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    What is the best option for upgrading hard drive?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by kogaht, Oct 27, 2009.

  1. kogaht

    kogaht Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi people,

    thanks for helping.

    I have a dell 1520 with 120gb and an external of 320gb attached to it for 99% of the time.

    For the 120gb, i have 3 partitions for it.
    1 for main windows and software
    2 for games
    3 for music

    with only 120gb my pc is running out of space.

    and i am hoping to upgrade my hard drive to 320gb or 500gb for my upgrade to window 7.

    here is what i am looking at:

    1. Seagate ST9320329AS 320GB 2.5" Hard Drive SATAII 5400rpm 8MB Cache - OEM - £40.50

    2. Samsung HM500JI 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive SATAII 5400rpm 8MB Cache - OEM - £56.95

    3. Western Digital WD5000BEVT 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive SATAII 5400rpm 8MB Cache - OEM Scorpio Blue - £60.43

    or otherwise if you guys have a better option please tell me.

    there are different brands with more expensive hd but with same specs. I was wondering if there would be much differences between them and the stability of them.

    one more thing, do i need a new driver for the new hd for the laptop to recognized the hd?
    many thanks.
     
    kogaht, Oct 27, 2009
    #1
  2. drummo

    drummo Notebook Guru

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    Hi kogaht,

    Of the 3 you mention, I would go for the WD which gets good reviews.

    Have you considered one of the 7200rpm drives such as the Scorpio Black WD320BEKT or WD320BJKT (with free fall sensor) rather than a 5400rpm drive?

    I would personally go for either of these as a first choice over the 5400rpm Seagate or Samsung, unless there is a significant price premium for the 7200rpm drives.

    As far as I know the laptop's OS should simply recognize the HD, at least mine always have.
     
    drummo, Oct 28, 2009
    #2
  3. ickibar123

    ickibar123 Notebook Consultant

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    The OS would detect the drive and install a driver automatically.

    I would also opt for a 7200RPM drive, as hard drives are a large bottleneck in computers. Hitachi, Seagate or Wester Digital makes 500GB versions now, the Hitachi being just released not long ago so maybe hard to find for a while.

    If you an afford it, get a X25-M SSD, however quite expensive still but the power reduction, performance and silence are awesome.
     
    ickibar123, Oct 28, 2009
    #3
  4. mtarm1

    mtarm1 Notebook Evangelist

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    defs go the WD i just bougth that exact one for my laptop to run windows 7 too... very good drive and they imo are the most reliable... i swear by WD now.
     
    mtarm1, Oct 28, 2009
    #4
  5. Big_Rich_UK

    Big_Rich_UK Notebook Enthusiast

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    In a lot of tests, the WD 500Gb 5400 drive matched or even outperformed 7200 drives like the Seagate Momentus.

    I'm tempted to swap my (nearly full) 320GB WD Blue drive for its 500Gb big brother.
     
    Big_Rich_UK, Oct 28, 2009
    #5