Fastest 2.5" 9.5mm height drive for a laptop

adam_m · 14 Jan 2010 at 14:11

Hi all,

I'm after the fastest non-SSD drive possible for my MacBook Pro. I need at least 160Gb storage and SSD prices are too crazy for me for now for the size of drive I need.

So what is the current fastest 2.5" 9.5mm height drive out there suitable for such a machine with at least 160Gb storage?

Cheers!
Adam

PistolPete · 14 Jan 2010 at 14:54

WD Scorpio Black?? I'm assuming 9.5mm is the standard 2.5" depth.
You can get a 320Gb - just popped one in my other halfs netbook. Runs a little warmer as it's a 7200rpm drive, but it's blisteringly fast.

ninja2000 · 14 Jan 2010 at 14:55

WD Black 7200 drives are the fastest drives in real world performance. I have the 320gb version which can normally be had for £60.

Edit - LOL snap

PistolPete · 14 Jan 2010 at 14:57

Not snap.... I beat you

adam_m · 14 Jan 2010 at 15:11

Thanks!
...faster than the Seagate momentus equivalent?

Adam

PistolPete · 14 Jan 2010 at 15:18

Apparently, not tried the Seagate tho.

ninja2000 · 14 Jan 2010 at 15:22

Yes much faster. I have a seagate 500gb 7200 and the WD is a fair bit faster. (compared them with 2 laptops side by side with fresh installs of W7

AbsenceJam · 14 Jan 2010 at 20:00

The Seagate 7200's are slower than the WD Blues even. The Black won't be as fast as the 640GB Blue or the 640GB Samsung,

bees · 14 Jan 2010 at 22:41

ninja2000 said:
Yes much faster. I have a seagate 500gb 7200 and the WD is a fair bit faster. (compared them with 2 laptops side by side with fresh installs of W7

is that a same type of laptop? because different laptop yield a different performance though.

adam_m · 15 Jan 2010 at 02:16

Thanks ... don't need more than 320Gb so ordered the WD black 7200rpm drive - £55 delivered, will get a SSD when they drop in price. I dont mind paying £200 for a 160Gb right now but £340+ is crazy.

Cheers!
Adam

MikeHunt79 · 15 Jan 2010 at 02:29

300GB velociraptor? Or is it too tall?

adam_m · 15 Jan 2010 at 04:07

MikeHunt79 said:
300GB velociraptor? Or is it too tall?

Too tall ... might consider one for the iMac though.

Cheers,
Adam

ninja2000 · 15 Jan 2010 at 08:57

bees said:
is that a same type of laptop? because different laptop yield a different performance though.

2x studio xps 16's with 4gb ram and P8600.
Tested W7 64bit
Boot times
Game loading times
Photoshop

WD was faster in all instances

Anth · 15 Jan 2010 at 19:15

Would say for people buying now, the 320GB/platter drives are pretty much on the horizon.

The samsung drives are out in the USA, and the Toshiba drives are out in the next fortnight.

These will offer a substantial jump in speed over the current 250GB/Platter drives if WD/Seagate decide to offer a 7200RPM model in them.

So might be worth waiting a month to see what occurs.

I am waiting for the reviews of the Samsung and Toshiba to buy one or the other as soon as possible.

AbsenceJam · 15 Jan 2010 at 19:44

Anth said:
Would say for people buying now, the 320GB/platter drives are pretty much on the horizon.

The samsung drives are out in the USA, and the Toshiba drives are out in the next fortnight.

These will offer a substantial jump in speed over the current 250GB/Platter drives if WD/Seagate decide to offer a 7200RPM model in them.

So might be worth waiting a month to see what occurs.

I am waiting for the reviews of the Samsung and Toshiba to buy one or the other as soon as possible.

640GB Scorpio Blue is out here already.

inogen · 22 Feb 2010 at 20:37

Wont the /platter drives be noisier, hotter & use more battery power?

I am about to pull the trigger on a 320Gb Black myself... But I'm wondering if I can limp on a bit...

I do like quiet and cool though. Esp as this drive will eventually end up inside a docking station, the HD slot of which is just below the wireless card in my laptop which gets quite hot as it is...