80GB Hard Drive Question

[Leon]

I recently ordered a CTO (Configure To Order) (University Order) T42 Scheduled to ship next month It has this Disk Drive on the order -

09N4241 CTO TP 80GB 4200 HARD DRIVE

But recently, IBM lists on their site -

Model name 09N4273
Description ThinkPad 80GB High Speed Hard Drive 5400
IBM Web Price* $399.00

But it is not a choice with the CTO configuration. Can you get the 5400 speed drive with the T42. Is the 4200 drive as bad as people say?

[eriqesque]

IMHO the 4200 80GB if it's the 80gn Model which i assume it is
Is not that slow.
In fact I had the 7K60 7200rpm HD in my T40 for a while and switched it back to the 80GN and I honestly can't tell a whole heck of a lot of difference. Plus I got back some of my battery life.
and it's quieter.

[Voodle]

IMHO the 4200 80GB if it's the 80gn Model which i assume it is
Is not that slow.
In fact I had the 7K60 7200rpm HD in my T40 for a while and switched it back to the 80GN and I honestly can't tell a whole heck of a lot of difference. Plus I got back some of my battery life.
and it's quieter.

I've got a 7k60 and I've used it in both a T23 and currently an X20 - I'm at the point now where the vibrations from the drive and the fragility of it are making me seriously consider going back to a 5400rpm drive. I noticed a big difference going from a 4200 rpm to a 5400 rpm, but actually less of a difference with the 7k60.

A 4200 rpm drive runs quietly, doesn't vibrate and is tolerably fast, not so slow that it'll make the laptop seem especially sluggish, but slow enough that defragmenting the hard disk can be a very slow process. It's also slightly more robust due to the lower speed.

A 5400 rpm drive has some vibration and doesn't run AS quietly as a 4200, it runs quick enough that you'll notice the difference going from a 4200, programs will load faster and things like that.

[dclee012]

is there anything i should do when switching hard drives? such as in the bios?
i plan on just taking an old one out and putting in a 80gb.

[Leon]

Found This... comments?

5400 vs. 4200: Experience the Difference
October 14, 2003

According to Seagate® Technology’s research, 5400 RPM disc drives offer much higher performance than the current mainstream 4200 RPM drives. These tests* show that 5400 RPM drives are 24 to nearly 50 percent faster in a variety of home, school and office applications, as well as multimedia applications.

http://www.dell4fed.com/tpl_case_study.php?ri=386&si=35

and this

http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20031031/

[Mofongo]

I recently ordered a CTO (Configure To Order) (University Order) T42 Scheduled to ship next month It has this Disk Drive on the order -

09N4241 CTO TP 80GB 4200 HARD DRIVE

But recently, IBM lists on their site -

Model name 09N4273
Description ThinkPad 80GB High Speed Hard Drive 5400
IBM Web Price* $399.00

But it is not a choice with the CTO configuration. Can you get the 5400 speed drive with the T42. Is the 4200 drive as bad as people say?

I didn't even know you could get the 4200RPM drive with the T42. All of the IBM T42 models that I have seen (for 80GB drives) give you the 5400RPM one (5K80). My T42p 2379-DYU came with the 5K80.

Mofongo

[Leon]

Yeah, it's really weird... If you do a CTO (Configure To Order) or BYO (Build Your Own), it's the ONLY 80GB Drive you can get (even if you call and ask)!