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    Which is the better upgrade?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Peon, Aug 13, 2009.

  1. Peon

    Peon Notebook Virtuoso

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    1) Going from a 5400 RPM HDD to a 7200 RPM one or
    2) Going from 2GB of memory to 4GB?
     
    Peon, Aug 13, 2009
    #1
  2. rflcptr

    rflcptr Notebook Consultant

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    It depends on the application of your system. What do you use it for?

    edit: most cases would favor the RAM upgrade.
     
    rflcptr, Aug 13, 2009
    #2
  3. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Memory upgrade hands down (esp if using Vista).
     
    sgogeta4, Aug 13, 2009
    #3
  4. Peon

    Peon Notebook Virtuoso

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    Typical office-setting tasks, watching videos, and development/testing mostly.

    Would I see any noticeable performance improvement for my $50 with either upgrade?
     
    Peon, Aug 13, 2009
    #4
  5. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    If you are using Vista, you will notice the memory upgrade more than the HDD upgrade.
     
    sgogeta4, Aug 13, 2009
    #5
  6. sellyanes

    sellyanes Newbie

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    Hi Peon....

    I would like 2 suggest you to upgrade RAM because its an obvious choice to improve your processing speed first.
     
    sellyanes, Aug 14, 2009
    #6
  7. sean473

    sean473 Notebook Prophet

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    get the ram upgrade but if possible get the hard drive upgrade too as more space and a faster hard drive means more time saved and more stuff u can put on ur laptop.
     
    sean473, Aug 14, 2009
    #7
  8. Ket

    Ket Newbie

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    Their both relatively important. The difference between a good 5400RPM drive and a good 7200RPM drive can be night and day. The same can be said for 2 vs. 4GB RAM. I would get the RAM upgrade first.
     
    Ket, Aug 14, 2009
    #8
  9. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    The difference between a good 5400RPM and good 7200RPM would be very little. Take a look at benchmarks and ask uses who have owned both a 500GB 5400RPM and 500GB 7200RPM drive. The memory upgrade will be much more noticeable in any situation.
     
    sgogeta4, Aug 14, 2009
    #9
  10. TabbedOut

    TabbedOut Notebook Evangelist

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    Do the RAM upgrade. I wouldn't even bother with the HDD unless you were going from a HDD to a SSD.
     
    TabbedOut, Aug 14, 2009
    #10
  11. spookyu

    spookyu NBR Zombie Expert

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    With what you have right now, the ram absolutely. Once you hit the 4 gig mark, if for whatever you decide to upgrade again in the future, I would say the hard drive then. I only say that because with the tasks you're performing 4gb of ram is ample, and you'll probably see the next speed increase come from a faster hard drive, however that's not to say it'd be very noticeable or necessary at all, it's just if you decided you wanted to upgrade something again.
     
    spookyu, Aug 14, 2009
    #11
  12. Deks

    Deks Notebook Prophet

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    Unless you are lacking HDD space ... my suggestion would be to upgrade the RAM for now and save the HDD for later.
     
    Deks, Aug 14, 2009
    #12
  13. Kallogan

    Kallogan Notebook Deity

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    Both. Change everything. Your name, your girlfriend, your job ;-)
     
    Kallogan, Aug 14, 2009
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  14. Ket

    Ket Newbie

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    Thats far from true. I could type a small essay but lets just use this example here The Caviar GP is a 5.4k drive. For the sake of example and keeping things as close as posible compare the GP with the Western Digital Caviar Black, which is a 7.2k drive. In HDD terms the GP is positively a slug.
     
    Ket, Aug 14, 2009
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  15. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

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    Yeah but you said a "good" 5400 and a "good" 7200. it is ridiculous to think of going from a 5400rpm drive to a 7200rpm drive as an upgrade! you will probably never notice the difference unless you benchmarking.

    RAM you will definitely notice!

    edit: WAIT i just looked at your link and there is only maybe like a 2% difference in most and the GP even beat the black in one... how did that link help your argument???
     
    Mormegil83, Aug 14, 2009
    #15
  16. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    As stated previously, you're incorrect. Please search the thread. Several users have used a similar generation 5400RPM drive and a 7200RPM drive, myself included. If you have done a blind test with these two drives, you would not be able to distinguish between them. Secondly, read the article you post first since those are desktop drives which do not support your statement either.
     
    sgogeta4, Aug 15, 2009
    #16