Battery drain question

Richard

unread,

Jan 3, 2005, 1:48:47 PM1/3/05

to

Will a higher rpm (eg 7200 vs 5400) hard drive consume a noticeable amount
of battery power?

Thanks,
Richard

Dan

unread,

Jan 4, 2005, 5:00:52 PM1/4/05

to

Typically yes. However, hitachi's new 7200rpm notebook HD's use only a few
extra minutes of battery life and are very fast. I believe the model is
7k60.

"Richard" <n...@an.eml> wrote in message
news:jsgCd.848$CB.2...@news7.onvoy.net...

Barry Watzman

unread,

Jan 5, 2005, 12:33:15 AM1/5/05

to

Generally, yes. But check the power specs on the drive, because in
specific cases, it might not be the case.

Richard

unread,

Jan 13, 2005, 3:39:48 PM1/13/05

to

Bump

"Richard" <n...@an.eml> wrote in message
news:jsgCd.848$CB.2...@news7.onvoy.net...

JHEM

unread,

Jan 13, 2005, 4:57:50 PM1/13/05

to

Richard wrote:
> Bump

The answer is No to your original question.

Regards,

James

bobb

unread,

Jan 13, 2005, 5:03:41 PM1/13/05

to

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 20:39:48 GMT, "Richard" <n...@an.eml> wrote:

>Bump
>
>"Richard" <n...@an.eml> wrote in message
>news:jsgCd.848$CB.2...@news7.onvoy.net...
>> Will a higher rpm (eg 7200 vs 5400) hard drive consume a noticeable amount
>> of battery power?

OK, here is easy answer - YES it will.
Then again NOTICIABLE is a subjective quantity isn't it.

Here's the longer answer:

Everything else being equal, it takes more power to turn something
faster.

Having said that, the 7200 maybe of a newer design and has a more
efficient motor. The power specifications of drives are publicitly
available, all you have to do is look them up. EASY.

7200 will tend to be noisier and hotter, but not always. Again,
consult the spec on the drives of your interest. The manufacturers put
them all at their websites for free.

Richard

unread,

Jan 14, 2005, 12:54:19 PM1/14/05

to

Thank you for the answers.

By noticeable, I guess I meant just having it in takes a 1/2 hour off of the
charge (currenlty my 8 cell takes about 2 hours to charge, 4 to drain -- if
I'm not watching a DVD, which is noticeable). I hadn't even considered heat
or noise.

Sometimes I don't know how to translate technical specifications into an
answer for a simple question, but I will look at the mfr websites.

Thanks again, everybody.

"bobb" <No...@NoWhere.com> wrote in message
news:cerdu09gdgb60djti...@4ax.com...

]v[etaphoid

unread,

Feb 5, 2005, 9:35:13 AM2/5/05

to

"Richard" <n...@an.eml> wrote in message
news:jsgCd.848$CB.2...@news7.onvoy.net...

> Will a higher rpm (eg 7200 vs 5400) hard drive consume a noticeable amount
> of battery power?

Only marginally. We're talking about 1 minute in every sixty according to a
recent comparison at
http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20031031/notebook_hard_drives-03.html#impact_on_system_performance_and_battery_life

The advanced power saving features of the Hitachi 7k60 drives compensate for
the expected increased power drain to the point that the difference is
negligible. The same cannot be said for the performance gains of the 7200
drive, which is considerable and more than offsets any minimal battery drain
according to my own limited experiences and just about every review I've
read which did a comparison.

So go with your gut, and get the faster drive - you'll not regret it.