hdd upgrade or a cpu upgrade?

Hi, im planning on buying a t60 widescreen very soon
I wanted a 2.16 ghz T7400, but I am considering upgrading to 100gb 7200rpm instead of the 120gb 5400rpm.

I do not do video editing or any hardcore stuff. I do not even play games. Just surf the web and watch videos.

Which upgrade would serve me better for the next three or four years? I do not really care about the 100 dollars I save by upgrading the hdd instead of the cpu. I just want to know how it will serve me performance wise.

Thanks!

 

I'd downgrade the CPU to a T7200, given your usage. You probably don't even need the faster drive, as more storage will probably serve someone with your usage pattern better. What I ended up doing on my laptop is buying a 100GB 5400RPM drive with it, then I took that out and replaced it with a 160GB 5400RPM Hitachi, which performs very similarly to a 7200RPM drive, so I have the best of both worlds, storage and performance, and I also have 100GB of portable storage, makes it easier to transfer files and so on to people I may not be on the same network as, or when I want to transfer a lot of data and I'm limited to a wireless connection.

 

For the tasks you mention, you do not need a T7400 processor. It will be overkill. You just need a T5500 or so.

 

That, and the HD upgrade is unnecessary unless you really need programs to open 25% faster.

 

For what you described you only need a pretty basic configuration, so save some money and cut down on the components.

Unless you want unused power.

 

I actually do want the unused power since i want to use the laptop for like 3 years.

but I guess I could cut down on the cpu as I don't do any demanding tasks...
I am a big fan of programs opening faster so I guess I'll get a 100gb 7200rpm..
I use a 250gb external hdd anyway.
Thank you for your advice.

 

I think a T7200 should be good for the next three years. I'd save money there and get the hard drive you want in this situation.

 

You should have mentioned that earlier.

So then the T7200 would be a great choice along with a 100gb 7200rpm HDD.

One quick note, since you want it to be future proof consider getting the option x1300 or x1400 GPU for the notebook, that way if anything to do with 3D pops up you will be ready.

 

Indeed. If you're looking for any sort of future-proofing you're going to need better graphics than Intel's integrated offerings.

 

I also agree, an X1300 or X1400 would be good futureproofing.

 

I concur with the others. Get a dedicated GPU to futureproof your notebook.