5400rpm or 7200rpm for a CF 30?

I have just ordered a CF 30 and have a few questions for some of you toughbook owners out there.

Being that its the fully rugged version, there are no fans and no vents correct? The hdd that comes with it is the 80GB 5400rpm version. If I want to swap it with a hitachi travelstar 100GB 7200rpm, would it create too much heat thus shortening the lifespan? the reviews I have read say the heat output and battery life is similar to those of the 5400rpm type. What do you guys think?

 

I run 7200 Hitachis in all the Toughbooks I build. They actually run a little cooler than the stock HDs... I guess they don't have to work as hard!

BTW... I've tried Seagate and Hitachi... The Hitachi is the best by far... The Seagates have a better warranty... (Though if it went bad I'm not sure I'd volunteer that it was in a Toughbook) but the Hitachis are a little faster, cooler and not as noisy.

Just my .02

 

The newest generation of 7200RPM drives run quite cool indeed. There could be a small battery life hit, depending on the tasks you use it for, but I wouldn't worry about the heat.

 

Thanks for the quick response guys. I gather the Travelstar ATA-6 would fit in the CF30 perfectly since it uses the same connector right?

 

I'm assuming that the CF-30 is the same... It fits like a glove in my CF-28s...

 

It seems like panasonic doesn't provide too much updated info on its toughbooks. I purchased the multi DVD drive, but no where can I find the specs of it. Is it dual layer? what speed is the read or write? Where would one obtain this information? I even called panasonic support, and the lady I spoke with didn't know either!

 

The stock Toshiba HDs run pretty hot. I just ghosted a 30GB drive out of the caddy (plugged into a desktop IDE cable) and when I went to unplug it, it was very warm to the touch.

side note: Like a moron, I powered down the PC and immediately grabbed the HD to unplug it from the harness. As I pulled it out, I flexed it enough that I heard the platters scrape against the cover as they were coasting to a stop! Luckily it didn't damage anything, but it could have. Don't be dumb like me, always wait several seconds for the drive to coast to a stop before you grab it!

 

Ourigger... You have to pull the DVD out of the cradle to get the info. It is written on the DVD itself. I have a pic of one I put on ebay... When I get to my laptop upstairs I'll check it... I don't think they are dual layer... That didn't exist, I don't think, in notebooks back then. What you need to do is to replace is with an Sony Optiarc from Newegg... I can send you the tutorial on how to swap it if you need it. You need to solder two spots together on the PC board that plugs into the back of the unit.

 

Outrigger... Here's the specs...The DVD/CD is

Panasonic model# UJDA720

8X DVD-ROM Data Transfer
24X CD-ROM Data Transfer
8X CD-RW Data Transfer
CD-R, CD-RW Compatible
IDE (ATAPI) DVD/CDRW Combo Drive
128KB Buffer

The specs on just the CD Rom are...

TEAC CD224E

24x CD-ROM Read Speed
IDE / EIDE Interface
130 ms Access Time

Hope this helps...

BTW... I was wrong... The specs weren't on the case... But the model numbers were.

 

Why not just see what model number shows up in Device Manager and then just google it?

 

I was kinda hoping I would be able to know the specs before it gets here. Thanks for the quick response!

One question, regarding what you said about the Sony DVD drive where I would need to solder it in two places, is that just for the Sony drive or would it be the same for the panasonic drive as well? Because the description states that its plug-in module. the mfg # is CF-VDM301U, DVD-Writer - DVD-RAM/-R/-RW, is this model specifically for the toughbook CF series?
Would I have to do the soldering with this as well or can I just plug in in the slot and off I go? BTW, the CF30 doesn't include an optical drive, this was purchased seperately.

Its just atrocious the price this drive costs! I can't understand whats so special about it and why its so expensive. Its not like its built rugged or has special components.

 

Well... It's like this... Panasonic makes their drives s master while others make them as cable select. If you try to use a cable select DVD in the Panasonic caddy the drive won't be recognized or the laptop will not boot. If you use a Panny drive in the panny caddy it will work with no problem. I have heard that there are a few drives out there that are built as master but I have no idea what they are... I just know that my system works. I'll PM you the link for the tutorial on how to do the swap.

You are right... The drives (DVD R/W) are priced crazy! I buy a CD Rom drive w/ caddy then pay $62 for a new DVD R/W and make the swap... Then I have a $300 drive!

 

Thanks for the PM, greatly appreciate it.

I just paid $455 for the panny multi drive. I don't see it being different than any other notebook DVD drives out there. Matter of fact, if you do a built to order cf30, the price of every single one of their options like adding a finger print reader, hard drive upgrade is through the roof. I can somewhat understand charging $600 to get touchscreen, but the rest of the components themselves are no different than any other notebooks out there!

 

Remember that they're not selling to individuals, they're selling packages of 10s to 100s of notebooks at a time to (mostly) government institutions and large corporations. As crazy as it sounds to us, that's the going rate. and it's been that way for a while. I remember when we were buying CF25s, the price for the CDROM option was about $450.

Heck you think that's bad, try buying a CNC. Haas charges that much for a FLOPPY drive!

 

I've got a couple "generic" drives in 27/28 caddies, and they DO finally boot up as-is and the OS recognizes the drive. It takes forever-and-a-day, though.

What part number of DVD drive did you buy?

 

Gravitar.... Do the mod man... do the mod...

 

listen to toughbook and do the mod,
i just bought some cdrom drives to keep as spares, as there cost a fortune here in the uk,
got a standard dvdrw in the one am currently using and a slot loading one in the other.........

 

i put a 100gb 7200 rpm drive in my cf-30... no problems... actually runs cooler than the stock drive

 

Yup... The newer drives are quieter and actually can take less juice to run.

Don't forget to visit the manufacturer's website for the hard drive tools! Both Seagate and Hitachi have them. You can optimize your hard drive for performance or battery... With the click of a mouse!

 

On the front of the tray, they say things like DVD Multi or DVD CDRW or the like. If it doesn't say DL, it's not.

 

I beg to differ... I run both Samsung and Pioneer Dual Layer DVD R/W burners in mine and they don't have DL on the front of the DVD... But they birn Dual Layer DVDs. They do show multi-drive on them though.

 

The one in my mac doesn't say anything on the front bezel, it's just smooth and black.

I've burned double layer discs with it many times though.