7200 RPM PATA Drives?

[brooklynboy]

I'm looking to upgrade the HDD of a T41p that currently has a Hitachi 7K60 installed. Now that Hitachi has discontinued the 7K100, is there any other 7200 RPM PATA drive of 100 GB or more available? If not, how do the newer 5400 RPM PATA drives compare to it in performance and reliability? I see the odd leftover 7K100 available for about twice the price of 5400 RPM drives with two or three times the capacity.

Thanks.

[Harryc]

The latest large capacity 5400rpm PATA drives will be as fast if not faster than a 7K100. The Samsung HM160HC now shares the number one spot with the Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD3200BEVE as far as speed on a laptop with an IDE/PATA interface.

[sjthinkpader]

This is some data on 2.5 inch PATA HDDs:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 1&start=60

[brooklynboy]

Thanks, Harry and sj.

Searching the forums for the recommended Samsung and WD drives will give me something to read for a while.

I see reports of problems with the Samsung. Is there a general consensus as to which of the drives has proven more reliable?

If I read the last table in the linked post correctly, the WD is significantly faster than the 7K100, though I saw no tests of the Samsung.

[sjthinkpader]

Yes, I haven't tested the HM160HC yet. But it should be just as fast as the 320GB WD since it is a single platter design. If the computer doesn't need a lot of space, it is a good choice.

Regardless of how reliable a brand is, I would replace a HDD once it is beyond 2-3 years old. Remember to set the spin down time if the computer is on all the time.

[brooklynboy]

After reading the threads on this forum, notebookreview.com, and the major retailers' sites, and checking the specs on the manufacturers' sites, it seems that: i) the performance of the HM160HC and WD3200BEVE is essentially identical and better than that of the 7K100 except perhaps in the access of very small files; ii) the Samsung uses slightly less power and may be slightly quieter and more vibration-free than the WD; iii) there are a distressing number of reports of early failure of both drives; and iv) there are a fair number of reports of clicking Samsungs.

I'm concerned about reports of infant mortality, as the Hitachi drives I've used in the past worked when installed and continued working until they became too small or too slow to be useful. Unless someone has further thoughts, particularly regarding reliability, it sounds like the decision comes down to how likely I am to need more than 160 GB for the life of the machine.

Thanks again.

[ajkula66]

I've had several Samsung 160GB drives, mostly in A31p and T42/p units, and was very pleased with their performance. Out of maybe dozen of them, not a single failure. Not a fan of WD, although a couple of 250GB drives that went through my hands performed well.

If you don't need more than 160GB, I'd go with Samsung.

My $0.02 only...