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    D620: 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Unreal, Apr 20, 2006.

  1. Unreal

    Unreal Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    Currently with the $400 off $1,500 or more deal going on with dell l can get the following for about $1,100:

    Core Duo T2300
    512mb DDR533 (will be buying another 512 from newegg)
    XP Pro
    6 cell
    60gb 5400/7200rpm
    14.1" WXGA+
    etc..


    Basically money isn't an issue between the two HDD's but l'm curious if the 7200 will put out more heat then the 5400. l would like to keep this as cool as l can and if the performance between the two is minimal but the 7200 is much hotter then i'll go with the 5400. Am l looking at a big performance difference between the two?
     
    Unreal, Apr 20, 2006
    #1
  2. TBird

    TBird Notebook Consultant

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    The 7200 WILL be hotter but not by much...
    However the performance gains going from 5400 to 7200 will NOT be marginal
    IMHO I think it would be well worth it to go with the 7200RPM HDD
    Just My .02,
    -TBird
     
    TBird, Apr 20, 2006
    #2
  3. djpharoah

    djpharoah Notebook Evangelist

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    if you can go 7200 go for it.

    harddrives are usually the major bottle neck in a laptop so getting a faster one would decrease the bottle neck.
     
    djpharoah, Apr 20, 2006
    #3
  4. Unreal

    Unreal Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    l'm not sure if a 7200 will be worth it, because all l'll really be using this for is:

    Watching dvds on the road
    browsing the web
    listening to music
    playing games, nothing intensive only flash/java games


    l just wanted something smaller then a 15.4" with good build quality and a core duo.
     
    Unreal, Apr 20, 2006
    #4
  5. titaniummd

    titaniummd Notebook Deity

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    I ran off of a 4200 RPM drive in the past. I never knew what I was missing.

    I just received the Latitude D620 with the 7200 RPM. There is a major difference! Between 4200 to 5400 RPM would be marginal. Between 4200 to 7200 RPM is worlds apart.

    If your budget allows it and your lap doesn't mind the heat (I don't know if this contributes to heat), go for it.
     
    titaniummd, Apr 20, 2006
    #5
  6. Unreal

    Unreal Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    Can you do me a favor and run HDTune and tell me your HDD's temps?

    And tell me if its at load or just idling :)
     
    Unreal, Apr 20, 2006
    #6
  7. titaniummd

    titaniummd Notebook Deity

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    On batteries:

    33 degrees

    Transfer rate:
    Min: 13.3
    Max: 48.3
    Ave: 39.2

    Access time:
    16.1 ms
    Burst: 79.7
    CPU usage: 4.9%
     
    titaniummd, Apr 21, 2006
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  8. skywalker

    skywalker Business Notebook FTW!!

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    If you do video editing/hardcore gaming in laptop, go with 7200RPM, elsewhere go with 5400RPM.
     
    skywalker, Apr 21, 2006
    #8