Where to buy SATA 7200RPM HDs

I was in Hongkong last week and bought a Thinkpad T60 in one of their local computer malls.

I wanted to upgrade the HD to 100GB 7200 RPM and use the original HD as my external drive. However, I realized that none of the computer stores in that mall was selling 7200RPM SATA HDs.

The shops I checked all told me that they are selling only PATA 7200RPM HDs. Actually the computer salesman didnt know that the T60 uses SATA and didn't realize that PATA notebook HDs doesnt fit in the T60.

So I'm curious, are 7200RPM SATA HDs already being sold elsewhere? Do all Core Duo notebooks use SATA HDs? Any idea on price for 80GB and 100GB 7200RPM SATA?

It was quite surprising cuz HK is a very high tech city and their computer malls usually stock alot of the latest gadgets.

Thanks!

 

Newegg and Pricewatch show some available; I'm sure you can find more with Froogle, or even just ask your local computer shop.

 

Hello! Here where I live, probably its not available cuz local computer shops don't even sell 7200RPM PATA HDs.

Its quite strange that all shops I asked in Hongkong during my visit weren't selling 7200RPM SATA HDs.

Oh well, I guess I will just need to wait for awhile..

Thanks, I'll try out the links you suggested

 

Heh, where do you live?

It is true that SATAs weren't very popular before Duo Core came out, maybe the market in Hong Kong was still adjusting at the time. Surprising nevertheless.

 

I just did a search for the Hitachi Travelstar 7200rpm SATA drive and then looked for best price using Pricegrabber.com.

Incidentally, the Intel Duocore processors use the 945GM or PM chipset which supports SerialATA 150 hard drives.

It is mindboglling to me why some manufacturers are not using 7200rpm hard drives with this technology. I agree with the Fujitsu N6410 comments about a 4200rpm hard drive analagous to a 100hp BMW.

The only 2 7200rpm 100gb hard drives worth consideration are the Hitachi and the Seagate. You should be able to find one of those.

Then if you want to load the drivers you usually have to use a USB floppy on a new install of XP.

(Setup... push F6 to load raid or mass storage drives...insert floppy... etc..)

I will be posting once I get my USB floppy on the 14th, and have a chance to load the drivers, and install my OS.

:fujitsu: N6410: 2 7200rpm Hitachi travelstar SATA drives. XP PRO, 2 G RAM, T2300 duocore, ATA X1400/128/256, Sony Vegas 6.0 +DVD... (for video editing) all other **** removed!!! (especially the MCE version of XP, that came with the system)

For video editing tips go to videoguys.com, and see windows XP tweaks... software bundles, etc... very good source of information even though they are not real big on laptops.

 

Yes, quite surprising indeed as HK usually has all the latest stuff and sometimes even ahead of the US. Btw, I'm from the Philippines and computer products sold here are quite limited and overpriced (due to very weak consumer buying power) so I sometimes take a 2hr flight to HK to buy what I need.

Btw, just curious, is it true that PATA HD's cannot fit in newer Core Duo notebooks that use SATA HD's? What's the difference between those 2 HD types? Is it the connectors? Or the size?

I'm planning to buy from a US online store instead but worried that I might end up with an incompatible HD and shipping it back will be a very big hassle.

Thanks again!!

 

Though I know this sounds dumb, make sure that the HD you purchase is actually SATA. HD companies make multiple versions of the same drive under the same name, so sometimes it can be confusing!

But hey, check this out: You can check out the model numbers available for Hitachi drives by clicking this link. Their largest (edit: 7200RPM) SATA drive is 100GB, and its part number is 0A25016. If you perform searches with this part number, you'll come up with the right drive. For example, I went to pricegrabber.com and performed a search ONLY with "0A25016" and this is what I came up with: click link. Depending on where you live, the price can be as low as ~$180.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the tips guys! Now, I need to find out if there are 2.5" external casings for SATA HDs so I can still use my current HD when I upgrade.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the T60 comes with a hot-swapable drive bay. Again, if I'm not mistaken, the CD drive is in this bay, and you can swap it out with a hard-drive bay adapter. I think this bay is called the "Ultrabay Slim". Click here for more info. Even though it says the bay is for the Z series, I think it'll work for the T60 also. Either way, do your research and you'll find the right one. It's there... you just gotta find it.