External hard disk 7200 rpm and usb 2

Hi
 
I have a hard disk that spins at 5,400 RPM in my laptop. Would that make a difference (performance) working on an external hard disk 7200 rpm with usb 2 connection? I've already checked to change the hard disk of my laptop but found it to expensive. Any advices?
 
Thanks

Externals that are guaranteed to spin at 7200rpm are expensive too. The famous names like WD and Seagate no longer guarantee spin speeds (they don't even state spin speeds in their literature). 

sharke
Externals that are guaranteed to spin at 7200rpm are expensive too. The famous names like WD and Seagate no longer guarantee spin speeds (they don't even state spin speeds in their literature). 

True. The identity of the drive inside the box of many pre-assembled external drives are poorly documented.  In some cases the same model number for an external drive may have a variety of different hard drives inside depending on when and where it is produced. Sometimes you can get the model number from device manager in windows and look up the spec sheet for that model. But by then you probably already bought the drive. The cheap way to be sure is to buy an external enclosure or drive dock and put your own drive inside.

> RAM;6.00 GO
 
Couldn't make this out in your footer, how much RAM do you actually have? Thanks..

I find that even an old laptop if treated to a new 7200 RPM drive will be a new machine. 
They do hide this fact often in the specs. But people seem way to hung up on process CPU power and in my opinion way to much RAM but overlook the hard drive. 

''Couldn't make this out in your footer, how much RAM do you actually have? Thanks...''
 
6.00 Go CakeAlexS
 
 

Hellya could you right click My Computer (or "Computer"), left click properties, it should then tell you the installed memory (RAM) in Gb. Cheers.

I suggest updating "GB" in your footer, also we also need to know if you are running 32 bit windows or 64 bit windows, and indeed what version of windows. Also Sonar 64 bit or 32 bit?
 
32 bit only has 4Gb of addressable memory.
 
Also please check:
Scroll down to "Do You Have Enough Memory?"
http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2008/07/21/3092070.aspx
 
Sonar should be giving you some idea of how much memory you are using too.
With a lack of memory you could be swapping out too much to hard drive, something to check anyway.
Probably barking up the wrong tree here but worth a check.
Oh and please defrag your hard drive.
 
Cheers..

I thought defraging was no longer necessary with W7? 
Every time I check, there are no fragmented files. 

I have found that an external 7200 drive dedicated to audio certainly did improve performance. eSata is far better than usb2. This also takes the load off your system drive so you may well find that it doesn't need upgrading. 

slartabartfast

CakeAlexS
> I thought defraging was no longer necessary with W7? 

Oh Microsoft said that when NT first came out, and then the next release came with an in built defragger.
 
Nope defragging is necessary it's just totally unnecessary to run it all the time, some people run it every day/week and wear out their hard drives. I generally run it after I install new software or every couple of months, whatever is soonest.
 
You may have your defragger scheduled every month or week or so, which is not a good idea when using Sonar (turn off scheduling and run it when you want to run it). Cheers...

Actually, MS does not say defragmenting is unnecessary in Win 7, it is just that it is scheduled to run on a schedule by default. If your computer is turned off when not in use, the time scheduled for defragmentation may not be available. Check when it is actually scheduled to run, and leave your computer on over night to let it, or run it manually when it is convenient.
 
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/improve-performance-defragmenting-hard-disk#1TC=windows-7
 

 
Strange I thought that was pretty much exactly what I wrote :).

 
USB 3 is a good solution (far better than USB 2). In fact, when on USB 3,a standard HDD is slower than USB so you should get full speed.
 
6Gb ram should be enough unless you use a LOOOOT of samples and tracks (I do on one song with BFD2 and Miroslav Philharmonik and never got Higher than 4 Gb used) or have a lot of simultaneous programs running.
 
You mentionned at first:
"I've already checked to change the hard disk of my laptop but found it to expensive"
 
Well a Western Digital Black Mobile 750Gb HDD for laptop is something like 66 euros.I wouldn't say it's expensive. It's a 750Gb 7200rpm drive with 16MB cache. To get better,only SSDs or velociraptors are available and far more costy (SSHDs are 5400rpm nowadays,or try the older 750Gb Momentus XT which is great).
7200rpm makes a big difference. Your system will be more responsive and you should be able to stream more tracks.

Definitely research first, and be sure your system will support what you intend to buy (USB3, SATA III, etc.). Buying something that your system cannot utilize is important to know before you purchase anything.
 
I may have missed in the thread here... is your machine an off the shelf model? Either that (if it is), or the motherboard in it will help out folks reading the thread for you.