What's the better upgrade?

Throwmeabone

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Jan 9, 2006
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I'm getting a Dell Inspiron 1420 as a warranty replacement for a laptop that failed. It will have a Core 2 Duo T5450 @ 1.66Ghz, 1GB of RAM, and a 5400 RPM 120 GB hard drive. Is it more worthwhile to add more memory or replace the hard drive with a faster one?
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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Sep 15, 2004
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Well, are you more likely to work with lots of larger files or lots of programs?

The 7200 RPM drive will outperform a 5400 RPM drive specifically in terms of things like data transfers, particularly for large files.

However, if you multitask a lot, or run things like PhotoShop, then the 2GB will be much more useful.
 

Oil

Diamond Member
Aug 31, 2005
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Adding more memory would help the average user more than a 7200rpm drive. This is especially true if the 1420 you are getting has Vista
 

corkyg

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Mar 4, 2000
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It really depends on how you will use your notebook. For me, storage space is more important than drive speed. For normal operations, you will see very little, if any, difference between 5400 and 7200 HDDs. In my use, I would much prefer the additional RAM as opposed to slightly more HDD speed that would be apparent in operations.

Transferring large files is more often than not constrained by the link used, and or the source moreso than the HDD. Example - if I am transferring digital images between my HDD and a USB Reader/Writer or camera, there would be no perceptible difference between a 5400 drive and a 7200 drive.

If you are a gamer, it might make a difference.
 
Dec 10, 2005
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I'd go with the RAM. If you already have a large 5400RPM drive, then you will see almost no difference in everyday usage with a 7200RPM drive. The RAM will allow you to run more programs smoothly, or just help in general especially if you run Vista.
 

zig3695

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Feb 15, 2007
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while i said in another thread that laptops run vista fine with 1gb, i would definitely go with 2gb of ram over a 7200rpm drive. even though hardrives are by far the slowest component of pc's, as said there just isnt that great of a difference between 7k and 5k for the most part
 

Skott

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2005
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RAM is the cheapest and fastest performance boost. Also the easiest to replace. Going from 5400rpm to 7200rpm also helps but not as much as adding more RAM. *If* you can swing it get both but if only one choice then go more RAM.
 

Ruptga

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Aug 3, 2006
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A high capacity 5200 drive is faster than a low capacity 7200 drive, it has to do with areal density, how far the head has to travel from bit to bit. Also, especially if you have integrated graphics or a hypermemory card, go with the 2GB, that's what I've done and the difference is very noticable. You may not notice 2GB for general work, but as soon as you open up a game and the GPU starts using more than 8MB you'll appreciate it.
 

Throwmeabone

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Jan 9, 2006
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Fry's has a good deal on memory right now. I read some reviews of 7200 RPM drives on NewEgg and the majority of them said they were not any faster than a 5400 RPM drive, so I think I will rule that out.

This new system will have Windows Vista (Basic unfortunately, it was not my choice), but I'm still somewhat skeptical that 2 GB will offer any improvement. I used to have a Logitech G15 keyboard with the screen on it that could show memory usage. My desktop system running XP Pro never went over 600 or 700 MB of RAM unless I was playing a game, then it would be just shy of 1.5 GB. Can 2GB of RAM somehow offer an improvement even if the system does not utilize more than 1 GB of it?
 

Dumbone

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May 5, 2007
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HI
Check out the Dell website.
Dell had a flyer in the Sunday newspaper. Some laptops can be bought with a "Free" ram upgrade to 2 gig AND a larger drive at no extra cost. I think the 1420 is one of them. Check out the Dell web site to make sure.

Dumbone
 

Throwmeabone

Senior member
Jan 9, 2006
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Yeah, the 1420 does come with the free memory and hard drive upgrade, but because this is a warranty replacement for another laptop, Dell is keeping the specs as close as possible to the old laptop's specs even though they are giving 2GB of RAM for free with new orders! It's so stupid. I tried to get some stuff changed on the laptop and was even willing to pay the difference but they wouldn't let me do it.