best storage upgrade for hp dv6700t

mikekazik1

Distinguished
Nov 17, 2007
65
0
18,580
Hi, I just ordered a laptop from hp with the following specs.

Intel T9300 (2.5ghz)
4gb ddr2 667 ram
256mb Geforce 8400M GS
250gb 5400rpm Sata hard drive

The only thing that concerns me is the hard drive (hp didn't have 7200rpm drives for normal sized laptops). I was thinking about replacing the hard drive (since I do like to do video editing) with a 7200rpm drive. If I did that, how would I ensure that it stays cool? Also, I've been hearing about the benefits of solid state drives. But when I checked newegg, they were really expensive and a LOT of people said that their ssd failed rather quickly. Should I wait like a year with the stock hard drive and then buy an ssd? What are you thoughts?
 

cjl

Distinguished
Jun 18, 2008
432
0
18,940
I wouldn't bother with an SSD for a while, as they aren't likely to hit a price/capacity point to be remotely competitive with 7200RPM standard drives for a while. How much space do you need?
 

mikekazik1

Distinguished
Nov 17, 2007
65
0
18,580


I don't need a tremendous amount of space. I was hoping to upgrade to a 160gb hard drive that runs at 7200rpm. I could settle for more or less (depending on which is the best value. My only concern is heat. What will I need to do to keep it cool (if anything)?
 

mikekazik1

Distinguished
Nov 17, 2007
65
0
18,580


Well what about heat? Do I need to install any additional cooling units or not?
 

cjl

Distinguished
Jun 18, 2008
432
0
18,940
I doubt it - it should run OK. Most notebooks don't bother with anything special for hard drive cooling, whether a 7200 is installed or not. A 160 or 200GB 7200RPM drive should be great for what you want. This one is pretty good. Comes with a 5 year warranty too.
 

mikekazik1

Distinguished
Nov 17, 2007
65
0
18,580


Sweet, thanks for your help :p :D
 

cjl

Distinguished
Jun 18, 2008
432
0
18,940
They don't. Laptops use SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) interface (at least all the newer ones), while those use SAS (serial attached SCSI, or serial attached small computer system interface). The two are not compatible at all. It would be like trying to plug a firewire plug into a USB port.

(well, to be perfectly honest, it is slightly compatible - you can plug SATA devices into SAS ports, but not vice versa. No current laptops have SAS ports)