5400 vs. 7200

[justin_otis]

I was just wondering whether or not it is worth the extra money to buy a 7200 rpm HD over a 5400.

[soulkillah]

hey man i had that exact question a while ago when i was getting my drive
they told me to get a 7200 which i did but i cant seem to see much of a difference.
plus if you buy a 5400 you can get 10gigs more than buy a 7200rpm
i say get the extra gigs save a litte cash and get a 5400rpm

[This message has been edited by soulkillah (edited 08-06-2001).]

[NDD]

It depends what are you planning to do mostly. Hardcore apps, net server, for example, will be more "happy" with fastest possible HD. If your most concerne is gaming, the games will load slightly faster too, but then it's more likely better to have additional HD space instead of speedy drive, as soulkillah suggested.
I'd still go with 7200RPM (have IBM DTLA 75GXP 45 GB, ATA100 7200RPM).

P.S. Be sure your new HD will have big cache, 2MB is most common now, and enought, but most older 5400RPM drives have 512k, and it decreases performance badly.

Best Regards ...

[This message has been edited by ND (edited 08-06-2001).]

[elroy]

I agree with ND I wouldn't touch a drive that didn't have a 2mb buffer [cache]. I just finished installing a new Western Digital 30gb 7200rpm ata100 about an hour ago. I replaced a 10 gig 5400 rpm ata66 Maxtor. I ran tests before and after installing the new drive. The new drive cut the boot time from 69 seconds to about 40 seconds. SiSoft Sandra's hard drive benchmark index increased from 10756 to 22249. I stole this new drive from Best Buy a few weeks ago for $74 shipped to my house. Go to techbargains.com and keep watching for something to go on sale.

[Warthog]

Personally, I noticed the difference.

As ND said, it depends what you do and/or what you want. I like the biggest, baddest, fastest, so I spent the extra $$$ to get a 7200rpm 45gb drive.

Warthog

[NDD]

Are we talking about same HD, Warthog ?

Best Regards ...

[Warthog]

lol, as a matter of fact, we are

I just skimmed your post, so I didn't read the part about your hd

Warthog

[Nick CPU]

Go with 7200. No question

[wing7788]

I posted the same question as you about a month ago.

I bought the 7200 RPM and never regretted it.

[Double L]

If I already have a 5400, how soon will I need to upgrade?

[Nick CPU]

Everyone these days should have at least 30 GB for storing stuff. If you have less then it might make sense to do the upgrade. If you have more, then I suggest not upgrading because it would be a waste of your drive. I like 7200 rpm drives because the are faster and It does make a noticable difference.

[sys-eng]

Double L

Keep your 5400 RPM drive to store backups.

It is reported that the IBM 7200 RPM drives are as quiet as other brands' 5400 RPM.

[Warthog]

40gb IBM 60GXP for $100?? Must be mistaken or is 5400rpm.

My 7200rpm 45gb IBM 75GXP (barely older than the 60GXP) was $150 back in December. They should be around that now, if a little less. If you want the latest and greatest, get the 60GXP. It'll be a little more expensive than the 75GXP.

Warthog

[Double L]

What's a good price for a 7200 rpm 45 gb drive?

Could I possible add it in addition to my existing one - or would I have to replace it outright?

Thanks in advance.

[alphageek]

I think NewEgg.com has an IBM 60GXP 40GB for about $100.

I'd go with the 7200 drive just because it seem like they are higher quality than the 5400s.