Which Hard Drive on Sager NP8660??

Here are the options from Xoticpc,
250GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA 150) ( + 30 )
320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache) ( + 60 )
200GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) ( + 65 )
320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) ( + 140 )

From the above picture, it looks like the 320GB 5400RPM hard drive is a better buy because it is cheaper and bigger. Since the brand of hard drive is different, are all 320GB 5400RPM hard drives faster than 320GB 7200RPM hard drives if they are made from the same company?

 

Discussed many a times....
My understanding is the 320GB 5400 RPM is the best choice for its speed is comparable due to density / and its size is well... bigger. when compared to the 200gig 7200RPM

I assume the 320gig 7200 trumps all atm.

(except maybe SSD?)

 

There are no 320GB 7200RPM drives on the list you posted. Because of the higher spindle speed, 7200RPM drives are always faster than their 5400RPM counterparts. I would personally go with the 5400RPM 320 becuase it's cheaper, but if you're in it for speed go with the 7200RPM.

Edit: Aargh! I always get beaten by taking too long to type!

 

They shouldn't be faster. I believe that there is a thread somewhere around here.

 

How much faster is the 320GB 7200RPM compared to the same size 5200RPM? Is it worth the additional $80?

 

It should be faster, but I don't think the difference is noticeable. If you want it, get it, otherwise stick with the 5400RPM HDD.
I don't think you can judge whether whether it's worth it or not (I wouldn't pay 80$ to get it), as it depends on each and everyone's wishes (I'd like a 500GB HDD, some manage with 100GB ones).

 

It's personal preference. It'll be a slightly noticeable speed upgrade, but also a noteable drop in battery life. I wouldn't go for it.

 

Noticeable speed where? In transfer rates? I don't think anyone would notice a minute when you're already waiting for half an hour (just an exaggeration though).
In theory it's better for waiting times (in games), but in practice things are different.

 

Thank you all, I think I'm going to choose the 320GB 5200 and spend that $80 on something else.

 

Or get a bigger HDD (if you need one) .

 

hmm, how would a 128 GB SSD compare on that list?

 

The 7200's pump out more heat too..

 

hahaha, 4000.00 for 60MB read speeds as compared to 100.00 for 55MB read speeds, do the math

 

Do they really? How much more?

 

In laptops usually 3-5c, Don't usually see a difference in PC's since there is more space and air flow.

 

Would the 8mb cache be significantly inferior to the 16mb cache on the 320GB 7200 RPM HD as far as performance and speed goes?

 

Actually depending how the Seagate performs there might not be do much a heat difference. The WD Scorpio 320 7200 rpm hd ran surprisingly cool

 

Damn it all these potential heat increases are freaking me out lol...I think I need to delay my order and just wait till I see some more reviews and people actually having experience with this laptop and the hardware.

 

how much heat would a 128 GB SSD produce? considerably less or about the same?

 

It should be hard to tell during normal use.

 

In what system? Inside of small laptops there is a trend that most drives are operating at the higher end of there temperature limit. 7200's almost always get you there faster.

Would be wise to do, compare models that are similar as well. Its very hard to tell you exact temps because they can get hotter depending on the environment as well, i.e. chassis/case layout, cpu, gpu.. etc.

I think they have the same operating temps as normal hard drives. How cool they are inside of a laptop I don't know, but supposedly they can handle extreme temperatures better then normal drives.

 

That heat problem is not relevant. It's just something people say because they think it makes sense. I am sure I have read somewhere that a 7200RPM HDD doesn't consume more power, therefore it should generate the same heat.

 

An important note is that the core ocz drives are MLC flash (multiple layer) as opposed to SLC (single layer). SLC is faster and lasts longer, but it a lot more expensive. As we transition to 2009, we'll see even faster SLCs and cheaper SSDs overall. For now, the best bet is still probably the 5400rpm 320gb drive.