Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
-
- Moderator
- Posts: 7681
- Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
- Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
- Contact:
Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Can anybody point me to the best/quietest/largest capacity single platter 2.5" hard drive? Are any of the 500GB 2.5" drives single platter? My son's MacBook has a 160GB that is close to full, and we need to upgrade it to something larger.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
-
- Site Admin
- Posts: 12285
- Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
- Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Contact:
No way they are at 500gb/platter yet. The 500gb and higher capacity 2.5" drives are mostly 2-platter; I think the 1tb ones are probably 3-platter, which is which they are thicker than normal and only available as external usb drives.
Among the samples we've tested, the Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB edges some others... but I'd guess this is at least partly a sample variation thing. You'll probably be reasonably OK with most 5400rpm drives.
Among the samples we've tested, the Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB edges some others... but I'd guess this is at least partly a sample variation thing. You'll probably be reasonably OK with most 5400rpm drives.
-
- Moderator
- Posts: 7681
- Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
- Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
- Contact:
-
- Site Admin
- Posts: 12285
- Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
- Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Contact:
They're all fairly close these days, I think vibration is the biggest variable, probably as much from sample to sample as model to model.NeilBlanchard wrote:Okay Mike -- thanks for that! I didn't realize that they had 3 platter 2.5" drives...
So, the question becomes: is it worth looking for a 7200RPM or more than 8MB of cache? NewEgg has 500GB 5400RPM Western Digital Scorpio Blue for ~$65 -- is it reasonably quiet and cool running?
-
- Friend of SPCR
- Posts: 454
- Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:32 am
- Location: SF Bay Area, California
Just a quick note - there are 1Tb / 5200RPM drives sold separately. The one from WD is WD10TPVT (and WD10TEVT, which I think they phased out before really selling it in any large quantities).MikeC wrote: I think the 1tb ones are probably 3-platter, which is which they are thicker than normal and only available as external usb drives.
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Does that mean there's now really not much to choose between the 2.5" drives? The spec/performance/reliability are pretty similar...?They're all fairly close these days, I think vibration is the biggest variable, probably as much from sample to sample as model to model.
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Hitachi announced a 500 GB/platter drive for quiet some time. It's on their website with datasheet and everything but I haven't found it in retail yet.
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib. ... 500_ds.pdf
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib. ... 500_ds.pdf
-
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:57 pm
- Location: Minnesota
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
most macs can house 12.5mm drives, i have one in my macbook pro @ 1TB.
most 2.5" drives don't produce a lot of vibration, in particular the slower spinning drives, though you lose a bit of performance.
most 2.5" drives don't produce a lot of vibration, in particular the slower spinning drives, though you lose a bit of performance.
-
- Patron of SPCR
- Posts: 744
- Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:05 am
- Location: London
- Contact:
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Does anyone have a list of single platter 320GB 2.5" drives? Or even better a site with a list of all the common models and platter count? WD has some decent spec info on their site, but it doesnt mention platter count or density.
-
- Posts: 2198
- Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:20 am
- Location: TN, USA
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Unfortunately that database isn't up to date. It's definitely a good source but there are many newer drives that haven't been added to it.Tephras wrote:The HDD Platter Capacity Database
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
The only 500 GB single platter drive I was able to find recently was the 500 GB Hitachi. I wasn't able to find it available anywhere so I ordered a 320 GB from Newegg. It is in transit and I should get it sometime next week - hopefully I will remember to come back here and post my impressions.
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Hi, I have a WD Scorpio Black 7200rpm drive in my laptop and while it is nice and fast it's not that quiet. Audible whoosh from the spinning platters. The 5400rpm Scorpio Blue's are much quieter.
Regards, Seb
Regards, Seb
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
I tried a 500 GB WD Blue (BEVT) drive in my MacBook Pro and did not keep it there it because of too much "whoosh". I hope the Hitachi will be as quiet as a stock drive (which I can't really hear).SebRad wrote:Hi, I have a WD Scorpio Black 7200rpm drive in my laptop and while it is nice and fast it's not that quiet. Audible whoosh from the spinning platters. The 5400rpm Scorpio Blue's are much quieter.
Regards, Seb
Re: Single Platter 500GB 2.5" Hard Drive?
Well I got the 320 GB single platter Hitachi drive and while it is inaudible at idle it has a fairly pronounced seek sound that I can't stand. So it is most likely going back to Newegg and I'll be getting something else.