laptop hard drive: 5400 rpm vs 7200 rpm

[CletusTheDwarf]

Right now I have a 60gb 7200 hard drive in my laptop and i need more space. I'm finding lots of great deals on bigger hard drives, but they are 5400rpm drives. Will i see a noticeable slowdown from switching to a bigger, slower hard drive?

 

[andrei3333]

yes you will, i noticed a difference in my bf's laptop...but unless you are doing more than surfing the web and typing essays you should not worry about it

 

[CletusTheDwarf]

Do you know any online studies that can show a good direct real-world comparison between drives of the two speeds?

 

[alkemyst]

There are tons of benchmarks out there. Usually the 5400 is a good compromise of 4600 vs 7200rpms in terms of battery life vs performance.

If you are always on power and demand the best performance 7200 is usually where it's at. There are a few 5400 rpm drives that perform as well as 7200's. I think it was a Scorpio I bought my wife...may have been momentus. It was IDE/5400RPM. Thing is quiet and was night and day from her 30gb 4600RPM drive.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

yes, if u went from 7200 to 5400, u will see a big slowdown in overall system speed. stay with a 7200..

 

[alkemyst]

The drive was a Scorpio: Newegg link, discontinued model now.

The Scorpio beats the 7200rpm Momentus.

RPM is not a true indicator anymore with drives being way different in terms of platters and density.