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    Satellite A205 + Hitachi Travelstar 7K500??

    Discussion in 'Toshiba' started by damnDSM, Sep 19, 2010.

  1. damnDSM

    damnDSM Newbie

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    I have a failing HDD on my A205 and I am going to revamp everything, but I am admittedly a beginner in the field. Mechanically, I understand how to work on laptops but functionally and understanding some of the names and terms can feel like reading Chinese upside-down. I have tried to research the compatibility of a certain HDD, but I have not found anything definitive.


    I am planning to buy a HITACHI Travelstar 7K500 500GB HDD. The specs seem compatible, but I honestly have no idea what most of this actually means.



    "HITACHI Travelstar 7K500 HD20500 IDK/7K 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive"

    Along with the 500gb HDD I am planning on:
    W7 64bit
    4gb RAM (x2 Rendition by Crucial 2GB)
    larger battery and AC adapter



    The laptop is not used for gaming, just A LOT of web surfing, and downloading. I would love to be able to use Photoshop/Illustrator without any hang-ups, obviously PS is not an option on 1.00gb RAM and Vista. The price difference is reasonable between the 5400 and 7200 HDDs, I just dont know what to get.

    EDIT: Power consumption and noise is not really a concern, but this machine already runs pretty hot when lap-top. The alternate HDD to the Hitachi is a Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT, which I am pretty sure is compatible and a great option.





    Will this HDD work?
     
    damnDSM, Sep 19, 2010
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  2. damnDSM

    damnDSM Newbie

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    Sorry, its a Satellite A205-S4577
     
    damnDSM, Sep 19, 2010
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  3. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The specs of the 7K500 are here. It is 9.5mm thick and will therefore fit. A few of the higher capacity 2.5" HDDs are 12.5mm thick and don't fit in most notebooks.

    I'm sure it will work. If you are worried about heat then look at the power consumption charts at Tom's Hardware. The 7K500 is as good as you will get at 7200rpm.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Sep 20, 2010
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  4. damnDSM

    damnDSM Newbie

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    Thanks for the reply. I got some advice from members of a local forum, and I ended up going with the Hitachi 500gb 7200, along with the rest of my parts list. I have been poking around this forum, and I think it will be an invaluable tool through out this process (and future projects too).


    That is an interesting link. The 500gb higher speed HDD consumes less power than the same brand 320GB 5400rpm Hitachi. Is that typical? Why is that?

    In any event, it seems like a great hard drive.
     
    damnDSM, Sep 20, 2010
    #4
  5. Cannonball_CO

    Cannonball_CO Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey damnDSM, did you get this to work? I'm getting a 5K500 for my A205 figuring it will work fine too (and will upgrade to Win7 x32) but wanted to hear your results.

    Also, what battery did you end up getting? My A205 has a nearly dead 6600mAh (9cell) but if there's anything bigger than that I'd love to get one.
     
    Cannonball_CO, Nov 28, 2010
    #5