[ENTERPRISE]

Hey guys looking to perhaps replace my 5400RPM Lappy HDD to something of the 7200RPM variety. Great HDD but a little slow on access times due to the spindle rate.

I am looking for something between 320GB and 500GB. I have a 640GB right now but I am not maxing out.

I have been looking into the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid drive here : http://www.ebuyer.com/product/222310 Will a Hybrid drive give me a decent performance to cost ratio compared to a good standard HDD ?

Anyone have any thoughts as I am wondering whether paying nearly £30 extra for a hybrid drive is worth it or if its a gimmick ? Oh and I do game

 

[SHNS0]

As far as I know hybrid drive had quite a few problems. I wouldn't rely on them imho. Just get a scorpio black, they're amazing drives. I use one for my PS3

 

[Citra]

Momentous xt if you only use a few apps. If not get the scorpio black.

 

[ENTERPRISE]

Hmm I will take a look into a Scorpio also, Cheers guys.

 

[sdla4ever]

To bad you can't grab a SSD. The scorpio is nice and the XT is good for a few apps that you use a lot.

 

[ENTERPRISE]

SSD is not of interest to me at there price/storage ratio. So the consensus is that the XT is only worth it if using the same few apps frequently, other than that I will see no particular improvements ? I am looking into a HDD good for games aswel : )

 

[Citra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENTERPRISE SSD is not of interest to me at there price/storage ratio. So the consensus is that the XT is only worth it if using the same few apps frequently, other than that I will see no particular improvements ? I am looking into a HDD good for games aswel : )

As a regular hard drive it's still faster than your old one,however, not as fast as the scorpio black.

 

[lazi punk]

yeah scorpio black is your best bet for a fast laptop hdd

 

[Enthusiast]

I've been using an XT in my laptop for quite a while now and I have to say I was pretty impressed with performance upon installation. After roughly a week my most commonly used applications loaded up quicker than standard hdd speeds.

Problems with drives like the scorpio black are that you have to factor in heat and power consumption when its going in a laptop.

 

[ENTERPRISE]

Looks like Scorpio black may be the way. As for power and heat consumption. I am not too bothered. Heat , well it wont get so hot my laptop will melt and as for power, my laptop is usually deskbound rather than out and about usage.

 

[SHNS0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enthusiast Problems with drives like the scorpio black are that you have to factor in heat and power consumption when its going in a laptop.

Like I said, I use it in my PS3. Will you believe me if I say that my 5400rpm was hotter? While the area of the CPU+GPU gets really hot at some point, the HDD area remains quite cool. Noise isn't also much of a problem.

 

[Enthusiast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ENTERPRISE Looks like Scorpio black may be the way. As for power and heat consumption. I am not too bothered. Heat , well it wont get so hot my laptop will melt and as for power, my laptop is usually deskbound rather than out and about usage.

That is true though I guess and even more so if the laptop is usually deskbound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHNS0 Like I said, I use it in my PS3. Will you believe me if I say that my 5400rpm was hotter? While the area of the CPU+GPU gets really hot at some point, the HDD area remains quite cool. Noise isn't also much of a problem.

But relative to the XT i'm pretty certain that the Scorpio has higher heat levels

 

[ColdRush]

Momentus XT is a gimmick.

I'd go for any Hitachi Travelstar, they are supposed to be some of the quietest, most power efficient drives on the market. Speeds are comparable to the Scorpio black aswell.

If you're willing to spend the extra dough for an SSD, by all means do so. I previously owned a 320gb Scorpio Black and it is nothing compared to this vertex 2(who'd a thunk it?

). Going from 5400rpm to 7200rpm is slightly noticeable, but if you're not hurting for storage it really isn't worth it unless you get a deal on a drive. But this is OCN right? The land of overkill.

 

[ENTERPRISE]

Storage for me is a biggie and I do not want to pay an arm and a leg for an SSD, I have owned SSD's before and they are awesome, however the price to storage ratio is awful :9

 

[PapaSmurf]

Hitachi 7K500. I haven't seen any mechanical laptop hard drive beat it with any consistency. Next best would be the Scorpio Black.

 

[ENTERPRISE]

Is there a decent comparison site or review, at the moment I am either with the Scorpio or Hitachi, leaning towards the scorpio black though.

 

[MrAMD_Fan]

I have this one: Seagate ST9500420AS 500GB 7200rpm 16MB Cache. http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.js...00f5ee0a0aRCRD
It only uses .05 % more power than a 5400rpm drive. And heat is not an issue.... the new drives are alot more efficient. Mine has been great, much quicker than the 5400rpm Hitachi that came with the laptop....

 

[PapaSmurf]

I don't know where they are at the moment, but for the past couple of years the Hitachi 7K500 has been the best mechanical hard drive for a laptop when one takes overall speed, usability, responsiveness, reliability, and quietness. The Scorpio Blacks are pretty much equal except they tend to be a bit louder and a slight bit less responsive, but they are a bit faster in overall throughput. Since you mentioned Access Times and Sluggishness the 7K500 will be your best choice. When the 7K750 comes out with it's two 375g platters instead of the two 250gig ones it should be even quicker and more responsive, but that won't be for awhile yet.

Most of my info came from the Notebook Review forums and personal experience.

 

[ENTERPRISE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrAMD_Fan;13003431
I have this one: Seagate ST9500420AS 500GB 7200rpm 16MB Cache. http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=70f4bfafecadd110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD
It only uses .05 % more power than a 5400rpm drive. And heat is not an issue.... the new drives are alot more efficient. Mine has been great, much quicker than the 5400rpm Hitachi that came with the laptop....

Thanks I will check it out : )
Quote:

Originally Posted by PapaSmurf;13003538
I don't know where they are at the moment, but for the past couple of years the Hitachi 7K500 has been the best mechanical hard drive for a laptop when one takes overall speed, usability, responsiveness, reliability, and quietness. The Scorpio Blacks are pretty much equal except they tend to be a bit louder and a slight bit less responsive, but they are a bit faster in overall throughput. Since you mentioned Access Times and Sluggishness the 7K500 will be your best choice. When the 7K750 comes out with it's two 375g platters instead of the two 250gig ones it should be even quicker and more responsive, but that won't be for awhile yet.

Most of my info came from the Notebook Review forums and personal experience.

Thats great, Thanks I will have to check out some benchmarks as wel methinks

 

[ENTERPRISE]

*Update*

After checking some benchies, While the Hitachi did a great job, I found the Scorpio Black to be a little more consistent performance wise. So I have gone ahead and bought a Scorpio black !, Will be here tomorrow

Time to image my OS again lol Thanks again !