Hard Drive upgrade or Not

[xpnet]

I notice the 160 gig hard drive that came with this system has 300 megs of NV Cache.

Right before I upgraded to the new computer I purchased a Hitachi HTS722020K9SA00 200 gig 7200 spin hard drive . I was wonde if I should use that drive as my primary drive or does the 300 megs of Cache give me a better advantage for performance? 

Ideas anyone?

[ZPrime]

It doesn't have 300MB of cache.  That's the TurboMemory doing its job.  The drive has 16MB internal, check the spec sheet.

I'm not sure how many platters the 160GB uses vs the 200GB.  Depending on the platter layout this will impact performance.

For instance - if the 160GB is a single 160GB platter while the 200GB is a pair of 100GB platters, there is less density on the 200GB drive and theoretically the 160GB should be quicker due to the higher density (less travel of the heads to reach data).  OTOH, if they are both using single platters, then the 200GB should be quicker. 

Check out storagereview.com and compare the specs on the drives.  The 160GB should be a Hitachi as well.   My part number is hts722016k9sa00 - looks like they are the exact same "model line" and should be the same guts except for the different platters.  If you need the space, use the 200GB.  Even better, return your 200GB and go find a 320GB 7200rpm drive. 

[xpnet]

Thanks for the reply, I have Windows Vista 64 install on the W500 with the stock 160 gb drive and I get a Experience rating of 5.2 for data transfer rate while on the Gateway I have the other drive and have a Disk data transfer rate of 5.5.

I don't know if that rating means anything.

Message Edited by xpnet on 10-23-2008 09:10 PM

[ZPrime]

That rating means that the 200GB drive is giving you slightly better performance.  If you want to speed up the Thinkpad (very slightly), go through the hassle of swapping the drives.