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    WD Scorpio Black 750GB vs Scorpio Black 500GB

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by mirage_bg, Apr 24, 2011.

  1. mirage_bg

    mirage_bg Notebook Deity

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    Hello everyone!
    Let's talk about which HDD is more speedy and with better overall "real world" performance.
    I bought the bigger version between these two and I am not absolutely sure that I made the right choice in terms of fully speed.
    WD Black 750GB has the new 4k sector file system and higher transfer rate- 103MB average in my case and 16.2ms access time.
    As opposite side WD Black 500GB has 512 Byte sector, ~82-3MB transfer rate and 14.8-15ms access time.
    Do you think that better access times of WD Black 500GB provides more speed or the higher transfer rate of WD Black 750GB? Which is more important in normal everyday use?
    Please, share your personal opinions here :)
     
    mirage_bg, Apr 24, 2011
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  2. GP-SE

    GP-SE Notebook Consultant

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    access time is more important for things like booting up, but for copying large files transfer rate is better. I had the 500gb, now I have the 750gb like you, and personally I've noticed no difference in speed. I suggest keeping the 750 since you get more storage space with the same performance.
     
    GP-SE, Apr 24, 2011
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  3. Dreamliner330

    Dreamliner330 Notebook Evangelist

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    I have both. I've decided to return my 750 in favor of a Crucial C300. The speed between the two are not really noticeable in real world.

    I'd take the 750, may as well get the highest capacity.
     
    Dreamliner330, Apr 24, 2011
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  4. Star Forge

    Star Forge Quaggan's Creed Redux!

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    I might upgrade for more space but otherwise, I don't think there is a subtle difference between the two drives if you look at it objectively. Furthermore, no 7200 RPM SATA II HDD can beat out a SSD so as long it is spinning at 7200 RPM, they will be the fastest traditional mechanical laptop HDD.
     
    Star Forge, Apr 25, 2011
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  5. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    same choice I had to make, and I went with the 500GB drive due to:

    - faster average read seek: 15ms vs 16.X ms
    - much faster average write seek: 7.8ms vs 15.7ms
    - lower power consumption at idle: 0.8W vs 1.0W
    - no compatibility issues, no alignment required
    - cheaper.

    (too lazy to provide source, sorry. Maybe later)

    early days SSDs (such as Samsung 64GB SLC) were making the computer much faster based on their minimal seek times, eventhough the maximum sequential transfer rates favored the HDDs.

    so seek > max transfer speed. Capacity matters though, but for me 500GB is fine.
     
    miro_gt, Apr 27, 2011
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  6. mirage_bg

    mirage_bg Notebook Deity

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    Yes, but keep in mind that a little bit higher seek time on WD 750GB is somehow overtaken by a huge difference in the transfer rate- I can reach 105MB average vs 80-85MB on WD 500GB. I believe in "real world" usage you can never notice the difference of 1-1,2 ms seek time between them.

    Can you post a screenshot of HD Tune , please?
     
    mirage_bg, Apr 28, 2011
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  7. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    [​IMG]

    the write seek is twice as fast. Considering the number of small writes that the OS uses I'd say that's quite an advantage.

    Only the hitachi 7k500 comes close to that seek with its 8.2mS. The XT gets 10.1mS, and my old 7200.4 gets 13.6mS. I can see the difference between my Seagate and the WD in boot times - the second is little faster, though both get about same transfer rates.

    of course it depends on your usage. If you operate with large files most of the time then you made the right choice with the 750GB
     
    miro_gt, Apr 28, 2011
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