The main reason most hard drives in laptops and netbooks are the slower
speed models, like 5400 rpm, is to increase battery life and reduce cost.
There is llittle profit margin in Netbooks as it is, so using slower
components may reduce the cost a little. Of course, for all portable
computer models, except for desktop replacements, battery life is more
important for most users than increased hard disk performance. However,
since this tip was about upgrading a hard drive, using a higher performance
drive makes sense. Just be aware it will effect battery life. To be
honest, I have not yet seen too many computers with 100,000 rpm hard drives.
I look forward to increasing speeds and lower power requirements. Along
those lines, I hope larger SSD (Solid State Drives), increase in size and
plummet in price. These devices dramatically increase performance for boot
and application load time since access is near instantaneous. Now that is
an upgrade I would be interested in!
Don Marang
There is just so much stuff in the world that, to me, is devoid of any real
substance, value, and content that I just try to make sure that I am working
on things that matter.
Dean Kamen
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Nimer Jaber" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2010 10:00 AM
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] daily tip
Hello Rick,
I'm not disputing that there are notebooks with data cables, I'm only
disputing the claim that states most notebooks use data cables because
most computers I've seen in the past few years are using SATA drives,
and I'm not disputing that faster speeds can be obtained for the most
part by paying for more expensive drives, only saying that most
notebooks come with 5400 or 7200 RPM drives and most of those are 5400
unless they're certain brands or they're Macs. I realize that drives
can be upgraded and that there are some comps with IDE drives, I'm
just pointing out that this article's specs don't match up with most
notebooks, or rather the notebooks I've laid my hands on. Like I said,
I could be missing something.
Thanks
Nimer J
On 07/08/2010, Rick Justice <[email protected]> wrote:
Not all portable computers have sata drives, some use ide drives which do
have a data cable.
Most portables using mechanical hard drives can be upgraded with drives
which are faster, as the article indicates.
HTH,
Rick Justice
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nimer Jaber" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2010 6:18 AM
Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] daily tip
Hello,
This thing is talking about notebooks and notebook upgrades. But yet
it talks about unscrewing a bottom pannel and disconnecting cables.
The notebooks I've had the pleasure of working with do not have any
cables and use SATA drives. Also, the majority of notebook drives are
5400 or 7200 RPM drives. Am I missing something?
Thanks
Nimer J
On 07/08/2010, David Ferrin <[email protected]> wrote:
Notebook Upgrades: Storage
Hard drives are all about storing and accessing data: You want to store
as
much of it as you can, and you want to access it as quickly as
possible.
Therefore, capacity is not the only important criterion; speed is also
a
consideration. Replacing a hard drive is normally not much more
complicated
than adding memory: Remove a bottom panel, remove the screw(s) holding
the
drive in place, carefully disconnect the power and data cables from the
drive, and gently remove the drive from the drive caddy.
Hard drive sizes have jumped dramatically in order to accommodate the
proliferation of enormous (and enormously powerful) applications and
the
gigantic video, audio, and image files we now use on a regular basis.
These
days, a 120GB or larger drive is standard in a notebook, and 250GB is
not
uncommon. In addition to size, drives are rated according to how fast
the
platters-the magnetic disks on which data is stored-spin. Today's
drives
typically spin at 7,200rpm or better, and many spin at 10,000rpm. The
faster
the drive spins, the more quickly data can be retrieved, assuming that
the
drive's head mechanisms can move to the correct place on the platter
and
find the appropriate data. That component of a drive's performance is
known
as "seek time," and it's measured in milliseconds; it's one of the
specs
you'll want to consider when looking at new drives. A drive with a 12ms
or
13ms seek time is typical, and plenty fast enough for most of us. A
faster
drive requires more sophisticated head mechanisms and more efficient
software, which helps explain why faster drives cost more than slower
ones.
David Ferrin
www.jaws-users.com
Life is what happens after you have already made other plans.
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For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
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For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit:
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