X31 - Hard Drive Compatibility Advice

[dmar]

I'm a basic business user looking to upgrade the smallish 20GB/42K HD on my X31. I've narrowed down the field to the following (from NewEgg):

Hitachi TravelStar/80GB54K/8MB Cache/$119.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822146209

Toshiba Super SlimLine/80G/54K/16MB Cache/$127.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822149020

• 1. Are there any known compatability issues or problems with either drive?

• 2. Should I stay away from any specific drives?

• 3. Does the 16MB vs. 8MB Cache make a significant difference?

• 4. Are there issues with the Toshiba 'Super SlimLine' fitting in the X31? (It seems that a lot of Apple Powerbooks use this drive)

• 5. and finally, anyone know if there's expected price drop trends in the next 1-2 months...ie. should I wait a bit longer to buy?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

[verktyg]

I would look for an Hitachi 7200 RPM drive with 8MBs of cache (buffer). They have some newer 80g and 100g drives.

I have a 60g Hitachi 7K60 in my X31. It's great. Very quiet and it cut the boot time down to less than 30 seconds versus 90 seconds with the original 40g 5400 RPM that shipped with the system.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822146020

(This price is a little steep for this drive)

I also have a Toshiba MK4026GAX 40g HDD with a 16MB cache which I was running in my X31 for a short time. The performance was close to the 7200 RPM Hitachi but it was a lot louder - head clicks while seeking could even be felt. I now have it in a T20 and it seems a lot more quiet.

I've seen complaints about HDD noise in some newer TPs. The suggested fix to reduce the noise is to make sure that the drive is in contact with the plastic film in the HDD caddy.

[kevinc]

I'll second the vote for a 7200 RPM drive...my Hitachi 7K60 made a significant difference in my X31. Otherwise, buy by warranty.

[verktyg]

I'll second the vote for a 7200 RPM drive...my Hitachi 7K60 made a significant difference in my X31.

My X31 2885-RGU with a PIIIM 1.6 and 1G of memory ran like a slug even after I cleansed it of garbage and eye candy. It was only slightly faster than the 240x PIII 500 with 192MB of memory that I bought it to replace.

When I replaced the original 40G 5400 RPM HDD with a 7K6, my boot time was cut from 75-80 seconds to 30 seconds! Now it runs like a 1.6 should.