. Also, using AHCI can change performances.

Keep away from Toshiba and Fujistu drive is you want correct performances with 5400 rpm drive.

 

Yeah definitely, Fujitsu and Toshiba don't have the quality when compared to brands that set a higher standard.

 

So what brands do you recommend?

 

Well I know that WD makes quality drives, samsung and hitachi. I've heard from reliable people that seagate isn't really good quality, but I personally think Seagate is comparable to those listed above.

I've also heard that prices for fujitsu and toshiba drives are cheaper than those listed above.

 

Its personal preference. WD, Hitachi and Seagate all make good drives. However, their are certain features which distinguish them.
Hitachi generally sacrifices quietness for more performance.
Seagate sacrifices performance for quiet operation
WD's run cooler and a tad slower but they generally are more power efficient.

I personally use Hitachi, because I have had major problems with WD in the past. Seagate has also not been that good. I have had 4 replacement drives from them this year.

When considering to buy a drive, you want to:
1) have a high or low capacity depending on needs
2) for desktop always go with 7200 rpm or higher.
3) for mobile, you want a very power efficient drive, so look for high density 5400rpm drives
4) you want to be able to cool the drive in the given environment. Whether active or passive cooling gives different limits on capacity.
5) you want a drive which has a good capacity to cost ratio
6) you want the drive to be somewhat quiet.
7) never buy a openbox drive, cause if it fails after 90 days you are out of luck
8) make sure it has the same interface as your motherboard (sata or ata)

I hope this helps,

K-TRON

 

I've found Hitachi drives LOUD. That's one thing I hate about them. I'll have my laptop on at night, and it'll just click click click away keeping me up. I'm thinking of selling a couple of Hitachi 160 GB 5400 RPM drives and seeing what I can make from it. Maybe get a 250 GB 5400 RPM, maybe a 200 GB 7200 RPM.

 

It's early days, but my Fujitsu MHZ2320BH seems to be running fine and doesn't seem to be very power hungry. I wouldn't write off Fujitsu.

John