hard drive recommendation? Please help.

[Z28]

I want to replace the 100 GB factory hard drive in my dv9005us Notebook PC.  Will any of the following hard drives work?

Western Digital - Scorpio 320GB Internal SATA Hard Drive for Laptops Model: WD3200KTRTL | SKU: 8909586

SATA interface; 16MB cache; 7200 rpm; data transfer rates up to 3 Gbps

Western Digital - 320GB Internal Hard Drive for Laptops Model: WD3200BEVT | SKU: 8679762

Serial ATA interface; WhisperDrive technology; ShockGuard technology; data transfer rates up to 3 Gbps; 8MB buffer

Western Digital - Scorpio Blue 500GB Internal Serial ATA Hard Drive for Laptops Model: WD5000BEVTRTL | SKU: 9172799

Serial ATA interface; 5400 rpm; 3 Gbps data transfer rate

A few days ago, I purchased a

Seagate - Momentus 500GB Internal Serial ATA Hard Drive for Laptops Model: ST905003N3A1AS-RK | SKU: 9326428

Serial ATA interface; quiet operation; 3 Gbps; 16MB buffer

from Best Buy, but I am going to return it because there have been firmware problems with some Seagate drives and the box it came in says that it contains a 5 year warranty but the only thing inside was the drive.

Can I use a 7200 rpm 16MB buffer drive in my computer?

Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

[christopher_jk]

I can't recommend Wester Digital enough. They make the best consumer hard drives out there to date, and they back their product with a 5 year warranty. I have had over 20 of their hard drives over the last decade, not one of them has failed me.

I would recommend that you get the WD Scorpio Black though, it is the fastest HD they make for a notebook. Here is the link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280&cm_re=scorpio_black-_-22-136-280-...

At $75 it is a steal as well.

Good Luck!

[Huffer]

The Seagate is warranted for 5 years and will likely work for you but there have been some issues on the dv9000 series with all 500 gig drives. Any of the WD 320 gig drives will work, including the 16 meg cache 7200 rpm models.

[Z28]

Thank you both for the advice. Will the 7200 rpm WD generate a lot of heat? My dv9005us had to be repaired under the warranty enhancement for the heat problem that has plagued this series. I returned the Seagate drive but Best Buy was sold out of both 320 WD drives. Thanks.

[Huffer]

Only a little more than a similar 5400 based on pure physics....but the current model 7200 rpm drives generate less heat than the 5400s that would have been original equipment on that laptop.

[Big_Dave]

I run dual 320 MB Haitachi 7200 rpm hard drives in my DV9700t laptop and haven't experienced any heat problems.

[Z28]

Thanks again to everyone who has responded thus far. Based on your advice, I will likely purchase the 16MB cache/7200 rpm WD Scorpio 320GB drive, but I need another question answered first.  The following was posted on the Best Buy site under Customer Reviews for the drive in question:

"This is a great drive. Speed, speed, speed and low power. Tested it in a SATA FW800 sled and get speeds as fast as 3.5" drives.

Why does it get a 1 star for ease of installation? Because WD is shipping the BEJT and BKJT models interchangeably in the same retail box. Why does this matter? Because these drives are NOT interchangeable. If your laptop has built in "drop" detection, and you get a BKJT, you may have major problems, as it has it's own drop protection. The "E" model doesn't. So, depending on your laptop, you either want the E or you want the K, but on the outside of the box, they don't tell you if it's a K or E. Bad form on WD's part. For me, that made installation IMPOSSIBLE.

(note, this is why some reviewers are in conflict, as some got one model, some the other model)

Have to return it. Will order the E from the internet as an OEM model, where you know what you are getting."

Do I need to be concerned about this potential problem?

[Huffer]

The dv9005us does not have the hard drive protection system. I believe that is confined to the HP/Compaq Business Models. So no worries there.

[Z28]

Thanks Huffer. One last (hopefully) question: Will the 16MB cache/7200 rpm WD Scorpio 320GB drive work with both XP MCE and Vista? I'm having to do a dual boot, which is why I need a larger drive, and the System Requirements listed on the Best Buy site say "Windows Vista; Mac OS" but do not mention XP MCE.

[Big_Dave]

The hard drive size will not effect your ability to dual boot.  I have used both tri and quad boot hard drive without issues. However, some laptop models have issues recognizing larger hard drives and some don't.