Thinkpads Forum

Any opinions on this hard drive?

WD Black 750GB Performance Mobile Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA?

I've used it in several different systems ranging from SATA-modded T43p to a Dell with 4th generation Core i, no issues.

Having said that, if you're upgrading the system, why not go for an SSD? It will make a world of difference in terms of response times and breathe a whole new life into the machine...and they're really not all that expensive nowadays.

I have the 500GB version in my T61.
But having said that. I am questioning even 500GB. The only reason I put a 500GB drive into my T61, was that it was replacing my old desktop as my primary computer, so ALL of my stuff went on it. My pictures directory tree was over 100GB. And I forget the size of the video editing directory, as I moved that off as soon as I could.

If you will be using your T61 as your primary/only computer, and you have LOTS of stuff to load, then the 750GB drive makes sense.
And at only about $15 more than the 500GB drive, why not.

Now that I have a proper desktop again, with a LOT more horsepower, I'm cleaning house on the T61 and will likely drop low enough to easily fit into a 256GB drive. Which is making me think of putting in a 256GB SSD.

As ajkula66 mentioned, the SSD makes the computer feel a LOT faster. I have an SSD in my desktop, and compared to a similar desktop with a standard 7200rpm drive, the computer with the SSD feels a LOT faster. Which is why I am seriously thinking about replacing the HD in my T61 with a SSD. It is only deciding on the capacity that I am stuck on, 240/256GB or 480/512GB.

taichi wrote:WD Black 750GB Performance Mobile Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA?

If this is supposed to be a "Western Digital Scorpio Black" then i occassionally use one for backup purposes in the ultrabay of a T61. Being forever spoiled by the benefits provided by SSD, I really wouldn't want to use it as my main drive anymore. HDD's are simply far too lame in comparison to *any* SSD. But they are nice for mass storage of stuff not continuously needed.

I installed the 500GB model into an E530 I gave as a gift to my nephew last Christmas before I went to all T series. It's still spinning.

I have a 500GB Scorpio Blue in my T500. It's silent as hell. I never hear it, even with my fan off.

I know that basically everything about an SSD is better than a mechanical drive, but I keep wondering about the slim possibility that an SSD can suddenly stop working without any warning signs, unlike a mechanical drive which starts making odd noises well before it fails. This is probably more a problem with the first generations of drives, but I wonder. Is it still necessary to use TRIM?

It would be nice to have a speedy drive for sure.

Currently I have the Scorpio Black 500 GB in my T60P, but as I believe the 750 to be a newer drive, I was wondering what people's experience were.

taichi wrote:I know that basically everything about an SSD is better than a mechanical drive, but I keep wondering about the slim possibility that an SSD can suddenly stop working without any warning signs, unlike a mechanical drive which starts making odd noises well before it fails.

Yes. That's why backups are still a must, regardless whether one relies on HDD or SSD. Having said that, SSD failure rate is very low BUT when they do go out it hurts unless one has their stuff properly backed up.

Is it still necessary to use TRIM?

Yes.

taichi wrote:I know that basically everything about an SSD is better than a mechanical drive, but I keep wondering about the slim possibility that an SSD can suddenly stop working without any warning signs, unlike a mechanical drive which starts making odd noises well before it fails. This is probably more a problem with the first generations of drives, but I wonder.

What you are describing is a gradual mechanical failure, like a drive motor or bearing.

A mechanical drive can die suddenly as well.
I had a drive die from something called 'sticktion.' Years ago, one of the guys at Maxtor explained it as the head getting SO close to the disk platter that it STICKS to the disk. The stickton is so great that the disk cannot not even spin up.

'Sticktion' is when 2 flat pieces get so close that they stick together. A common example of this effect is 2 sheets of glass, laid on on the other. Sometimes the top sheet cannot be lifted off the bottom sheet. I have had to slide the top sheet enough to break that sticksion, so that I could lift the top sheet. Nearest that I can figure, all/most of the air is driven out of the space between the parallel surfaces, creating something like a vacuum, and that is what is holding the head to the disk platter.

An electrical failure in the controller or motor could also kill a drive immediately. Solid state devices are very reliable, but they do fail.

ac12 wrote:Solid state devices are very reliable, but they do fail.

Yep.

The only problem being that it's the controller that goes haywire 99.9% of the time and there's nothing one can do about it.

Hence - at the cost of repeating myself ad nauseam - backups, backups and more backups...

ac12 wrote: I had a drive die from something called 'sticktion.' Years ago, one of the guys at Maxtor explained it as the head getting SO close to the disk platter that it STICKS to the disk. The stickton is so great that the disk cannot not even spin up.

When I was a kid, we had Seagate desktop HDDs that had chronic stiction issues. The motor had a large spinning rimmed disc underneath (like an upside-down turntable I guess) which contained the permanent magnets, and we could force it to spin by poking a stick and applying some lateral force (along its axis of rotation) until it got free.

Unfortunately this is impossible to do on modern HDDs because the motors are fully enclosed inside the drive, with no way to spin them externally.
The only way is to open the drive inside a vacuum chamber and spin it by hand.