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    320 gb 7200 rpm sata hdd

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by 4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009.

  1. 4fingers97

    4fingers97 Notebook Evangelist

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    Today I am buying my hdx18t and it comes with a 320 gb 7200 rpm sata hdd. I had a few questions ( Sorry I know I said I would try to help out more but I really need this answered. My old laptop had a 500GB (5400RPM). I Don't know the difference between a 7200 rpm and a 5400 rpm so can someone explain? And I know that the HDD always comes with less space then what it says. The 500 gb one came with only 451 and it had 408 gb left. So how much would the 320gb 7200rpm have?
     
    4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009
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  2. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    298GB. The reported figure is in decimal and computers are in binary (1x10^9 for decimal < 2^30 for computers) and this is why there is always less. 7200RPM means the platter inside (holding the data) spins faster, therefore in theory it should be faster than a 5400RPM drive. In real life there are many other factors that determine speed, so it might not be so clear cut.
     
    sgogeta4, Jul 18, 2009
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  3. Evolution

    Evolution Vox Sola

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    A 320GB HDD will have around 298GB for you to use.

    The main difference between a 5400rpm drive and a 7200rpm drive is the speed. The disk platters in a 7200rpm drive are spinning faster than the platters in a 5400rpm drive but this does not always mean a 7200rpm drive will be faster than a 5400rpm one. The current generation 5400rpm drives are faster than any 7200rpm drive from say ~4 years ago.
     
    Evolution, Jul 18, 2009
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  4. 4fingers97

    4fingers97 Notebook Evangelist

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    What do you mean by faster? And will it have less then 298 because my 500gb one had 451 and had only 408 left
     
    4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009
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  5. goofball

    goofball Notebook Deity

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    faster in sequential read/writes, and potentially faster in certain seek situations also given the areal density of current 5400rpm drives compared to 4 years ago for 7200rpm drives.
    It might show up as less than 298 if HP does use hidden partitions. I can't remember if they do or not.
     
    goofball, Jul 18, 2009
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  6. ntheo

    ntheo Notebook Consultant

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    HP has a recovery partition and a hidden partition for the Quick play if I recall correctly so that should amount at least 7GB loss if not more.
     
    ntheo, Jul 18, 2009
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  7. 4fingers97

    4fingers97 Notebook Evangelist

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    And doesnt the recover or vista shadow copy make a copie of all your files?
     
    4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009
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  8. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    What brand 5400rpm drive do you have now?
     
    Phil, Jul 18, 2009
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  9. 4fingers97

    4fingers97 Notebook Evangelist

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    Well it doesnt matter now Lol. I ordered the hdx18t a few minutes ago and I gave it a 500gb 7200 rpm hdd
     
    4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009
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  10. Phil

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    Phil, Jul 18, 2009
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  11. 4fingers97

    4fingers97 Notebook Evangelist

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    Well it was the only one I could buy from costco for the hdx18t. Is the 7200 rpm really that bad?
     
    4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009
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  12. 4fingers97

    4fingers97 Notebook Evangelist

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    Also how do I know if its a 7200.4? Costco and hp don't show what kind it its. Its only tells me this 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

    I dont get whats wrong with the harddrive. Is it slow? Will it break?
     
    4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009
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  13. goofball

    goofball Notebook Deity

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    it's not that it is bad, it's just that it is almost no real improvement (performance-wise) over the 7200.3 even given the increase in areal density.
    I think that it is the only 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA drive out at this time?
     
    goofball, Jul 18, 2009
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  14. 4fingers97

    4fingers97 Notebook Evangelist

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    Oh. So its works fast and its good but from the past hdd is has barly any improvment?
     
    4fingers97, Jul 18, 2009
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  15. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    That is correct. In theory it should be noticeably better, but in real life, the difference isn't a lot. It's still one of the best hard drives though, so don't worry about it.
     
    sgogeta4, Jul 19, 2009
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