which hdd

which of the following hdds would you pick:
western digital 120gb 5400rpm - 107,5 usd
seagate 120gb 5400rpm - 135,3 usd
seagate 80gb 7200rpm - 138,3 usd

for the following system:
core 2 duo T7200 (2Ghz)
2gb RAM
geforce go 7600
plus all the rest VBI el80 offers

1) is 7200rpm worth the price difference? I do not need much space, cos I have a 320gb external hdd, but is paying so much more for 40gb less really worth it? if the performance is really that better I wouldn't mind paying for it I just don't want to throw my money out the window.

2) if the answer is: go for the 5400rpm drive, which one? My external drive is western digital and I'm more than satisfied with it, also I've heard some good things about wd hdds for desktops. So how do they perform in notebooks? The first priority is reliability, followed by heating and loudness.

So what would you put into you system?

 

The 7200rpm will lead to faster Windows bootup times and load times of programs. It will not result in increased gaming performance. That being said, for most tasks, there is almost no difference in performance between an 80GB 7200rpm HD and a 120GB 5400rpm HD.

Of the two HDs, I'd get the Seagate due to its 5 year warranty and quietness.

 

Go for the 7200rpm drive. The only alternative 5400 speedwise (close but not there) are the 160gb drives.

 

Go for the faster drive

I run a 60GB 7200 for the same reason ... it's enough, I have a TB of usb storage.

 

I switched out the stock 100GB 5400RPM Fujitsu (now in an external enclosure) for a 100GB 7200RPM Seagate. Can't say that I notice any more noise or heat. If you've got more than enough external storage, you mind as well go for the faster hard drive.

 

Yeah, it's pretty much between the Seagates, having similar price ranges.

If you plan on downloading and installing numerous apps and games, then go for the 5400rpm HDD. Otherwise, the 7200rpm HDD is preferred.

 

If you don't plan buying an 500GB external HDD+enclosure for like $150, then go for a larger but slower internal HDD. Otherwise, go for a smaller but faster internal HDD.

 

thank you all. after browsing through this forum and others I've seen a lot of people claiming HDD can be a bootleneck of the system and that going with the 7200 rpm would be the right choice.

There's also a chance of buying a larger 7200 rpm HDD but than I would have to go with core 2 duo T5600. would you consider that to be a better option?

 

Well you can upgrade the disk much easier than the CPU. So go for the better CPU for the time beeing, and upgrade the disk yourself later.

 

I think you're right. I won't be able to upgrade the CPU much in this barebone anyway and it would be waste of money to do so, but I guess I'll have more to choose from in the HDD department when/if I decide I need a faster HDD in the future.

So we're back to options 1 and 2. there's almost a 30-dollar difference between the both 5400 rpm drives. 5year warranty for Seagate is just a dream here. Both drives come with 3 years of warranty. But if Seagate is more reliable and quieter I don't mind paying.

 

Definetely the Seagate. WD has not had much luck with her 2.5" drives (reliable but considerably slower)