[inigopete]

Originally Posted by woodscomp

Definitaly the slower the spin the lower the noise and heat and less drain on the battery. I was thinking about going to a 64GB SSD myself, but damn the prices are as much as I paid for this thing. Not really worth it imo.

However, the lower the spin speed, the longer the time it takes to access the data on the drive. I've heard arguments that 7200rpm drives can actually save energy because they don't need to be busy for so long. Certainly a few years ago when Hitachi brought out the 7K60, it was quicker _and_ more efficient than the 5400s at the time, possibly also because it had a bigger cache. Its bearings were smoother and quieter too...

[Alexm920]

If you're just looking to expand your storage (but not replace your OS-housing drive, though they can boot from USB), you could always grab a decent external drive, or a tiny memory stick. One of my friends has a 16GB microSD and a tiny reader he picked up in Japan (will be available in the US short). It only protrude a few millimeters, and more than doubles the space on his Mini 9.

If time isn't and issue, and you have your heart set on an internal replacement, just watch newegg for a bit, I'm sure a decent and sizable 2.5" drive will go on sale eventually.

I'd err on the side of higher speed with platter discs. I've never noticed vibration or battery life as issues, but have never had a 7200 RPM drive in such a small machine before. With the faster drive you'll spend less time watching files copy, and the vibration and battery drain shouldn't be an issue unless you're reading for a long time (watching a movie or copy lots of files).

Of course, a bigger SSD would be the best answer, if only they didn't cost so much!

[thundertracks]

I have a seagate 7200 RPM HD in my 10V, 160gb, no issues with vibration or noise, battery life seems no different. Also the mini does not seem to perform any better either. If you need more space go for it, if you are looking for a performance boost over a 5400 rpm drive, I think you will be disappointed.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by kirbyrj

I don't see why not as long as it is a standard 2.5" SATA drive.

Also, I noticed my 7200 rpm drive vibrated a little more than I liked in the Mini 10v, so I put in a 320GB 5400rpm drive and it doesn't vibrate at all.

Is there a noticeable difference in video performance between the 5400 and 7200? Thanks!

[Starmanager]

Hi Athena,

not at all. the video goes with 1000 - 2000kb per second and the slow drive is allready 10 times faster as you need for Video. The only speed up is when you start the laptop it is maybe a view seconds faster. But that is most of it. Just like tuning the car with a bigger pipe. Noise does not make it faster. In the real Life you will not find a big difference.

Greetings from Switzerland

Starmanager

[ish05]

I wouldn't mind slapping a 500gb hdd in one. how dificult is it to replace the hdd. Do you have take apart the entire netbook to get to it?

[kirbyrj]

I didn't notice a big decrease in performance going from a 7200rpm to a 5400rpm drive. My rationale for it was that it's not a high power machine anyway, and I preferred the lack of vibration.

The HDD on the Mini 10v isn't too terribly hard to get to, but it does require popping the keyboard out (3 screws). I don't remove the cable. I just flip it over and am careful with it. So far, no problems.

[SmittyRN]

Originally Posted by ish05

I wouldn't mind slapping a 500gb hdd in one. how dificult is it to replace the hdd. Do you have take apart the entire netbook to get to it?

Nope. Take the keyboard off, and it's right there. One screw holding it in. Pull it out, and there are 4 screws holding the HDD to the bracket. Biggest pain is getting the keyboard ribbon cable plugged back in right; first time I did it, I booted up and the keyboard didn't work. Make sure it's pushed in all the way and lock it in.