Best/Fastest HDD for M1530?

Hi,

Just got my M1530 yesterday. I have upgraded the RAM from 1GB to 4GB and now looking to upgrade the HDD.

However I am having a dilema over two drives:

1. Hitachi Travelstar 200GB 7K200 HTS722020K9SA00
2. WD Scorpio 320GB WD3200BEVT

Looking at online reviews and Tom's Hardware it looks like both these drives are top of their class and provide similar performance with the Hitachi offering an edge on speed and the WD with space.

Has anyone got any experience of using either?

Or maybe suggest another drive that performs better than the two I have suggested? (anything but seagate/maxtor - seen to many of them fail in my job to trust their reliability).

I dont have much experience with Hitachi drives but I have found WD drives to be very reliable.

My usage will be general office apps, surfing, games and multimedia.


Cheers

Dave

 

i'll go with Hitachi Travelstar 200GB 7K200 HTS722020K9SA00....
why do you need 320 gig hdd on your lap..not that its only dangerous, it produce mad heat..

 

Hitachi makes extremely reliable HD's i'd go with them. the difference in performance will be negligible.

 

Thanks for your replies guys.

Just the usual - more space is better lol I am getting a 500GB external WD in any case as imigrating to USA in the future and will be without my beloved desktop for months and need all my data with me.

Why would the drive produce more heat compared to the Hitachi if it spins slower?

Do you mean the difference in performance to the 120GB HDD I have got now or the WD 320GB?

This is my first laptop - always just built myself desktops and am used to a 150GB WD Raptor so wish to narrow the gulf in performance with this new drive.

 

I have a Hitachi 200GB 7200. It's quiet and super fast.

 

Both will offer similar performance because the 320GB HDD has much more data packed into the same space as the 200GB HDD. That means that the head has to travel less to get to the data. The 200GB HDD spins at 7200 RPM instead of 5400 RPM, so it makes up the performance there. I do think, though, that the Hitachi will be a little bit faster.

I personally would go with the 200GB 7200 RPM drive and then get an external drive for backups (and additional media). I have a Hitachi drive in my 1520 and I haven't had any problems with it.

 

Looks like 4-0 for the Hitachi so far. It was my original choice but the more research I have done the more undecided I have became as I really like WD drives - used in my Desktop, Servers in work and the external USB 2.5" drives uses as a backup media for Acronis True Image....

Anyway getting back point looks like I will order the drive tommorrow if I don't change me mind...again!

Does the Hitachi require any seperate drivers for a Vista install and does it produce much heat?

 

No and no.

Hope you enjoy it!

 

Cheers for the info!

much appreciated.

Dave