7200rpm 60GB vs. 5400rpm 80GB?

[CChoi83]

Hello. I want to know which one is better in terms of strictly performance and is the difference noticable? I ask because I have a T42 2379-R9U on the way and I'm thinking about cancelling that order from IBM and purchasing the T42 2373-N1U or the 2373-M1U. The only thing that's holding me back is the 2379-R9U has the 7200rpm 60 giger and N1U/M1U has the 7200rpm 80 giger. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

regards,
Chris

P.S. I've already searched the forums and saw the other threads but they seem to discuss more of the difference on the 4200rpm vs. the 7200rpm drives. I'm looking strictly for the 7200rpm 60gig vs. the 5400rpm 80gig.

[Flightvector]

I have to say that it will probably be a noticeable difference given that your patterns of use are not of the basic user. That is, if you do not solely use your Thinkpad for office apps and run-of-the-mill apps that can easily run at 600MHz, you may have issues. If you contemplate adding memory as well, then this will be a factor. The hard drive is one of the single largest bottlenecks for most content-based applications and can affect CPU/memory intensive apps because a slower spin-rate will affect page-file performance and sometimes even transfer to and from memory. I would go with the 7200 regardless of higher capacity; if you really need 80Gb, I would buy the newer 7200 rpm model from Hitachi separately.

I am not talking about a difference like the CAS memory cycling rates or the difference between a 1.7GHz and 1.8GHz Dothan, which are on levels effectively nearing imperceptibility for the above average user. Of course those who use high-end apps will argue otherwise, and for justified reasoning. But the difference in 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm will be perceptible for a good number of people.

[elvisjohndowson]

Hi,
You can try the specs for the 2373-HTA, its nearly equivalent to the 2379-DYU , but with a 60GB 7200 RPM driver and 1 GB of memory.

Best regards,

Elvis Dowson

[CChoi83]

Thanks for the replies. I just noticed that when I'm on IBM's site and I look at the specs of the M1U and the N1U, they list the 80gig HD as 7200rpm. Is that a typo? I can't access the page without logging in to the Educational site. If you go there and search for both the 2373-M1U and the 2373-N1U, you will see that they are listed with 7200rpm 80 gigers. Can someone clarify this?

[Flightvector]

The IBM website is full of typos, so the TABook should be your prime reference. The M1U officially has an 80HS HDD which is indeed the 5400 rpm model. I don't believe the 7200 rpm 80Gb Travelstar has been integrated yet in the T-Series.

Here is the link to the current TABook (also available on Bill's front page):

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitu ... tabook.pdf

[CChoi83]

Yeah, that what I thought and so did Bill. Well, I'm going to cancel my order for the 2379-R9U from IBM on Monday. I just ordered the 2373-M1U from Bill (yeah, it's 2:14AM). Overnighted it so I'll get it Tuesday. IBM is on a 2-4 week backorder for the 2379-R9U and and I'm not waiting until the end of the month for the T42. They keep on changing the est. ship date on their site and I'm getting a little bit annoyed. Besides, the M1U has more and for just about the same price +/- $30-40.00 bucks of so. I'll let everyone know how it goes when I get it.

I'm starting to feel a bit... EviL... MuhaHahaHahHAha >=)

[zzyss]

Huh? You mean they've finally released an 80GB 7200rpm Travelstar??
Man, I've been waiting for that for sooooo long! Newegg here I come!

[ian]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the 80Gb 7200rpm model a DESKSTAR rather than a TRAVELSTAR? - I mean it's great if you do manage to force it into a T42 of course...

[rocketman]

The 2373-M1U on Bills site has the 80gb hard drive as the 5400rpm version:
http://www.thinkpads.com/start.htm#New_ ... Pad_models:
My 2379-R9U is being delivered on Monday, I ordered it on 10/6 so it's been a while

[zzyss]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the 80Gb 7200rpm model a DESKSTAR rather than a TRAVELSTAR? - I mean it's great if you do manage to force it into a T42 of course...

Ah, crap. Yeah, I checked the Hitachi website, and they only now have 100GB 5400 rpms. The 7200's still only come in 40 and 60Gb flavours