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Enigma · ‎11-18-2012

I bought this laptop a few months ago at CompUSA, and so far I've been mostly satisfied with it. However, I do have a lot of games, apps, media files, etc., that use up a lot of space, on the order of at least several terabytes+. I use external HDDs to store most of it, but lately I've been finding myself wanting to replace the default internal HDD with something that meets the specs detailed in the topic title. To me, more space is better. I haven't had any issues finding a 1 TB drive, with the exception that everything available all seem to be only 5400 RPM. I've noticed that the default drive provided by ASUS is 7200 RPM yet only 750 GB, and I would prefer not to take the speed hit if it is avoidable. I did notice a Seagate Constellation (I think that's what it's called) that meets my expectations, except it seems to be much taller in height than the bays will allow (and it also seems to be an enterprise-level drive, obviously designed to be optimized for that purpose, not gaming, etc). I could probably perform drastic surgery on the bays/internal framework with some power tools I have and make it fit that way, but don't want to take any chances.

My plan is to buy a SSD soon, and cash is no issue for me so cost is irrelevant. However, I would also like a regular HDD to go in the 2nd (or whatever) slot/bay, with the SSD in the other to hold Windows, etc, with most other data being offloaded to the HDD except for some high-performance/demand apps that will remain on SSD so as to benefit from its' speed. I will also be using a combination of encryption, as well as NTFS junctions/symbolic links, and Registry edits to entirely relocate the Program Files/Program Files (x86)/ProgramData/Users directories from the C drive to another drive/partition, in addition to installing some flavor of Linux.

I've been wondering if such a drive exists at all, have looked for it exhaustively and am having a hard time finding anything of this spec that can fit in the G75VW.

Also, what is the tallest drive the G75VW is capable of holding? Is it possible to find a non-standard sized mounting frame (not sure what else it would be called) so as to fit a taller drive, and if so, where? what else should I look for in a drive, like for instance what is the optimal cache size, SATA mode (2, 3, etc), Gb/s, etc. Anything else I should look for/know?

Well, thanks for any help!

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.....and ideas are bulletproof".

Zygomorphic · ‎11-18-2012

1 TB 7200 RPM 2.5" <=12.5 mm HDD is what you are asking for. There exists a 15 mm variant, but that is a server drive and will not run in a laptop. 😞 I don't know of any. If you can get by with a 750 GB, then
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148940
is a good bet. The SSH is really fast (I own the 500 GB version).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227797
1 TB SSD

If money is really no object, simply get this 😄 😄 😄
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178087

I am disturbed because I cannot break my system...found out there were others trying to cope! We have a support group on here, if your system will not break, please join!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=16
We now have 178 people whose systems will not break! Yippee! 🙂
LINUX Users, we have a group!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=23

Quasimodem · ‎11-20-2012

Zygomorphic wrote:

If money is really no object, simply get this 😄 😄 😄
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178087

Thanks for the link man, just got my tracking info....

I find a setup of a 512gb SSD, and a 750gb 7400RPM SATA is quite plenty... I've no where near come close to filling either drive, even with an 8/Mint dualboot...

G75VW-DS73-3D | 670m 3GB | 32GB RAM | 1TB RAID-0 2 x 830 512GB SSD DualBoot | Killer-N 1103 WiFi

Zygomorphic · ‎11-21-2012

BNaughty wrote:
Thanks for the link man, just got my tracking info....

I find a setup of a 512gb SSD, and a 750gb 7400RPM SATA is quite plenty... I've no where near come close to filling either drive, even with an 8/Mint dualboot...

Awesome! Which SSD? The one in your sig?

I am disturbed because I cannot break my system...found out there were others trying to cope! We have a support group on here, if your system will not break, please join!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=16
We now have 178 people whose systems will not break! Yippee! 🙂
LINUX Users, we have a group!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=23

TSC-Ops · ‎11-18-2012

frys sells a 1tb 7200 rpm travelstar for 99

also http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=891232&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Asus G75VW-BBK , 24GB , 2x256GB SSD , everything else stock

Zygomorphic · ‎11-19-2012

TSC-Ops wrote:
frys sells a 1tb 7200 rpm travelstar for 99

also http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=891232&Q=&is=REG&A=details

I am a little suspicious that they have a typo there somewhere. I cannot find a 1 TB 7200 RPM drive on Hitachi's website. 1 TB 5400 RPM yes, but not 7200 RPM.

I am disturbed because I cannot break my system...found out there were others trying to cope! We have a support group on here, if your system will not break, please join!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=16
We now have 178 people whose systems will not break! Yippee! 🙂
LINUX Users, we have a group!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=23

Enigma · ‎11-20-2012

Zygomorphic: Nice joke with the 3rd link, money is no object but my name isn't Bill Gates either. Unfortunately I cant get by with 750 GB, I've got everything all thought out and I really must have a 1 TB drive. I use up a lot more space than the average person. really like the SSD you linked but I really do feel that SSDs are still way overpriced. I can afford the one you listed but wont get it because I can buy a lot of other stuff with the same amount of money that the seller is asking for. would definitely be nice to have 2 SSDs in a laptop but it just seems like overkill.

I'm still looking into the topic of SSDs and SS hybrids. but i'm on the fence about SSDs since ive heard they have limited read/write capacity (in terms of overall lifespan), and that once you fill them up past 50 to 60 % they tend to slow down (heard it has something to do with TRIM, still not sure exactly what that is). a hybrid would seem to give the best of both worlds (capacity and performance), but have heard that they have downsides as well.

TSC-Ops: I checked your link and was a little suspicious about it since I don't recognize that brand, until I looked at the upper left corner of the product pic and noticed that it appears to be associated with WD. I don't like to buy anything out the major brands (WD and Seagate, mostly).

it does appear to be SATA 2 rather than SATA 3. is there a major difference between them in terms of performance? what I've read is that no PC can max out a SATA 2 HDD, and definitely not a SATA 3 unless it's an SSD. is this correct? and I did also notice that it has a 16 MB cache vs 32 or 64. will I take a big performance hit? and how importance is RPM (7200 vs 5400) for an HDD, overall?

Thanks for any help!

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.....and ideas are bulletproof".

Zygomorphic · ‎11-20-2012

@Enigma, I have a 500 GB hybrid and really like it. Nobody makes a TB hybrid, as far as I know. 😞 Maybe get a 750 GB SSH and keep using the drive you have? SATA III is faster, especially with SSDs. HDDs make much less difference.

Spindle speed on a HDD affects sustained transfer rate and that is it. How much you gain/loose depends on your workload. I haven't noticed a major difference between my 8 MB cache 5400 RPM and my 32 MB cache 7200 RPM SSH (except on Windows boot). Cache size won't change too much, though more is always better.

I am disturbed because I cannot break my system...found out there were others trying to cope! We have a support group on here, if your system will not break, please join!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=16
We now have 178 people whose systems will not break! Yippee! 🙂
LINUX Users, we have a group!
http://rog.asus.com/forum/group.php?groupid=23

fostert · ‎11-20-2012

Enigma wrote:
and I did also notice that it has a 16 MB cache vs 32 or 64. will I take a big performance hit? and how importance is RPM (7200 vs 5400) for an HDD, overall?

Thanks for any help!

I have seen benchmarks and read reviews where 5400 rpm drives equal and actually can beat the 7200's. It all depends on what software you use, what your work habits are (i.e. do you tend to read into memory lots of small files more often than one monstrous one, or vice versa? Do you tend to write lots of small files or one long one? Etc...) and how your OS handles the software's demands on the hardware.

--
G74SX-CST1-CBIL, i7 2630QM 2GHz
32GB DDR3 RAM @1333MHz
GTX560M 3GB DDR5 (192 bit)
17.3" LED 1920x1080
Sentelic TP, BIOS 203
Debian Linux Wheezy (Testing) Kernel 3.2, NVIDIA 295.40

Enigma · ‎11-21-2012

@Zygomorphic: and that's the main reason i will most likely opt for a regular HDD as my secondary drive as my secondary drive and SSD as primary. ive heard lots of goood things about hybrids but the simple face that 1 tb hyrids dont seem to exist is, for me, a good reason not to use one. i will most likely take the default HDD by ASUS and put it in an external enclosure so i can still use it to store other stuff, mainly static media (ebooks, music, movies, etc), backupsrather than programs, etc. i suspected that sata 3 would be much faster for SSDs,but not for HDDs, since an HDD is always the slowest thing/bottleneck in any modern PC, regardless of whether it's a laptop or a desktop. andso it creates a situation where the HDD is always playing catchup with everything else. as far as spindle speed, 7200 RPMs is definitely important to me then because i will be using the HDD for lots of data transfers and storage. being able to transfer files at reasonably high speeds is very important to me.

@fostert: thats strange, i never really seriously thought that a 5200 could ever beat a 7200, but then again, im no expert on HDDs and other storage mediums, so i wouldnt know for sure. although ive always suspected that there generally isnt a huge performance difference between the 2 in those respects, or overall for that matter. to me ive always believed that faster RPM means that the drive will perform better. maybe im wrong though.

my intention is to use an SSD for the OS itself, and for programs that are resource intensive and need fast disk access. slower programs and games will be NTFS-junctioned off to the HDD (and also using Registry edits as well) to keep pressure off the SSD. not sure if anyone herre is familiar with those methods. the HDD will also be used for data storage. in addition it will be encrypted. games will be kept in their own partitions on both the SSD and HDD to avoid the performance hit that encryption causes. and most of the data on the HDD will be encrypted as well. in addition, the HDD will probably also have linux installed on it. not sure what else i can think of that needs to be mentioned, thats pretty much it.

well, thanks for the advice!

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.....and ideas are bulletproof".

1 TB/7200 RPM/2.5" Internal HDD For G75VW?