Thinkpads Forum

I currently have a 320gb WD 7200rpm 16mb cache on my T61.
I have 4gb of RAM, windows 2003 Server.

I run mostly VMs on this and I just have the browser on my T61.

I'm thinking of getting a 640mb WD, 5400rpm 8mb cache. Will I notice a speed difference?

Good question and I've no idea! I suspect it'll be a wash, with the higher density of the 5K640 offsetting the higher speed of the 7K320.

The fastest option might be a 320GB (single platter) 5K640 if you don't need any additional storage space.

7200RPM drives have better latency, which makes them quicker even if the throughput isn't as fast. You could pick up the ultrabay and use them both. Supposedly there's some 750GB drives coming in the very near future.

I'll most likely do that, but I was debating on wether I should reinstall my OS on the 640gb drive and make that the primary drive or not.

FredGarvin wrote:Supposedly there's some 750GB drives coming in the very near future.

Or even 1TB laptop hard drive

That's a 12.7mm drive. It won't fit in the T61. It would fit in the UltraBay of R series or any of the 15" Z series.

FredGarvin wrote:That's a 12.7mm drive. It won't fit in the T61. It would fit in the UltraBay of R series or any of the 15" Z series.

True, my bad. I guess I was too excited about it... As a matter of course, having such capacity in the main bay and then same in the ultrabay was too good to be true

article says 12.5mm, how tall drives do the T61s take? how about in the ultrabay?

The T series use super slim 9.5mm optical drives, while the R series and the 15" Zs use standard 12.7mm height drives. Any standard hard drive should work in the T series, but larger three platter drives like the WD will not work in the T series.

FredGarvin wrote:7200RPM drives have better latency, which makes them quicker even if the throughput isn't as fast. You could pick up the ultrabay and use them both. Supposedly there's some 750GB drives coming in the very near future.

How far away do you expect these to be? And would their price points be comparatively good? Dollar/GB ..

The current newegg prices for 500GB 5400RPM drives seem reasonable. From that price angle?

I think sometime in the beginning of next year is what I recall seeing, though I could be wrong. I thought about getting the 1TB WD because my R60 will accommodate it and I could fit my whole movie collection on it, but they take months ship according to Amazon, at which point there may be something better. Not too far down the road that won't be big enough either. I opted for the 640GB WD. I picked one up on eBay for $70. That'll have to tide me over until bigger drives come along.

FredGarvin wrote:I think sometime in the beginning of next year is what I recall seeing, though I could be wrong. I thought about getting the 1TB WD because my R60 will accommodate it and I could fit my whole movie collection on it, but they take months ship according to Amazon, at which point there may be something better. Not too far down the road that won't be big enough either. I opted for the 640GB WD. I picked one up on eBay for $70. That'll have to tide me over until bigger drives come along.

Thanks. When / What price would you peg the 750GB ones that would be T-Series friendly i.e. 9.5mm.. et al (if at all.. or are they going to be bigger size) ?