Yes, another 5k80 vs 7k60 thread....

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stgreek · #1 Post by **stgreek** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 5:16 pm

My T40 came with a 40G 5400 RPM drive, which is too small to fit my needs anymore. I am looking to upgrade to one of the drives shown above, and I wanted to get feedback on the following:

Will the 7200 60 gig drive improve speed noticeably enough, coming from a 5400 (not a 4200) drive? If the improvement is not great I will definitely go for the extra 20 gigs of the 5k80, but if it is too good to pass I might consider it. Yes, I did use the search function but most opinions were first-time users or upgrades from 4200 (to whom both drives would seem VERY fast).

thanks
Stavros

#2 Post by **BillMorrow** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 1:49 am

60gig 7200 is the gold standard..
80gig 5400 RPM is a close second..

edelrc · #3 Post by **edelrc** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 1:51 pm

Like you said, most of other reviewers were comparing the 7200rpm vs. the 4000rpm.

However, I am surprise Bill recommends categorically the 7200rpm because the only exhaustive review performed on these two drives was done by Mofongo and Conmee. In their Sandra benchmarks they did not come with much of a difference on speed. At least no enough difference for us still need to struggle on deciding between a quieter 20GB vs some speed improvement and little noisier drive.

(See http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=15)

#4 Post by **BillMorrow** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 10:58 pm

i have sandra here and i can run those tests..
but, subjectively, the 7200RPM is it..

remember, i said "a CLOSE SECOND"..

stgreek · #5 Post by **stgreek** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 2:31 pm

The thing is though, that for the price of a 7k60 I can get a 5k80 and upgrade the memory from 512MB to 1GB. Wouldn't that improve system responsiveness while keeping the extra space, thus making the 5k80 a better deal?

tselling · #6 Post by **tselling** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 2:46 pm

Where are you looking at buying the drive? I was looking at prices and the difference isnt that great $187 vs $173
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductLi ... 6&SortBy=D

stgreek · #7 Post by **stgreek** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 6:49 pm

Teresa, I'm in the UK.

stgreek · #8 Post by **stgreek** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 4:03 am

Following Bill's recommendation, I got a 7k60 (as well as the extra memory) and it has just arrived here. What I do not know is whether I need the mandatory update or not. How can I tell?

Thanks
Stavros

#9 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 10:35 am

what is the date on the HDD..?

if after april, then it should not need it..
BUT, to be sure, d/l the update and run it..

if it does not need it then it will not allow itself to be applied..

stgreek · #10 Post by **stgreek** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 3:40 am

The 7k60, along with the 1 gig of ram have made my system fly!! On linux, firefox takes less than half a second to load my home page!! I am very impressed with the performance and I have to say that the noise/heat is not that much, I've barely noticed it. A very good choice overall, thanks for your advice.

Stavros

Yes, another 5k80 vs 7k60 thread....

Yes, another 5k80 vs 7k60 thread....

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