32MB "cache" seems extraordinarly small for a 750GB drive, is comparing this to a SSD just marketing hype?
1149280
I don't know why but the description of this drive omits the most important feature: the 8GB SSD built into the drive. The drive adaptively takes advantage of the SSD speed when launching apps that have been previously launched, including the processes during the startup. The more often an app or process is used, the more chances it has of remaining in the SSD portion of the drive. The speed ups are very real and have been shown by multiple testers such as CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-hard-drives/seagate-momentus-xt-second/4505-9998_7-35089066.htmlI can vouch for the speed advantages this drive gives. My only quibble is that the drive is a bit noisier than the stock drive it replaced. I don't know why but the description of this drive omits the most important feature: the 8GB SSD built into the drive. The drive adaptively takes advantage of the SSD speed when launching apps that have been previously launched, including the processes during the startup. The more often an app or process is used, the more chances it has of remaining in the SSD portion of the drive. The speed ups are very real and have been shown by multiple testers such as CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-hard-drives/seagate-momentus-xt-second/4505-9998_7-35089066.htmlI can vouch... » Read More I don't know why but the description of this drive omits the most important feature: the 8GB SSD built into the drive. The drive adaptively takes advantage of the SSD speed when launching apps that have been previously launched, including the processes during the startup. The more often an app or process is used, the more chances it has of remaining in the SSD portion of the drive. The speed ups are very real and have been shown by multiple testers such as CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-hard-drives/seagate-momentus-xt-second/4505-9998_7-35089066.htmlI can vouch for the speed advantages this drive gives. My only quibble is that the drive is a bit noisier than the stock drive it replaced. « Show Less
1149281
Yes. I was disappointed. I really did not see a speed increase. My friend bought the same one and said there was. However, he upgraded to Win 8 and did clean installs. That was probably why. If want SSD speed buy an SSD drive.
1149282
Considering the size of the drive and the fact that it is a hard drive and a Laptop drive at that; I would have to say that the number is fairly accurate and that these kind of specs are used as a marketing tool especially since this is a alternative to a SSD.
1149283
Of course it is indeed marketing hype, but for most purposes the comparison is valid. In terms of operational performance, the drive does indeed perform as well as most SSDs. The cache is used only to speed access to (generally) most-recently-used sectors, such as the file directory. For large-volume file access, such as boot-up or backup/restore, you won't get anything but regular magnetic disk performance. If you really want SSD performance with large storage capacity, you'll have to spend a lot more money!
1149284
There are two different types of caches. The 32 MB cache is the usual cache used in any hard drive all of which have such a cache up to 64MB. What makes this a hybrid is the 8GB of SLC Nand flash memory (SLC Nand is more expensive than the MLC Nand used in consumer SSDs and does not have the limited lifetime issues). It is the latter that makes this different from the regular hard drives. See my review of Dec 15, 2012 for when this is good and when not... http://www.amazon.com/review/R36HPN679UBDZ8/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00691WMJG&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
1149285
I see no improvement. I just wasted time and money. As soon as I can I'm putting my 2tb drive back in. If you try it don't expect ssd speed
1149286
What I can tell you about this drive is that I install it on my Lenovo X201 and after doing that, the computer restarts at least 30% faster, loads the applications much faster as well and because I use quite often Dragon Natural Speaking, this program performs better, and smoother. I hope that this feed back will be of help to you. I am sorry I can't be more technical, since I am not a computer technician.
1149287
This is not an SSD drive. It is still a standard hard drive. But what it has is that at boot up it has an SSD system that boots up. This is where it's a little faster than regular drives. Plus it memorizes your most used apps so it keeps them in memory in order to start them faster. This happens with usage.This in general without going into full technical details.
1149288
Based on whats your reason for use and the fact that size and laptop capability is a wonder to this innovation in our time. This will make my laptop 2nd generation intel i3 processor do what its designed to do. That's if your equipment is up-gradable and have one of the top-5 name brand that Seagate chatter to which makes all the difference in the productivity arena. The 32MB cache for the size of a laptop is pretty good I think.
359898
Although they both have the SATA 3 6GBs header, you can actually fit an SSD into the taller case. Not much point, though, with a 250GB mSATA main drive already there, unless you've got some other mini SATA device. It's never going to be a speed rig with a 15W TDP processor, so halving the SSD response delay by using a RAID0 won't help much, and it's got 4X USB 3 ports for data. The Intel HD Graphics 5000 is stunning. I heartily recommend this machine.
750971
I just installed a new win7 os no problems at all. Then reattached my old drive and removed what I wanted , formatted it and store pictures and large programs on it. I am just sorry I did not buy a bigger SSD.
795409
Yes as long as you don't have more data on your drive than the SSD capacity.
2122462
I don't actually remember that distinction, but Windows has to be on the 500 GB regular HD or otherwise the SSD would be of no use or consequence. Speed is not the operative parameter with this computer.
504793
The drive would be compatible, but I am not seeing a dramatic increase in performance.
993706
No idea -- it ships with two SSD drives that equal roughly 250GB of storage. I was wondering that too when I bought it, but it seems that whoever wrote the page made a mistake.
1424091
This is an msata ssd, which is a lot smaller than a standard sata drive. I do believe that the crucial m4 is available in a 7mm form factor as well, though.
2122463
This looks like a hybrid drive to me. The 8GB SSD drive is for files that are used frequently. It can provide a speed boost when accessing frequently used files/programs. You won't be able to directly access it.
1623026
Performance wise, it's worth every single penny. When I purchased mine I swaped it for a 1TB M500 SSD and the boost in performance was phenomenal. Nothing sucks more than having a very powerful PC but a slow HDD. Doesnt really work well!
254798
For anyone fairly familiar with computers, you could replace the hard drive with a ssd. However, this laptop boots in less than 20 seconds and runs quite quickly, so I feel confident I am getting a boost from the express cache built-in. Also, it has an amazing recover from sleep in about 2 seconds which makes it even closer to ssd performance. I have a desktop with an ssd for my boot drive, and I can tell you that even buying one of the best Crucial ssd's, they can give you more issues than a standard hard drive. No argument ssds are faster, just saying this hybrid express cache solution from samsung with a 7200 rpm hard drive is a good choice, at least for me.
1317757
Those are very similar HDs with capacity and performance: 750 GB, 5400 rpm 8 MB cache ... just brand difference and warranty issues - Toshiba vs Generic (unknown) manufacture
127146
Same here: 750GB x 2. They're also not RAID 0, so you don't have one drive with 1.5TB, but rather a 750GB C: drive and a 750GB D: drive.
147894
That truly depends on how much you are presently using on your 250 now. How much do you really need. That is a question that only you can answer. I downsized quite a bit and don't miss the extra at all. I do really appreciate the speed of the solid state drive.
1208628
It's 5400RPM, so access times are "slower" than a 7200RPM drive. It has an 8meg cache vs. a 16m cache. I'd venture to say that neither of these are noticeable to the typical user. It's hot-pluggable SATA II, which are current capabilities. The 7200RPM/16m version is only about $5 more.
1961025
No there is not. I'm not an expert in hardware but I believe noticed that there is a slot for cache memory but it is empty. It fits the msata mini half-size ssd by the looks of it.
795412
You know, I am not an expert. I do not do computers for a living. I do know that this SSD is only 500GB, which is half the size of the 1TB drive you currently have. I would presume that this drive would work for you, as long as you are willing to settle for half of the disk space that you currently have. I was able to swap out the 750GB SATA hard drive on my MacBook Pro for this 500GB SATA hard drive and it worked like a charm and make the computer much faster, though her old SATA drive only had a speed of 5400RPM which is standard for a 13" MacBook Pro.