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  3. Advice needed - Laptop hard drive

Advice needed - Laptop hard drive

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  • S Offline
    S Offline
    S Senthil Kumar
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

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    • S S Senthil Kumar

      I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Luis Alonso Ramos
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      S. Senthil Kumar wrote:

      Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code?

      I think it will be while compiling. I bought my laptop with a 7200 rpm drive. -- LuisR


      Luis Alonso Ramos Intelectix - Chihuahua, Mexico Not much here: My CP Blog!

      The amount of sleep the average person needs is five more minutes. -- Vikram A Punathambekar, Aug. 11, 2005

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      • L Luis Alonso Ramos

        S. Senthil Kumar wrote:

        Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code?

        I think it will be while compiling. I bought my laptop with a 7200 rpm drive. -- LuisR


        Luis Alonso Ramos Intelectix - Chihuahua, Mexico Not much here: My CP Blog!

        The amount of sleep the average person needs is five more minutes. -- Vikram A Punathambekar, Aug. 11, 2005

        P Offline
        P Offline
        peterchen
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        drive speed seems to be the main limiting factor for compiles, especially for large projects, as everybody competes for HDD access (swap file, reading sources, wrinting inrtermediates and results) I once tested a smallish project on a P4, putting the intermediate files on a RAM drive did almost half compile time.


        Some of us walk the memory lane, others plummet into a rabbit hole
        Tree in C# || Fold With Us! || sighist

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        • S S Senthil Kumar

          I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

          M Offline
          M Offline
          Marc Clifton
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          S. Senthil Kumar wrote:

          should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code?

          The speed difference is definitely noticable. I added a second harddrive to my laptop. The first is a 5400 RPM drive, the second is a 7200 RPM. I was amazed at the performance improvement in compiling code. Marc Pensieve Functional Entanglement vs. Code Entanglement Static Classes Make For Rigid Architectures Some people believe what the bible says. Literally. At least [with Wikipedia] you have the chance to correct the wiki -- Jörgen Sigvardsson

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          • S S Senthil Kumar

            I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

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            E Offline
            El Corazon
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            I guess it depends on how much space you need. There are 100gig 7200rpm drives now. If you need larger storage, especially for large datasets, you can split the load between a 100gig fast drive and a larger slower drive (or external drive). I never regret the dual 100gig 7200rpms I use... though the desktop processor keeps my coffee warm (not meant in a good way), but it is still one of the few that run my software... so no choice yet. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • S S Senthil Kumar

              I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

              S Offline
              S Offline
              Shog9 0
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              S. Senthil Kumar wrote:

              Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code?

              If you're using VS2005, yes. The extra speed makes swap file access much less noticeable.

              S · H · O · G · N · I · N · E

              Richard Andrew x64R 1 Reply Last reply
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              • S S Senthil Kumar

                I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

                R Offline
                R Offline
                Ravi Bhavnani
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Senthil, without a doubt go with the 7200 rpm drive, even at the expense of less RAM or a slower CPU. /ravi My new year's resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Music | Articles | Freeware | Trips ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

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                • S S Senthil Kumar

                  I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

                  J Offline
                  J Offline
                  J Dunlap
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Definitely 7200RPM, unless you can't afford a 7200RPM drive that has enough space for what you know you'll need to put on it.

                  1 Reply Last reply
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                  • S Shog9 0

                    S. Senthil Kumar wrote:

                    Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code?

                    If you're using VS2005, yes. The extra speed makes swap file access much less noticeable.

                    S · H · O · G · N · I · N · E

                    Richard Andrew x64R Offline
                    Richard Andrew x64R Offline
                    Richard Andrew x64
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    Shog9 wrote:

                    If you're using VS2005, yes.

                    If he's using VS2005, he'll want a 10,000 rpm SCSI drive!! :laugh:

                    A 1 Reply Last reply
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                    • Richard Andrew x64R Richard Andrew x64

                      Shog9 wrote:

                      If you're using VS2005, yes.

                      If he's using VS2005, he'll want a 10,000 rpm SCSI drive!! :laugh:

                      A Offline
                      A Offline
                      Anders Molin
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      Why not 2x 15k rpm and RAID 0 ;) (I have that, and I never see the VS2005 splashscreen for more than a fraction of a second) - Anders -- modified at 2:15 Monday 20th March, 2006

                      J 1 Reply Last reply
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                      • S S Senthil Kumar

                        I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

                        J Offline
                        J Offline
                        Jeremy Falcon
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        S. Senthil Kumar wrote:

                        Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code?

                        It'll affect the entire system, not just coding. Jeremy Falcon

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • A Anders Molin

                          Why not 2x 15k rpm and RAID 0 ;) (I have that, and I never see the VS2005 splashscreen for more than a fraction of a second) - Anders -- modified at 2:15 Monday 20th March, 2006

                          J Offline
                          J Offline
                          Jeremy Falcon
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Anders Molin wrote:

                          Why not 2x 15k rpm and RAID 0

                          Money would be a good reason. :) Would be nice though. Jeremy Falcon

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                          • S S Senthil Kumar

                            I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

                            T Offline
                            T Offline
                            TadejK
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            I have a HP Compaq nx6125 1.8ghz turion + 5400rpm 80gb disk.. and I would happily trade the drive for a 7200rpm 60gb disk :) Why? Cause I often notice I have to wait for stuff to happen.. but the CPU is below 10%, while the disk is just grinding! Regards, Tadej

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                            • S S Senthil Kumar

                              I'm planning to buy a laptop, primarily for writing code. While I've decided on all other components, I'm not sure about the hard disk, should I choose a 5400 RPM drive with a larger capacity, or a 7200 RPM smaller drive? Is the speed difference noticeable when writing code? Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro

                              J Offline
                              J Offline
                              Johnny
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              There's a performance evaluation of 2.5" drives over at The Tech Report. A lot of the time the difference between 5400 and 7200 is very small, although in others it is large. What is surprising is that the hard drive manufacturer is often more important than the speed - the Seagate 5400 beats the Hitachi 7200 in a lot of tests. So, I guess have a look at the results and weigh up whether the extra storage is worth the performance difference.

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