Thinkpads Forum

both are 100 GB SATA 7200 RPM, and are on sale on newegg.com. which is the better choice? i know that the consensus on this board is that the 7k100 is slightly better in terms of performance - but by how much?

If you read the various reviews even the reviewers can't decide. Considering that the seagate is now $10 cheaper and has a 5year warrantee and a much better rma policy for me it's a no brainer. If the hitachi were $10 cheaper then the seagate I'd probably buy the hitachi. That's how close the 2 drives are imo.

does the 5 year warranty apply for OEM drives too?

steveg47, I totally agree with your assessment.

laundromatt wrote:does the 5 year warranty apply for OEM drives too?

Yes, Starting from the manufacture date on the drive. Newegg sells them so quickly that the manufacture date is usually within a month of the purchase date.

I have many Seagate drives in my workstation and desktop computers. I would have put one in my T30 as well, but when I emailed Seagate to ask them about compatibility, Seagate was very up front and told me there could be some compatibility issues.
You have a newer system, but I would probably make sure it was compatible with your system by emailing Segate if you think there might be an issue. They respond very quickly.
Other than that, I don't think you can go wrong. While I have almost all Seagate 3.5" desktop drives, the HD in my T30 is an Hitachi, I'm satisfied with all of them.

ronbo,
I use a Seagate Momentus ST94811A 40GB (ATA100, 5400rpm, 8MB cache) in both my T23 and T30 without any problems.
Did you mean to say that the T30 could take a SATA HD?

No, apparently some of the Seagate 7200rpm PATA drives had some compatibility issues with Thinkpad laptops. Not all the time, kind of hit and miss. Since the Hitachi drives work so well with the T30, I didn't feel I wanted to take a chance. You can't use an SATA in the T30, no matter what brand.
Checking the compatibility is a good idea when you use aftermarket products, especially with a brand that leans towards proprietary hardware and software.

I'm also considering one of these for a T41 and/or T23. They are now both $109 + ship. I read the Momentus is somewhat noisier and produces more heat than the Hitachi? Someone experienced with both drives can confirm? But that 5 yr. warranty is tempting.