Thinkpads Forum

I am looking to replace my X60's 60 GB HDD with a Seagate 320 GB HDD.

I found this model Seagate Momentus 7200.3 (ST9320421ASG - harddisk - 320 GB - SATA-300).

1. Has anyone installed this particluar model?
2. Any feedback?
3. It has shock protection on the drive. Is this compatiable with that on X60, or should I just go for no shock protection?

I don´t have a X60 but I have 7200.3 320 GB and I can tell you following things:
Ad (2): Not bad drive, it has high read and write speeds (seemingly the highest as of now for a mechanical laptop drive, not counting the upcoming 7200.4), but not so good access times. The access times I benchemarked differ from the ones provided by the manufacturer by about 1ms, and they are worse than the access times of my Hitachi 7K200 by almost 2.5ms... When it came, the drive health was "good", namely "only" 69% (I suppose from 100%) while all my other drives are in 100% health (according to HDHealth). Fortunately, it stays at 69% for now... The drive is also somewhat noisy.

Ad (3): Yes, the model you have picked has built-in G shock protection and it´s compatible with X60, but it´s not compatible with ThinkPad shock protection or at least I come to believe so after having seen 3 drives going kaput when using both the built-in G-shock protection and the ThinkPad one simultaneously... I can´t say that there is real connection, but if I buy one with built-in G-shock protection, I would not use the ThinkPad one. Besides, that would be overkill... I would also buy one without G-shock protection in order to be able to use the ThinkPad one because with the Seagate one strangest things happen. At the beginning I wanted to check the built-in shock protection in my 7200.3 and a few pics got corrupted (btw, I´m not sure if this is related but I have the feeling that this pic corruption happens again and again, I found yesterday another pic in my pictures with the half cut off and I´m pretty sure that wasn´t the case from the beginning on), all desktop icons get shifted and things like these... Apart from this, the drive comes with 5 year warranty from Seagate...

To sum up, just to feel on the safe side I would have bought WD or Hitachi instead of that particular Seagate drive.

Hope this helps

Marin

EDIT: "use" -> "one"

I do not have the drive.
However: I learned by experience that the thinkpad shockprotection works well. So if there is a shock protected and non protected type, go for the cheaper.

r.

Thanks for the in-depth replies. Interesting feedback on the Seagate drive. I had heard that the WD was noisy, but your expeirence with Seagate makes me question their quality. I'll have to make up my mind soon though.

Trolle wrote: but your expeirence with Seagate makes me question their quality.

Actually me too... But please don´t get me wrong, it could be just that (or those) particular drive(s) that have exhibited such behavior. Many folks seem pretty happy with their 7200.3 drives, mine hasn´t failed me (yet), but the situation is somewhat indefinite. Nevertheless, if I was again about to buy such a drive, I would have gone for Hitachi or WD, just to be on the safe side judging by my limited experience. Of course, that doesn´t mean that there is no chance one picks a faulty drive from WD or Hitachi...

Just my 0.02$

Marin

I went for the 250GB 7200.3 model (no G protection) when it just came out. If I had waited for 2 weeks I could have purchased the 320GB for the same price. I'll stop kicking myself about it eventually.

But anyway, I think this is a good hard drive. I'm generally happy with the level of noise and speed. I purchased it instead of a Hitachi drive because every Hitachi I've had has exhibited a very annoying "CLICK CLACK" that drives you nuts.

Good luck, but I'd say wait for the 7200.4 (already released - including in a 500GB model)

Marin85 wrote:Yes, the model you have picked has built-in G shock protection and it´s compatible with X60, but it´s not compatible with ThinkPad shock protection or at least I come to believe so after having seen 3 drives going kaput when using both the built-in G-shock protection and the ThinkPad one simultaneously... I can´t say that there is real connection, but if I buy one with built-in G-shock protection, I would not use the ThinkPad one...

Sorry for digressing but does the Hitachi 7K320 have built-in G shock protection? I suspect not but in any case it must be compatible with TV APS. (I just bought one for ~US$55 after rebate which I think is a steal of a deal.)

hausman wrote:Sorry for digressing but does the Hitachi 7K320 have built-in G shock protection?

None that I have heard of I looked at the data sheet and no such thing is mentioned and I have heard from some folks that it doesn´t have such a thing (-> we can trust the data sheet).

hausman wrote:I suspect not but in any case it must be compatible with TV APS.

Most definitely. If the drive is ok, you shouldn´t have any problems with APS.

Cheers,

Marin

Hi guys, sorry to hijack the thread but I may be getting an X60 soon, maybe the 1.66 core solo version (am on a very tight budget!) and will be looking to upgrade the HDD. Will this hard drive work? >>>>

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Seagate-Momentus- ... 286.c0.m14

Is 7200rpm and 16mb buffer OK, or would it be better to go with a standard 54000rpm and 8mb buffer to be on the safe side?

sere83 wrote:Hi guys, sorry to hijack the thread but I may be getting an X60 soon, maybe the 1.66 core solo version (am on a very tight budget!) and will be looking to upgrade the HDD. Will this hard drive work? >>>>

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Seagate-Momentus- ... 286.c0.m14

Is 7200rpm and 16mb buffer OK, or would it be better to go with a standard 54000rpm and 8mb buffer to be on the safe side?

Yes, if the description is true, this HD is compatible with your x60. However, I would suggest you to take a look at some users opinions/experience in internet before purchasing this drive. This HDD model is already long enough out in the market, so there are certainly some useful comments/opinions from users. It is just that it seems to me Seagate HDDs, in particular Seagate Momentus 7200.4, have kind of mind of their own...