SATA-150 versus SATA-300 etc.

Hey,

First, I searched for information on what I am asking and I didn't find much. However, if someone has already posted about this and I missed it, I apologize.

Now, I have read the thread on 5400 rpm versus 7200 rpm hard drives, and to me it sounds like 7200 rpm offers a nice performance increase. What I am wondering is, does moving from a SATA-150 hard drive to a SATA-300 also offer real-life performance boosts? I know that, theoretically, SATA-300 is twice as fast as SATA-150, but I have also heard that in reality, the difference is quite a bit smaller.

Finally, given that I use my laptop for both gaming as well as being mobile (taking to work and class) which of the following is "better": 1) keeping my current hard drive (Hitachi Travelstar 5K160 - 160 GB, SATA-150, 5400 rpm, 8 MB buffer size), 2) replacing my current hard drive with the Seagate Momentus 7200.2 (160 GB, SATA-300, 7200 rpm, 8 MB buffer size), or 3) replacing my current hard drive with a Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 (200 GB, SATA-150, 7200 rpm, 16 MB buffer size)?

Thank you!

 

Someone did post about this recently, but no worries, as I'm sure it's already a few pages back.

Yes, there will be a noticeable performance increase with a 7200 rpm drive as opposed to a 5400 rpm. No, you will not notice the difference between SATA-150 and SATA-300. Even WD Raptors that run at 10,000 rpm still use SATA-150.

 

Currently the 300GB/s interface offers NO benefits. In actuality the 300GB/s interface requires more power to operate, which means that you won't be able to last as long without AC power. Stick with a SATA 150 drive if that's important to you.

In your situation I would buy the 7k200 and use your old drive in an external enclosure for backups.

 

The 7k200 will be noticeably faster (and larger) than the Seagate momentus, so I'd get the Hitatchi.

 

Thank you all! I appreciate the input! I'm thinking that yes, I'll be going with the 7k200. Thanks!