best 320gb 7200rpm 2.5??

Hi,
i have a very basic toshiba satellite laptop.
with Celeron M processor and 60GB Fujitsu 5400rpm HD.

iam thinking about getting a 320GB 7200rpm SATA 2.5" HD and putting it in an HD enclosure so i can sure it as an external for now and in the future may switch it with the 60GB internal.

so any advice as to which is the best manufacture and their pros and cons is appreciated.

Thank u,

Regards.

 

Seems the WD Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT is the fastest 7200rpm 2.5" drive out there. Is your laptop SATA compatible?

 

no its not
The seagate 7200.4 500gb 7200rpm drive is the fastest 2.5" 7200rpm drive.
It can do 83mb/sec, which is quite a bit faster than the 320gb drives.

What is the model number of your laptop?
If it has a SATA drive you can upgrade to the 7200.4 series drive.
But if you have a IDE based system, the fastest drive you can get is the Samsung HM160HC

K-TRON

 

He's looking for a 320 GB, it's in the title.

I may be bias, but I loves my Scorpio Black.

 

+1

I've got one too

 

Awesome drives, I have 2 in my X205

 

oh yeah, 320gb drives
I was responding to T30 power instead.

I have three Hitachi 7K320's, and I have no complaints on them. Excellent drives, quiet and fast. They are pretty cheap now. I bought all three of mine for $110 each for the 160gb model. The 320gb model is about $60-80 on newegg/zipzoomfly now.

K-TRON

 

I would like a Scorpio Black for myself. My 80GB crap HDD is fragmented and XP slow as hell. I'm waiting for my replacement 5K320 drive but I guess I should've sticked with a 7200rpm drive, can't stand lag in everything I do.

 

Sorry for the interference guys, let me ask something to K-TRON.

That 7200.4 HD works in SATA-150 interfaces? If that's the fastest one I'll buy one to my brother, is his birthday soon.

 

It should work without a problem. All seagate mobile harddrives have a jumper on them to force the drive to work in sata 150 mode.
If you have a hitachi or western digital sata 300 drive you can use hitachi tool or western digital lifeguard to turn the drive into sata 150 mode.
You just need to enable speed spectrum.

If you go with seagate its the easiest. Just move a pin and the jumper is set to sata 150 mode.

The 7200.4 drive should have this feature. You may want to PM one4spl, or one of the people who have the 7200.4, just to double check.

K-TRON

 

Thanks for your answer, K-TRON!

 

The 7200.4 has a socket like this, so it should work.

That said i thought that this stuff was meant to autonegotiate?

 

Does the studio 15 have Sata or IDE. Iam not sure. LOL

 

Sata......:d

 

I'm looking at upgrading the drives on my notebooks. Can anyone tell me if the Seagate drive works with the Samsung X50 and the Dell Latitude D620? If not, please recommend an enclosure for use with this drive.

Thanks

 

I am 100% sure the D620 and the X50 both use SATA harddrives.
The drive should work without any problem in your systems.

You can use any 2.5" enclosure you want. Newegg has a great selection of externals. I would prefer to make my own, but there are plenty of options to choose if you would rather buy one.

to xxbadboys93, the studio 15 is a sata based system. Actually all of the Studio line is sata based.

K-TRON

 

the drive in my laptop is SATA,
the exact model of my laptop is Toshiba Satellite A105-S2031.
i know i have SATA but i dont know if is 150 or 300??
will that make a difference on the performance??
please let me know,
thanks again

 

No 2.5" laptop harddrive can max out the SATA 150 interface, so no matter what drive you pick, none of them will loose efficiency in sata 150 mode.

If you use a seagate, all you need to do is use a pin on the jumper to set the drive in sata 150 mode.
If you choose hitachi or western digital you will need to use software to make the drive run in sata 150 mode.

K-TRON

 

If you choose hitachi or western digital you will need to use software to make the drive run in sata 150 mode.

K-TRON[/QU

Dowload and use the software after the OS has been installed?

 

This is how you do it for Hitachi drives:
Go to Hitachi's website and download the Hitachi Feature Tool CD Image:
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#featuretool
You need to burn that image to a bootable cd with Nero
Than you need to install the harddrive in a machine which can read SATA 300 drives (like a desktop)
Than when the drive is installed you need to put the feature tool cd in the computer
Boot to the cd
Than go under the options at the top and select "SATA Feature"
Than select SATA 150 mode
Also make sure to ENABLE Speed Spectrum
Than exit
and shut down your computer

Plug the harddrive into your laptop, and it will work

If you do not do this, the harddrive will not powerup in your laptop.

The process should be similar if you choose a western digital harddrive.

K-TRON

 

1st things 1st, thanks alot buddy for the quick replies.

now i dont have a desktop, i only have this toshiba laptop so if i get WD or hitachi then i cant hook it up with a computer with SATA 300, so i think Seagate might be a better option.

2ndly like i said previously, initially i am only planning on using the 320gb 7200rpm as an external, then maybe later i may swap it with my internal.
so if iam using a SATA 300 with my laptop as an external, will that make an issue??

someone told me the following:
1) hitachi is better on performance, but WD runs more quieter and cooler.
2) a dense 500gb 5400rpm drive will perform similar to a 7200rpm 320gb HD. (is that true??)

please let me know ur input on the above 2 comments.

also whats ur final verdict on WD, seagate or hitachi (personally iam getting the impression that seagate is better off coz all i need to fix is the jumper, hence better compatability).

please let me know.
thanks.

 

If you dont have another system, than you have to go with a seagate. They are the only manufacturer which still uses a jumper design.
If you try installing a sata 300 drive in a only sata 150 machine the harddrive will not power up. Thats why you need to do all that jazz with the software.

For your first question, well it really depends.
Hitachi used to have the fastest drives, but they were loud. Now hitachi went to the quiet end, so their drives take a little hit on performance for quietness. I prefer Hitachi for their reliability. Seagate makes pretty power efficient drives. WD has a good balance between the two.

For the second question,
A 500gb 5400rpm drive can output 64mb/sec, while a 320gb drive can do about 70mb/sec. The 7200rpm drives will always be better because of their lower seek times. However they will perform very similar in performance. The 7200 will always have the slight edge though.

K-TRON

 

thanks K-TRON.
supposing if i just use the new HD as an external over USB, then what will be the diff. btw transfer rate btw the 320gb 7200rpm vs. the 500gb 5400rpm.

also just for my knowledge, how did u calculate that 500gb 5400rpm will give 64mb/s and 320gb 7200rpm will give 70mb/s, is there a formula, pls. let me know.

thanks again.

 

If you are going to use either drive in a USB external, you will notice zero difference between the two. That is because the USB bandwidth is about 30mb/sec, which both harddrives can max out. If you were talking about esata, than the 320gb 7200rpm drive would have slightly faster transfer rates.

Their is no formula to figure out transfer speed, well their probably is, but its going to be complicated.
The values I stated are from looking at the benchmarks of the current drives.
search in the hdtune thread, and in the wd5000bevt thread for benchmarks, you will find that the 320gb 7200rpm drive has a slightly higher bandwidth and faster access times than the 500gb 5400rpm drive

5700th post

K-TRON

 

Hitachi Travelstar 7K320 is now $79.98 with a $20 MIR on Newegg; final price = $59.98:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145228

 

thanks for the link, although iam very tempted to get the 500gb 5400rpm (coz of massive memory) but i think ill go for the hitachi 320gb 7200rpm coz its a good deal, decent price.

thanks for the link.

 

for the sake of knowledge can someone tell me whats the RPM on WD passport essentials.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=39715&lid=1003769
and what about other small external HDs what about their speeds. e.g. lacie etc

 

That drive you linked to is a 500gb 5400rpm drive. It could be any brand 500gb 5400rpm drive. It could be the WD5000BEVT, Samsung HM500LI, Hitachi 5K500, who knows. Its most likely the WD drive, since its a WD enclosure.

WD doesnt have any 500gb 7200rpm notebook drives.

K-TRON

 

K-TRON
ok 1 advice i need from u,
if iam only gonna use the HD as external what would u recommend:
buying a hitachi or seagate etc and putting it in a external kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148371
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152114
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145228
OR
spending some extra money and getting ED passport essential or seagate external.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&sku=A2012450
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=39715&lid=1003769
i mean to say there isnt much diff. btw WD passport 500gb $205 and the samsung or other OEM 500gb HDs.

which of the 2 will be more reliable?? pls. let me know.
iam tempted to get the 500gb 5400rpm but the hitachi 320gb 7200rpm newegg deals is very pocket friendly.
anyways ill go with ur advice.

thanks for all ur help buddy

 

It's cheaper to buy them separate. And you can't really compare reliability between the two options, as it's the same thing but you just buy them separate in the first option..

So go and buy the hitachi for that deal and an external enclosure.

 

All of those harddrives can max out the USB interface, so which drive you buy doesnt matter.
I can tell you that you should cross off the samsung 500gb drive (hm500li) because it uses a lot of power and generates a lot of heat which isnt good for external harddrives.

I would say your probably best with the 500gb wd enclosure. WD backs their products pretty well, so if anything happens they should fix it.
If price and reliability is a target the 7K320 is a great drive.

K-TRON

 

K-TRON thanks for all ur help.
1 last question i have.

the following link has a good deal on passport elite 400gb, but doesnt have details as compared to the 2nd link, which has elite 320 at a higher price with details, so u think there any difference btw the 2, or any catch???:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136311

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136241

pls. let me know thanks.

also seagate also comes with 2.5" external called freeagent, how would u compare that to WD passport??

thanks again

 

I do not think their is any catch. Both are USB drives. The only difference is the slight difference in capacity, and one has the name "titanium" in it.
I would instantly think that word is planted their for marketing reasons, i highly doubt their is any difference at all between a normal version and a titanium one.

The 400gb one is going to be a 5400rpm drive no matter how you cut it, the 320gb can be 5400rpm or 7200rpm. I am pretty sure its a 5400rpm drive, but you never know for sure.

either drive is good, so its really up to what you want. They both will perform the same.

seagate freeagent is basically the same thing with a seagate harddrive, and a plastic shell which says freeagent on it

K-TRON

 

K-TRON thanks for all ur help.

i know i cant go wrong with either WD or seagate but iam stuck in between.
u know alot about these things so pls. let me know:

if u were buying one for urself which one would u go for??
seagate freeagent go or WD passport

thanks.
id probably go with ur advice.

these r the ones i shortlisted:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148346

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136311

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A2149395

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A2149393


thanks

 

I'd go with the largest (the seagate freeagent 500GB).

 

iam gonna go with seagate freeagent go 500gb, its the same price as WD and is abit smalller and cooler looking,
i just hope it doesnt have a samsung inside, as i read that somewhere on this very forum in one of the post.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=301553

is there anyone who can confirm that on this forum??

thanks.

 

That post was made a while back, before Seagate manufactured a 500Gb 2.5" harddrive
At that point Samsung and Hitachi were the only manufacturers which had a 500Gb drive on the market. The Samsung drive was the cheaper of the two at the time, so it was used in mnay 500Gb enclosures.
Now at this point in time Seagate has been manufacturing 500gb laptop drives for maybe a good month and a half now. The drive you will be getting should be the Seagate 5400.6 the 500Gb 5400rpm one.

K-TRON

 

K-TRON

i came across this :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rives+-+External-_-Western+Digital-_-22136340

googling it just told me its a diff. casing and a diff. cover, same WD HD...!!!
and that this also uses only USB, no power cable. (Only USB with no power cable is what iam lking for).

what do u say??

thanks.

 

I wouldnt doubt it. Western digital does make a 400gb version of the WD5000BEVT, which should essentially have the same power consumption as the 500gb model, but I would say thats the golden duck you are looking for.
To my knowledge the Samsung HM500LI was just an extension of their 320gb model, so their was no 400gb version. And I do not think Seagate has a 400gb model of their 500gb drive.
So I would almost guarantee it has the 400gb version of the WD5000BEVT in it.

6000th post

K-TRON

 

after giving it quiet a though i went with seagate 500gb coz it had more memory than 320gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._-Hard+Drives+-+External-_-Seagate-_-22148393

it cost $115 flat which is alot but the deal had the case and cradle for free.

thanks guys for all the help.

 

Hi there,

thank you all for the discussion, but I have an issue.

I bought a WD3200BEKT (SATA II interface) but the drive cannot be recognized in my Sony VAIO VGN-SZ370P.

This thread says to install Data Lifeguard Tools to reduce the speed to SATA I, but I've download the software and could not find this option.

Please forgive some English errors. Help!!

Sds
Leonardo

 

i dont have any idea about your problem friend, but one advice i can give you is that u will get more replies if u start a new thread.
thats just my personal opinion, hopefully someone in this forum will be able to help u out.

 

Sorry dudes, the "problem" was a bad connected cable inside the laptop. I've revised all the steps to install the HD and everything is working fine now.

Thank you all!