Perhaps the most important factor for most buyers looking for a new hard drive is capacity. In this case, the larger capacity is almost always a better choice. But another factor that is sometimes overlooked is the rotational speed of the drive, or RPM (rotations per minute). The basic idea behind the RPM rating of a drive is that the faster a drive spins, the faster it can read or write data. The question is, how much does this really affect performance for the average user?
The most common rotational speeds for modern laptop hard drives are 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm. Logically, the 7200 rpm drive would seem to be the better choice for performance, and this is generally true, but with some qualifications. In testing of two drives of the same capacity, Seagate (a hard drive manufacturer) claims around a 20% boost in performance going from a 5400 rpm to a 7200 rpm drive. While these results may be accurate, they don’t tell the whole story.
First, the main benefits of higher rotation speeds come from situations in which the computer must process, read, or write a large amount of data in a short amount of time. This would be high-end video editing, graphics-intensive gaming, and multi-track audio recording. In these situations, the benefits of replacing your 5400 RPM hard drive with a 7200 rpm drive will really show. For the majority of users, who do mainly web surfing, emailing, and viewing photos, however, the faster rotational speed won’t add much benefit. Most repair shops will offer both speeds of hard drives when doing a replacement for a customer, so keep the facts mentioned before in mind before making a decision based purely on price.
While the extra performance provided by a 7200 rpm drive would be mostly preferable, the other factors to consider are cost and storage capacity. For example, for the price of a 7200 rpm drive with 500 GB of storage, a buyer may be able to get a 5400 rpm drive with 750 GB of storage. For the average user, the extra storage may be more beneficial than the slight increase in performance. From a purely cost perspective, however, the same buyer might also be able to get a 5400 rpm drive with the same 500 GB of storage for 20% less cost than the 7200 rpm drive. You should shop around though, because storage products are a highly competitive market and pricing can vary widely, and you may find an online laptop parts supplier selling the same or identical item substantially lower than major retail stores.
Another place you will see a price difference is when you buy a new laptop. Most hard drives in HP business machines are of the 7200 RPM variety, but it does tend to make these machines more expensive than a comparable consumer grade machine. But these machines are typically more feature rich and able to take full advantage of the higher speed drive.
When considering a higher-rpm drive, don’t just look at the capacity and speed, but compare it to lower-rpm drives on a cost and performance basis. You may find that the lower-rpm drive meets your needs and your budget much better.
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