when can i expect to see seagate 7200.2?

i'm in the process of upgrading my sony sz1 which is out of warranty. i've got the ram maxed out to 2 gigs of ddr2 667. upping the processor from a 1.83 core duo to a 2gig core 2 duo (or possibly higher if prices come down in the next month or so).

i was looking at the momentus 7200.1 100gb hd which a lot of people here recommend but noticed that seagate just came out with 7200.2 hd with larger capacities. reading some reviews, a higher density hd will be faster than lower density with the same speed (e.g. 160gb vs 100 gb) so i want to wait for the newer drive. when should i expect it to reach stores?

the reason why i'm making the upgrade is because i will be travelling over south east asia for about 4 months on a photo jounalism trip (i'm a photographer). on average, i will probably be processing a few hundred images every couple of days (.raw/.nef/.tiff files working in photoshop cs2, lightroom, and nikon capture nx). i could go with a lower capacity drive and store photos on an external drive, but that will slow down processing time correct? literally every second counts since i will be working with so many images at once.

 

Well, if money is no object, then the HDs should be out soon (perhaps in a month or two). Dell is currently offering them in some notebooks. However the cost will probably be a lot higher than for a comparatively sized 5400 drive. For large files transfers, the 5400.3 is probably a good bet, as it has a higher density than the 7200.1 and uses perpendicular technology, making it slightly slower in access times but often higher for lrage transfers - in the end, you'll see little difference. Plus, it will cost FAR less than the 7200.2 for now.

 

thanks for the heads up. just making sure i got this right: if i go with a 160gb 5400.3 i can access and save image files as fast (faster?) than a 160gb 7200.2? price is definitely a factor. i don't want to spend so much now, since i may switch to a macbook pro if they ever make a 13" model.

 

no way, the 5400.3 is as fast as the 7200.2
the 7200.2 will be 25% faster

 

The 5400.3 (160GB, 5400RPM) currently performs very near the 7200.1 (7200RPM, 100GB). Access times are a little longer, but writing/reading throughput are the same if not higher. I have one, I'm quite happy with it. It will save image files quite quickly, though not as fast as the 7200.2 (7200RPM, 160GB), assuming that it's also 160GB. The thing is, it will cost a LOT more for the new 7200.2 drive than the 5400.3 one. I just picked up a 5400.3 for $120, and it was worth every penny.

 

thanks for the input fellas!

i think i'll wait a little longer for the 7200.2 to be readily available and compare options then. 5300.3 price will probably drop as well eh?

what do you guys think will happen to C2D prices when the new processor comes out nedxt month?

 

There isn't a new processor coming out. It's still going to be Core 2 Duo, just in a new package. Santa Rosa will be coming out though, which will make current laptops sell a bit cheaper. But Santa Rosa only kicks the FSB up to 800MHz, so it's nothing to write home about, especially if you're already running with 667 RAM.

 

ah, thanks for clarifying. i was under the impression that santa rosa will be released in may. anyways, i'm hoping for the t7400 and t7600 processor prices to come down a tad. i'm sure the 2 faster processors will not help me by much, but every second counts for me, especially when i need to get from one shoot to another but need to process a couple hundred photos on locations. for the price though, those 2 processors are insanely expensive compared to t7200.

 

Just saw this link:

http://www.bestbuybusiness.com/bbfb/en/US/adirect/bestbuy?cmd=catProductDetail&showAddButton=true&productID=BB10757570&websrc=CNBB10757570