HDD Questions and Suggestions

[' r i S e n]

Hello,

I have been content with my stock 5400 RPM drive but I would prefer Photoshop CS5 to be a bit more snappy and I wouldn't mind less boot-up or application launch time, either. I searched 7200 RPM 500GB 2.5'' Internal Laptop HDDs on Newegg and found a lot of results of course, but I have a few questions and would most certainly appreciate any suggestions thereafter. I know that I want a 7200 RPM HDD and not a SSD, as I do not have much use for SSD plus it is expensive and doesn't offer much space (unless it gets more expensive).

• Would you recommend that I go with SATA II (3Gb/s) or SATA III (6Gb/s)? I can supply any information such as applications that I use and the like.

• Does a Hybrid Drive (Momentus XT, namely) really outperform a regular 7200 RPM HDD? Is this drive mainly just hype?

• Will a 7200 RPM HDD considerably outperform a 5400 RPM HDD overall and more specifically in terms of Photoshop CS5?

• Does a 7200 RPM HDD really run hotter, make more noise, and consume more battery life than a 5400 RPM HDD?

In all of the points above (albeit the specifics), I have heard opposite opinions on and I would appreciate a solid answer based on facts or experience if that isn't too much to ask. I would also much appreciate any suggestions for a 7200 RPM 500GB 2.5'' HDD.

Thank you to all who reply.

 

[deadwulfe]

1) Doesn't matter. HDDs aren't fast enough to reach those throughput speeds.

2) Yes and no. They outperform most HDDs in their operations, but that's because it has flash ram on it. It is a regular hard drive that can help you boot up and launch some frequently used apps faster. I, personally, do not recommend them for a dual-boot computer (Bootcamp Windows). There have also been a lot of complaints about those drives, but my experiences were not nearly as bad as others.

3) Outperform, yes, but not considerably. You may or may not even notice a slight increase in general speed, but you would notice an increase in sequential reads/writes of larger files.

4) Probably.


Use Mroogle to find additional opinions.

 

[rex450se]

I have the Momentus XT in my 2011 13" and I love it. From start up chime to ready to use is ~15 seconds. It has worked flawlessly and I would recommend to anyone.

Victor

 

[' r i S e n]

I'm not so sure on the Momentus XT, I have heard a lot more about it negatively than I have positively.

Forgive me but I am new to this - if I were to purchase a regular 7200 RPM HDD, would I just have to install it and partition it and then be good to go? I am unfamiliar with a lot of this but would I have to get anything to support it? (firmware wise, not hardware)