The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    SATA 5400 or 7200? (advice please)

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by jtodd939, Jun 3, 2006.

  1. jtodd939

    jtodd939 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    On the puter I'm configuring a 7200 is $80 more than the 5400.

    Anybody know if one version runs quieter than the other?

    What kinda performance gain will I get for $80, worth it?

    Any recommendations and info will be much appreciated.

    Thx
     
  2. irfan

    irfan Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I think it is worth it. i d say go for it
     
  3. onedeep

    onedeep Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    146
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The biggest bottleneck for performance in most machine today is the hard drive speed. Assuming you are running with a decent processor and a good amount of ram, then the performance increase between 5400 and 7200 would be very noticeable.
     
  4. jtodd939

    jtodd939 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    thx guys. you think $90 extra bucks is worth getting 1.5 Ram instead of 1 GB?
     
  5. onedeep

    onedeep Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    146
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    you can get 512MB of ram at NewEgg for about $50. One stick of 1GB runs around $85-90.

    So it depends on the configuration. If it already has two sticks of 512, and it is replacing one, then it is the same price.

    If it already has one stick, and is just adding 512, then it is a rip off.
     
  6. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    4,982
    Messages:
    34,001
    Likes Received:
    1,415
    Trophy Points:
    581
    Depends on what you are doing. Office or surfing the gain won't be as huge, coding video definetly is faster.
     
  7. jtodd939

    jtodd939 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    What is coding video? is that like when you put video on your computer and edit it?
     
  8. seanlee

    seanlee Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    -3
    Messages:
    41
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    it is totally worth it unless u get 2gb+ ram...
    but ur battery die sooner and your laptop will run hotter.
    however, i guess u are getting a T,Z or R series, so i guess u don't really care about the battery life and heat issue that much.
     
  9. jtodd939

    jtodd939 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    The computer (T60) will run hotter with more RAM? Everybody agree with this? I've never heard that before.

    What does more RAM do? things load faster? what exactly will be better?
     
  10. santasballz

    santasballz Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    219
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30

    i believe he is referring to the hard drive
     
  11. pbdavey

    pbdavey Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    147
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I have the 7200rpm for the speed increase. The 5400 helps with battery life a little, as does running 533MGz sodimms, but then the T60 is a workstation, so 667MHz sodimms and 7200rpm all the way! Also, whatever you do, have your memory in a 2 equal-sized stick configuration, DDR can work like RAID 0 for memory.
     
  12. Smith2688

    Smith2688 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    417
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    RAID 0 for memory? You mean dual channel?
     
  13. pbdavey

    pbdavey Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    147
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    No, I mean RAID 0, I was simply drawing a parallel between hard drive technology and memory technology.
     
  14. Karl Gruber

    Karl Gruber Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    10
    Messages:
    232
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The Momentus 5400.3 is an excellent drive comparable to the speed of 7200rpm drives.