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kmarketing · Jun 19, 2004, 09:58 AM

Hi,

How is the battery life of your powerbooks with your 5400 HD or 7200 HD when compared to the stock 4200 HD?

I'm considering to replace the 60gb 4200 HD on my rev a 17" 1ghz with a 5400 one, but if the battery life is reduced quite a bit, I'll just stick to the stock HD.

I like using my laptop on battery juice, for dvd's and such, typing documents, music, etc. So since they don't really use the speed of the hard drive, having the stock one is no big deal.

The only time it would be nicer is for some of the heavier apps, opening programs, and when on ac adapter.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!!

V0ID · Jun 19, 2004, 11:42 PM

Battery life should be similar. See http://www.barefeats.com/pb12.html

V0ID · Jun 19, 2004, 11:43 PM

deleted

TailsToo · Jun 20, 2004, 09:34 PM

I wouldn't image that it would be that drastic of a change.

Macpilot · Jun 21, 2004, 10:44 AM

Personally, I think upgrading from the 4200 to a 5400 would be a waste of time and money.

Go for the 7200. It makes a world of difference in your laptop, and I have noticed NO difference in battery life.

The drive I have makes a constant little whine, but never "clicks" and "grinds" like the stock 4200 drive.

I am a very happy customer after upgrading hard drives.

Took me about 3 hours total to take apart the Powerbook, remove the old drive, install the new one, and put the thing back together.

I am at a loss as to why Apple does not offer this speed drive as an option in their Store.

eatinwokout · Jun 21, 2004, 12:24 PM

I agree.. Go with the 7200 HD upgrade. I have not noticed any differenc in battery life.

kastegir · Jun 21, 2004, 12:46 PM

I upgraded from the stock 4200rpm drive to a 7200rpm drive in my TiBook and there is a significant difference. Overall, the system is MUCH snappier.

The battery life seems pretty much the same.

tramahound · Jun 22, 2004, 10:50 AM

any links to places that supply compatible tibook replacement drives? is there anything you really need to look for other than a standard 2.5 drive? This upgrade tempts me, but for now nothing is wrong with my stock 30gig drive so it's more of a tweak...

Macpilot · Jun 22, 2004, 11:32 AM

Originally posted by tramahound:
any links to places that supply compatible tibook replacement drives? is there anything you really need to look for other than a standard 2.5 drive? This upgrade tempts me, but for now nothing is wrong with my stock 30gig drive so it's more of a tweak...

www.otherworldcomputing.com

They were awesome. Great customer service and cool site.

djohnson · Jun 22, 2004, 03:15 PM

I think for now I will just go from 4200rpm to 5400 rpm...

M.A.S. · Jun 22, 2004, 03:57 PM

"upgrading from the 4200 to a 5400 would be a waste of time and money."

thats totally not true look here

scroll down a bit and you'll see the HD comparisons.

This says that the speed gains from the 4,200rpm to the 5,400rpm are significant. (as would be the upgrade from the 4,200rpm to the 7,200rpm) But the difference between the 5,400rpm and the 7,200rpm is negligible compared to the 4,200rpm.

Really it comes down to 20GB. The largest 2.5" 7,200rpm HD is 60GB, where as the 5,400rpm HD's are 80GB. Also 7,200rpm drives are more expensive.

Personally i would go with the 80GB 5,400rpm HD, because i already have!

I also have a 1Ghz 17" PB and im about to do the same upgrade

Hey kmarketing you may already know of this but look here

t4r1q · Jun 22, 2004, 05:13 PM

The higher RPM definately makes a difference, but upgrading the hard drive as a BTO may or may not be worth it depending on what model you're looking at.

12" Combo $125
12" SD $125
15" Combo $125
15" SD $50
17" SD $50

$125USD just seems like an awful lot to pay for a 5400rpm drive upgrade. Now if it were a 7200rpm drive I'd jump at the offer. I'm getting a 12" so I won't be upgrading the drive, but if I were going for the higher end models I'd consider getting the faster drive.

kastegir · Jun 22, 2004, 05:38 PM

If anyone's looking for a Travelstar (hitachi) 40gb 5400rpm drive (9.5mm thick), let me know. I bought an extra one and don't need it.

It's brand new, 3 year warrany, etc.

TailsToo · Jun 22, 2004, 10:01 PM

According to a lot of the test at barefeats, the 5400 vs 7200 test do not show a lot of difference.

What does that mean in real world useage? I don't know, since I'm still stuck at 4200 RPM, but maybe the extra cost isn't worth it.

M.A.S. · Jun 23, 2004, 07:53 PM

But some of the Barefeats tests ARE real world usage!

Look at them again, they do "real usage" tests. "Restart ("Bong" to Ready)" and "Launch Four Major Applications"

And like i said earlier, the difference between the 4,200rpm vs. 5,400/7,200rpm is significant. But the difference between the 5,400rpm vs. 7,200rpm is negligible, and the 5,400rpm drive is even faster in some instances.

Is it worth it? It all depends on what you use your PB for? Audio work then YES, video YES, Graphic YES, run out of space and need all your work on your internal HD, YES. But if your just surfing the net and using word with 50GB of space left the NO , it's probably not worth it. (By this i don't mean to imply that people who require a faster HD do more important work than those who do not!)

I think that at the moment the 2.5" 7,200rpm HD's are a waste of money, as your paying more $�� for a tiny increase (and sometimes decrease) in speed, and a quarter less HD space. But I'm sure we'll see price drops and size increases in the near future, and then we'll all be happy!

(Although by then I'm sure we'll find something else to debate and moan about!!!)

Lancer409 · Jun 25, 2004, 03:35 AM

if anyone did put in the 7200rpm, any chance u can tell us if apple covers it if u put it in urself? i think it voids the warrantee. will apple put it in for us? if so, is it under applecare or is there a charge. if there is a charge .. how much? sorry for the barrage .. =P

HasanDaddy · Jun 25, 2004, 04:21 AM

Quick question -

are there any laptop drives with 80 gigs, but at 7200 RPM??

THANKS

TailsToo · Jun 25, 2004, 09:27 PM

Originally posted by Lancer409:
if anyone did put in the 7200rpm, any chance u can tell us if apple covers it if u put it in urself? i think it voids the warrantee. will apple put it in for us? if so, is it under applecare or is there a charge. if there is a charge .. how much? sorry for the barrage .. =P

TIs are user upgradable, but the new models need to have an Apple tech install it.

nabfa1 · Jun 26, 2004, 12:35 PM

Hello,

A small additional question if I may. Absolutely true that RPM's do make a great difference! Part two: How much does a drives buffer memory add to the overall performance of the drive! I hope I have stated this correctly! For instance... one may order a 40 Gig 5400 drive with either an 8MB buffer or 16 MB buffer! What speed gains are to be seen becasue of this additional memory buffer! Thank you all for your time and help in this question.

DVD Plaza · Jun 27, 2004, 07:08 AM

Originally posted by M.A.S.:
Really it comes down to 20GB. The largest 2.5" 7,200rpm HD is 60GB, where as the 5,400rpm HD's are 80GB. Also 7,200rpm drives are more expensive.

Originally posted by HasanDaddy:
are there any laptop drives with 80 gigs, but at 7200 RPM??

100GB 7200rpm drives are coming from Toshiba later this year.