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    WOuld upgrading from 5400 rpm HD to 7200 rpm decrease battery life terribly?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by bball3212, Jan 9, 2010.

  1. bball3212

    bball3212 Notebook Consultant

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    I have a new Asus UL80VT and I was thinking of upgrading the stock 320 GB 5400 rpm to a 500 GB 7200 rpm Hard drive. I was wondering if I would lose a lot of battery life doing normal functions such as internet browsing and word processing. I am upgrading bcause I do download a lot.
     
    bball3212, Jan 9, 2010
    #1
  2. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    I wouldn't worry about it especially if you're considering the new Hitachi 7K500 TravelStar.

    Depending how old (model years old) your 320GB is, the newer 7200 RPM drives might even be more efficient than what you have currently. ;)

    If you need it, you need it - so, just get the best HD you can (the Hitachi) and the power situation will be what it is. I don't think it will be a deal breaker in any case.

    Cheers!
     
    tilleroftheearth, Jan 9, 2010
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  3. sean473

    sean473 Notebook Prophet

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    even if u upgrade , loss of battery life will be less than 10 mins...also if u get the latest 7200rpm drive , it might be more power efficient than an old 5400rpm drive... anyways loss of battery life is negligible.... get the hitachi 7k500 500Gb drive... it's the fastest mobile hard drive... worth every penny even if it is expensive... but if ur lucky , u can get it for $80 on offer sometimes....
     
    sean473, Jan 9, 2010
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  4. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    I'd say at the most extreme you'll lose 10-20 minutes.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Jan 9, 2010
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  5. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Quoted for truth.

    The Seagate 7200.4 is less power efficient and slower.
     
    Phil, Jan 9, 2010
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  6. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    stop speculating. the only way to tell is to look at the published numbers on the product spec sheets.

    laptop screens take such a high percentage of power and hard drives take such a low percentage that trying to optimize battery life by playing with anything other than screen brightness is a waste of time.

    You'd be better off getting a part time job at mcdonalds and spending your first paycheck on an extended battery.
     
    newsposter, Jan 9, 2010
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  7. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Products spec sheets are inaccurate when it comes to power consumption.

    Better look at real life measurements.

    [​IMG]

    http://techreport.com/articles.x/17010/13
     
    Phil, Jan 9, 2010
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  8. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    so you're talking what, a 10% power difference in a single component that itself accounts for what, 5% of the system power budget.

    Diminishing returns.
     
    newsposter, Jan 9, 2010
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  9. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    It depends, if you have a 10" netbook with an Atom CPU and a large battery, a hard drive can make 30 minutes difference in battery life.

    To some people that is important.
     
    Phil, Jan 9, 2010
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  10. msft907

    msft907 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Depends which 7200 HD you go with and which 5400 coming from. Might gain time depending on drives, though won't or shouldn't be much either way (gain or loss).
     
    msft907, Jan 9, 2010
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  11. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    sooo.. moral of the graphic posted get a intel SSD!!!
     
    yuio, Jan 9, 2010
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  12. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Actually the Intel SSD isn't the most power efficient.
     
    Phil, Jan 9, 2010
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  13. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    Yeah, the most power efficient SSD's are the Samsungs.
     
    tilleroftheearth, Jan 9, 2010
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