My Hybrid Drive Review

Introduction (Not Important): First,I'll start by saying the 7200RPM Drive that comes with the Alienware(unless you have the 1TB,then it's 5400RPM) is really slow. When I first got my Alienware,the computer boot speeds were ok at best. Though after 2 months it took around a minute and thirty seconds to start the computer. After my computer started getting mysteriously slower,it seemed almost certain I had a virus (I blame Microsoft Security Essentials,switched to Mcafee.) I formated my computer and went immedailty to Fry's.


What is it? (Information) : Hybrid Hard Drives (HHD) are in essence, a hard drive that has a special cache that greatly improves the drive's speed. The HHD is still mechanical (though they almost always come in 7200RPM), but has parts that Solid State Drives (fasted drives in the industry) use. The secret is in the special cache the drives use,which relies on repetition to increase speeds. The tantalizing concept about these drives is that they provide both great speed and great capacity.

Price (Useful) : I'm at Frys and I see a Seagate 750GB that costs $130 and while I'm a little stung,I take it. I was shocked to find out that the price was for a normal 7200RPM Hard Drive. I knew the prices have risen, but this much for a 750GB? The man shows me the Hybrid Drive 750GB, a whopping $200! I buy it and expect the dandiest hard drive ever created.

Setup (Important if you plan on buying one) : By the way,Alienware's don't boot from a USB, apparently. I install Windows 7 through an external CD Drive,because by USB the computer would not detect the hard drive. I use the Alienware Restore Disk as my OS Disk of choice.

Performance (The Review,duh)[/B : I turn off my computer to install a driver. I see an obtrusive cable and press the power button before I move the cable. A bend over,move the cable in literally a second, and sit straight. The computer has already booted by this point. Ok,I always see fast boot times after restoring computers,but 4 seconds? As expected the boot times got longer as I installed my programs and the remaining drivers. Though,the boot time is now at 20 seconds,VERY impressive for a Hybrid and not a SSD. Sadly, the hybrid doesn't really make games run faster. Seeing as what makes a HHD faster is repeating actions, it wouldn't have done so in paper. Although I haven't tested, it would seem that if you use one program heavily it should increase its speed overtime. The drive performance is great and is many times faster than a normal in boot times,and still provides a slight advantage in normal use.

Should You Get One? (Spoiler: Yes) : The drive is worth the boot time alone. Having used the stock hard drive for months, I can assure that there is nothing to lose. You lose neither speed nor capacity and have much to gain! If you so happen to have the 1TB 5400 RPM,may your preferred Diety be with you. :Salute:

Verdict: 9/10 :An almost must buy

 

You need to install via the USB 2.0 on the LHS of the R3 as l found out

Regards.

C.

 

Well that would have been useful a month ago! I guess at the time I thought 3.0 would have made it faster

 

Just picked up a USB 3.0 7,200-RPM Seagate Goflex Slim 320gb for dirt cheap only $60.

It is thinner than a pencil and comfortably pushes reads and writes over 100mb/s. Very tidy for an external portable drive and 300 gigs is plenty.

 

That's slim

 

Crazy slim right! I didn't want bulky I want it to connect to my PS3 so I can watch my series and so I wanted it to be out of the way and look pretty so I can carry it around with me and at release for 320GB it was a rip but now its dirt cheap and remains the slimmest external drive that you do not create yourself on the market. USB 3.0 as well and fast speeds not to mention its quiet, bargain buy.