Best 640GB 2.5" drive?

[Pradeep]

Looking at this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148527

The only other option is the Samsung: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152204

Any thoughts?

Has to be 9.5mm high so the 750+ drives etc are out.

Thanks.

 

[ddrueding]

If all else is equal, I'll buy the Samsung every time.

 

[Pradeep]

Sweet, Sammy it is. It's going in the PS3 so noise level is the critical factor. Cheers.

 

[Pradeep]

I feel dirty:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.357467

On the plus side I can use the external USB drive to backup the existing drive and then the new drive once installed. The internal one seems to have an issue with Macs but that's not a concern.

 

[LunarMist]

I have Toshiba and Seagate 640GB drives. How is the Samsung?

 

[udaman]

I feel dirty:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.357467

The internal one seems to have an issue with Macs but that's not a concern.

All lies from the PC/Winblows infidels, is it the PC laptop that is having all the problems! Search for the truth. I tell you things and I always ask you to verify what I say...That is all.

"The American press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!"

"I have detailed information about the situation...which completely proves that what they allege are illusions . . . They lie every day."

"Lying is forbidden in Iraq. President Saddam Hussein will tolerate nothing but truthfulness as he is a man of great honor and integrity. Everyone is encouraged to speak freely of the truths evidenced in their eyes and hearts."

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16822148374

DEFECTIVE DRIVE!

Pros: High-capacity 7200RPM. Can be used for external VMWare images.
(Was able to recover what little data I placed on it)

Cons: High Failure rate. Real bummer spending time installing a new O/S (Windows 7) and then it clicks and everything freezes. Do not buy this if you rely on it for doing your work.

Maybe 3rd One's a Keeper?

Pros: Good speed and decent throughput. At the time I purchased, was the only 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM HDD.

Cons: Noisy. Just had my 2nd drive fail in a little over six months. These drives just don't hold up. Both failed at just over the 3 month mark with moderate usage in a Dell XPS M1530. I purchased a replacement drive (Non Seagate) and will sell this one once the RMA comes back.

Other Thoughts: If you love your data, please back it up regularly! I do, and with this drive it's a must!

Good drive, great price (@ 84.99)

Pros: I purchased this to upgrade the stock 250 in a new Macbook Pro (uni). The speed improvement is noticeable right from start up. It's been reliable ever since cloning from the original with SuperDuper!

Cons: Battely life is reduced, but not as much as expected. It shaved about 20 to 30 minutes off my 7 hours after re-calibrating the battery. After cloning with CarbonCopyCloner I had some trouble getting the drive to detect (system would restart on it's own and eventually find it), but re-cloning with SuperDuper! fixed the problem. The drive does make slightly more noise and vibration, but you'll need to have a real princess and the pea complex to notice it; or maybe if you're a librarian.

Other Thoughts: For those that are considering a blue scorp for their Macbooks I suggest Googling them first; I bought one on a whim and discovered after that they seem to have either a conflict with the built in motion sensor or the built in power management. Either way it was giving me the beach-ball every few seconds rendering the drive completely useless for that purpose.
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odowd80Tech Level: somewhat high Ownership: 1 month to 1 yearThis user purchased this item from Newegg 3/11/2010 7:54:02 PM

Quiet. Reliable. Faster?

Pros: Got this drive for my Macbook Pro. Never had any failures or SMART errors/warnings. No noticeable vibration or noise.

Cons: Price (was higher when I bought it). I can't say for sure if the 7200 rpm is faster than the original 5400 rpm drive. For everyday stuff and photo editing in Lightroom, I'm just not seeing a noticeable boost in performance. Noticeable drop in battery life...about 30 min.

Other Thoughts: If I could do it again, I'd probably choose the Scorpio Blue 5400 rpm for similar performance and longer battery life.
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RCKTech Level: high Ownership: 1 day to 1 weekThis user purchased this item from Newegg 3/9/2010 9:22:45 AM

Works great in late 2008 Unibody Mac

Pros: Easy install. Compatible. Fast and surprisingly quiet.

Cons: Macbook seems to run a little hotter. I've noticed the fan runs a bit harder and more often than it did with the OEM HDD.

Other Thoughts: Great easy upgrade. Since this runs at a higher RPM, there will probably be a slight drop in battery life, but the speed offsets that loss.

 

[udaman]

WD Scorp Blu is now 9.5mm in 750GB size:

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/30/wd.scorpio.blue.tops.750gb.in.slim.size/

The drive carries 8MB of cache and uses the new Advanced Format for its recording, which puts data in larger blocks and provides more usable space on a given disk for those with Macs or newer Windows operating systems. It ships today and will cost $149 as a retail upgrade; PC builders should also integrate it into portables in the near future.

 

[Pradeep]

I have Toshiba and Seagate 640GB drives. How is the Samsung?

Ended up going with two Seagate 500s. 750 is hardly much of a step up from 640 in the 9.5mm form factor. Next upgrade will be at 1 TB.

 

[LunarMist]

Ended up going with two Seagate 500s. 750 is hardly much of a step up from 640 in the 9.5mm form factor. Next upgrade will be at 1 TB.

When will there be 1TB? I don't see 500GB platters soon. The jump from 640-750GB is rather small and much of that is from the advancing format.

 

[LunarMist]

Ended up going with two Seagate 500s. 750 is hardly much of a step up from 640 in the 9.5mm form factor. Next upgrade will be at 1 TB.

That is a great price for two drives. You can easily remove the Seagate from the Free Agent Go enclosure if desired. They are unlike the recent WD USB drives that cannot be repurposed.

Ironically my 500GB 7200.4 is now in a Free Agent Go enclosure that originally contained the 640GB drive. For some reason the 500GB 7200.4 is hardly an improvement over a fast 5400 drive.

 

[Pradeep]

I'll keep the Free Agent intact and use it as a backup for when, not if, the Seagate 7200.4 poops the bed. In fact I've got it setup rather ghetto, I had to get a #0 philips with a decent handle to exert enough force to unscrew the one screw holding the drive cage in the PS3. Unfortunately I didn't have a big enough handle to deal with the screws holding the 2.5" drive to the caddy.

So the drive is sitting in the bay, naked. Held just by the puny physical retention of SATA. *Fingers crossed* The slightest earth tremor could unseat it.

 

[mubs]

My, we like to live dangerously, don't we :cooler:

 

[LunarMist]

Can't you use some double-faced foam or something to hold it in?

I don't understand the concept of PS3, but I noticed that many reviewers buy large replacement drives for the device. What do others users do when replacing the drives?

 

[Pradeep]

Yeah I was just going to shove in some paper towels but it gets very hot in there, need something non flammable. A little L bracket to wedge in should be fine.

I guess other users have the right tools for the job. It's just that whatever robot applies these screws in the factory puts a crapload of force into it.

 

[LunarMist]

If it is hot enough in there to burn paper, the drive will not last long.

 

[Howell]

If it is hot enough in there to burn paper, the drive will not last long.

Fahrenheit 451 is not just a book. That's in Celsius.

 

[LunarMist]

Who said anything about the temperature?

 

[time]

Fahrenheit 451 is not just a book. That's in Celsius.

:scratch:

 

[Howell]

Who said anything about the temperature?

Are you trying to tell me you think hard drives are sexy (hot)? And what exactly would "burn" mean?

 

[Howell]

If it is hot enough in there to burn paper, the drive will not last long.

Fahrenheit 451 is not just a book. That's in Celsius.

Who said anything about the temperature?

Are you trying to tell me you think hard drives are sexy "hot"? And what exactly would "burn" mean?

 

[Howell]

:scratch:

pradeep expressed reservation at using paper as a wedge out of concern that it might catch fire.

lunar understated that if it were hot enough in there to burn paper, the drive will not last long.

My response was an implied, "No shit. The ignition point of paper is 451 degrees C; not much is going to last long at that temp." by way of referring to a classic book with a convenient title that happens to be about book burning.


ps. Are the meanings of my posts typically so evasive?

 

[Howell]

:scratch:

sonofabitch. I see your point and my mistake. Some days I don't even get around to hitting submit.

 

[timwhit]

I understood.

 

[ddrueding]

As did I. The post of yours that I didn't understand was the most recent one.

 

[Howell]

The title of the book is 'Fahrenheit 451'. It should be self evident what the measuring system is. And yet I elaborated... incorrectly. I blame ADD.

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks for the explanation for us slow folks...

 

[LunarMist]

Maybe this one?

Is my timing crap or what?