need 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM HDD recommendation for laptop - please help

[Adam]

The 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM Fujitsu HDD (model MHK2120AT) in
my Dell Latitude CPX laptop gets noisy sometimes and makes me nervous.
It's about time to replace it before it dies. Any recommendations of
a good yet reasonably priced 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM HDD?

 

[Quaoar]

The 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM Fujitsu HDD (model MHK2120AT) in
my Dell Latitude CPX laptop gets noisy sometimes and makes me nervous.
It's about time to replace it before it dies. Any recommendations of
a good yet reasonably priced 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM HDD?

www.newegg.com www.zipzoomfly.com

Q

 

[Arno Wagner]

The 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM Fujitsu HDD (model MHK2120AT) in
my Dell Latitude CPX laptop gets noisy sometimes and makes me nervous.
It's about time to replace it before it dies. Any recommendations of
a good yet reasonably priced 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM HDD?

A current Fujitsu drive? The Fujitsu notebook HDDs are good
drives IMO. I had one in my last Notebook (no problem) and
I havbe a 5400rpm one in my current notebook. No problems.

Arno

 

[Adam]

Thanks but I was hoping for HDD recommendations, not places to buy.

Anyways, www.newegg.com does not have ATA-5 2.5" x 9.5mm 4200 RPM HDDs.
And, I don't think my system supports ATA-6.

Also, I think my system supports up to 20 GB HDDs.

Which is better? Fujitsu vs. Hitachi

 

[Adam]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the current Fujitsu HDD.
I've had it since 2000 without a problem.
Maybe I'll get the same model just to be sure that
it's compatible with my system.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Thanks but I was hoping for HDD recommendations, not places to buy.

Anyways, www.newegg.com does not have ATA-5 2.5" x 9.5mm 4200 RPM HDDs.
And, I don't think my system supports ATA-6.

ATA is downwards compatible, so that is not an issue.

Also, I think my system supports up to 20 GB HDDs.
Which is better? Fujitsu vs. Hitachi

Ever since the "Deathstars" I don't trust IBM/Hitachi. Unfounded
in the case of notebook HDDs, I know. However from direct comparison
I think thet Fujitsus run quieter.

Arno

 

[Adam]

ATA is downwards compatible, so that is not an issue.

Great! That's what I was hoping to confirm.
Two other limitations that I would like to confirm are the following:

1) 20 GB - will going with a larger HDD cause problems for my system?
2) 4200 RPM - will going with a higher RPM cause problems for my system?

Also, what about form factor?

 

[Andrew J]

The 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM Fujitsu HDD (model MHK2120AT) in
my Dell Latitude CPX laptop gets noisy sometimes and makes me nervous.
It's about time to replace it before it dies. Any recommendations of
a good yet reasonably priced 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM HDD?

There aren't any good ones that are 4200rpm, they are all dogs. Just
got a 40GB Toshiba 5400 refurb at newegg for $50. The difference over
4200 is like night and day.

 

[Andrew J]

Thanks but I was hoping for HDD recommendations, not places to buy.

Anyways, www.newegg.com does not have ATA-5 2.5" x 9.5mm 4200 RPM HDDs.
And, I don't think my system supports ATA-6.

Also, I think my system supports up to 20 GB HDDs.

Which is better? Fujitsu vs. Hitachi

Fujitsu but those other things you're worried about won't matter. Have
upgraded a dozen notebooks from 4GB to 60GB with no/little trouble.

 

[J. Clarke]

Thanks but I was hoping for HDD recommendations, not places to buy.

Anyways, www.newegg.com does not have ATA-5 2.5" x 9.5mm 4200 RPM HDDs.
And, I don't think my system supports ATA-6.

If, at this point, you want an ATA-5 disk of any kind then you're probably
going to have to get it off of ebay. They haven't been manufactured in a
very long time. Very few systems that support ATA-5 will have trouble with
an ATA-6 disk, they just run it in ATA-5 mode. The standard requires
backward compatibility.

Note by the way that newegg has user comments about products--if there's a
lot of complaining about a particular product it's probably a good idea to
go with something else.

Also, I think my system supports up to 20 GB HDDs.

That would be surprising--the first barrier normally encountered is 8 gig,
after that 32, then 128. But even if the system won't support the full
capacity of the drive, it normally will recognize it as a smaller drive and
use it as such.

Which is better? Fujitsu vs. Hitachi

This is to a substantial extent a religious issue. Both have produced
excellent drives. Both have produced really bad drives. Even if you
choose a drive with an excellent reputation, that doesn't mean that the
particular drive you get won't be a lemon. You might also want to consider
Seagate and Toshiba.

 

[Adam]

Thanks for all the expert comments from everyone.

I guess it should be safe and wise to look for
an ATA-6 2.5" x 9.5mm 5400 RPM HDD with 40-60 GB from
Fujitsu / Seagate / Toshiba.

Which is better?
Seagate Momentus ST94811A vs. Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH
[Both are ATA-6 5400 RPM 40 GB]

 

[Paul Rubin]

The 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM Fujitsu HDD (model MHK2120AT) in
my Dell Latitude CPX laptop gets noisy sometimes and makes me nervous.
It's about time to replace it before it dies. Any recommendations of
a good yet reasonably priced 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM HDD?

I've been buying Toshiba 4200rpm drives from zipzoomfly.com. The
recent models all use FDB motors which are very quiet.

 

[Paul Rubin]

Two other limitations that I would like to confirm are the following:

1) 20 GB - will going with a larger HDD cause problems for my system?
No.

2) 4200 RPM - will going with a higher RPM cause problems for my system?

Check that the power consumption is the same or lower.

Also, what about form factor?

Stay with the same form factor.

 

[roman modic]

Hello,

The 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM Fujitsu HDD (model MHK2120AT) in
my Dell Latitude CPX laptop gets noisy sometimes and makes me nervous.
It's about time to replace it before it dies. Any recommendations of
a good yet reasonably priced 2.5" ATA-5 4200 RPM HDD?

I recommend Samsung Spinpoint M Series
(in your case 30 GB: MP0302H or maybe 40 GB)
http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/index.htm

Prices:
http://silentpcreview.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=2911593


Here is detailed review of 40 GB version:
http://silentpcreview.com/article207-page1.html

Prices:
http://silentpcreview.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=2871913


Regards, Roman

 

[Adam]

Thanks for the good info and recommendation.

After reading the article, I guess it's
Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH vs. Samsung Spinpoint MP0402H now.
[Both are ATA-6 5400 RPM 40 GB]
Which one would you pick?

 

[Adam]

Anyone know how the power consumption of
these notebook drives compare to the Fujitsu 4200 RPM MHK2120AT?

Thanks for the good info and recommendation.

After reading the article, I guess it's
Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH vs. Samsung Spinpoint MP0402H now.
[Both are ATA-6 5400 RPM 40 GB]
Which one would you pick?

Hello,



I recommend Samsung Spinpoint M Series
(in your case 30 GB: MP0302H or maybe 40 GB)
http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/index.htm

Prices:
http://silentpcreview.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=2911593


Here is detailed review of 40 GB version:
http://silentpcreview.com/article207-page1.html

Prices:
http://silentpcreview.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=2871913


Regards, Roman

 

[Eric Gisin]

They are all about 2.4W when active, 4200 or 5400.

 

[Adam]

Uhm, power, heat, BTUs (?) ... I'm not too familiar here.

- Fujitsu Mobile MHK2120AT [currently installed - http://tinyurl.com/9aw9x]
[power requirement (read/write): 2.3 W
ambient temp (operating): 5 to 55 degrees C]
- Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH [http://tinyurl.com/dx87w]
[power requirement (read/write): 2.3 W
ambient temp (operating): 5 to 55 degrees C]
- Samsung Spinpoint MP0402H [http://tinyurl.com/cmc3n]
[power requirement (read/write): 2.4 W
ambient temp (operating): 5 to 55 degrees C]

If these are the correct values to examine,
then the Samsung consumes 0.1 W more power while operating.
If that does make a difference, then the Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH is
probably the best choice in my case. Anything else I should consider?

 

[Rod Speed]

Uhm, power, heat, BTUs (?) ... I'm not too familiar here.

- Fujitsu Mobile MHK2120AT [currently installed -
http://tinyurl.com/9aw9x] [power requirement (read/write): 2.3 W
ambient temp (operating): 5 to 55 degrees C]
- Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH [http://tinyurl.com/dx87w]
[power requirement (read/write): 2.3 W
ambient temp (operating): 5 to 55 degrees C]
- Samsung Spinpoint MP0402H [http://tinyurl.com/cmc3n]
[power requirement (read/write): 2.4 W
ambient temp (operating): 5 to 55 degrees C]

If these are the correct values to examine, then the
Samsung consumes 0.1 W more power while operating.

Not really, the numbers arent that precise.

If that does make a difference,

It doesnt.

then the Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH is probably the best choice in my case.

Not for that reason.

Anything else I should consider?

You shouldnt be considering that.

 

[_R]

Thanks for the good info and recommendation.

After reading the article, I guess it's
Fujitsu Mobile MHT2040AH vs. Samsung Spinpoint MP0402H now.
[Both are ATA-6 5400 RPM 40 GB]
Which one would you pick?

Seagate? Not sure about the othes, but Seagate has a 5 year warranty.
Important for a drive.