Do I want a 5400 or 7200 RPM Hard Drive?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
K

Kara Rowe

Honorable
Mar 26, 2013
10
0
10,510
Hello,

I have just read that the 5400 rpm hard drive is better for storing large files such as pictures, movies and graphics. But the 7200 is better when acting as a system drive running applications that care less about latency instead of throughput.

But I believe I need both. I work as a graphic designer and I need to store a load of large PSD files and other native Adobe files as well as large jpegs's, png's and such.

And I need to be able to work quickly with multiple applications from the Creative Cloud plus several audio and video building apps.

So, with that said... should I go with a 5400 or 7200?

My current laptop recently failed the System Memory test and the Advanced Pattern test. So, I am either going to try and repair it or I am going to buy a new one. Either way I'd really appreciate some input ;)

Thanks in advance!
Kara
 
Solution
Rhezner
Definitely the 7200. One of the main reasons people recommend the slower storage for large files is because it is cheaper per gig and speed doesn't matter when you don't need it. 7200RPM drives are fast and can store a ton of data today.

5400 RPM drives will typically last longer too but a quality 7200RPM drive will rarely fail.
Sort by date Sort by votes
Rhezner

Rhezner

Admirable
Jun 24, 2015
1,949
0
6,460
Definitely the 7200. One of the main reasons people recommend the slower storage for large files is because it is cheaper per gig and speed doesn't matter when you don't need it. 7200RPM drives are fast and can store a ton of data today.

5400 RPM drives will typically last longer too but a quality 7200RPM drive will rarely fail.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
photonboy

photonboy

Titan
Jun 20, 2006
21,567
13
85,015
Ideally you should have an SSD. Is there a budget problem there?

If you can only afford ONE, 2.5mm drive here's some options:

$150 - 500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e500bam

$60 - 750GB WD Black 7200RPM HDD
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd7500bpkx

Summary:
$150 for a 500GB is pretty great. Unless you need a lot more space than this, that's my advice for sure.

Other:
I'd suggest simply inserting the SSD and installing Windows 10. If you burn a DVD/USB stick first using the latest MS Media Creation Tool then you can do a clean install direct to SSD (skip key request).

If you have W7, W8 or W10 already this will work fine and free. The media creation tool will detect which version you qualify for:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10

(download, run tool, create DVD or USB)

Plan accordingly to restore programs etc, but you can attach the HDD via a USB device (case or BlacX Thermaltake unit) to copy files back.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

Kara Rowe

Honorable
Mar 26, 2013
10
0
10,510


Yes, I would have stopped at laptop too ... however, I am currently on a low income and cannot willy nilly pick any ole pc that I would LOVE to have. I definitely wanted to finally switch back to a desktop but from the placed I am currently able to finance there was not one single desktop that would suit my needs. Someday... I will get the pc of my dreams.

I ended up going with the 7200. Where I can purchase from there were two laptops that fit my needs and one was a 5400 and course the other 7200.

Thanks for your input! :pt1cable:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

Kara Rowe

Honorable
Mar 26, 2013
10
0
10,510


Thank you for your advice! It's sound and logical. I am limited with what I can purchase. I ended up with a MSI Apache Pro GE72-2QF. A Nice machine. Have had some driver issues with Adobe Apps. Had to uninstall the Killer Network Manager. Well, according to Norton I had to do this but then I found a blog weeks later which said Norton can be lazy and feel as though anything that doesn't easily work with their software ought to be removed. I also kept having a Radio Switch Error 19 code but was finally able to resolve that as well.

Thanks again! Hope this post finds you well.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

Kara Rowe

Honorable
Mar 26, 2013
10
0
10,510


Thank you so much for this spectacular advice and information! Yes, currently I have a budget issue but hopefully that'll change sooner than later. I have gone ahead and purchased a new laptop through a place that was able to finance a nice moderate pc for a low monthly payment. Not the machine of my dreams but it'll do for the interim and until I can get a desktop.

Would still like to fix my Dell laptop. It's an 7720 Inspiron. It has a nvidia 650M card and an intel card. Do you know if I can upgrade the 650M card to a 970M? Or what card would work well? It's an i7 and has a one terabyte hd and I believe it has 8 GB but maybe less. I cannot recall at the moment. The screen has gone blank except for the blue-green color background that I had chose in the Personalization. It starts up fine, the fan runs etc - just no display. I am thinking that a simple BIOS update may be needed. But I would like to give it to my stepson who likes to game.

Any thoughts on the Dell? Thanks in advance!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

Kara Rowe

Honorable
Mar 26, 2013
10
0
10,510
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom