Laptops use 5400rpm HDs to reduce power consumption and increase battery life per charge - - a major consideration for these users.
OK, I always manage to get myself hammered for making blanket generalizations such as this. Accordingly, I see no salient reason why you shouldn't suffer the same fate. (In the nicest possibly way, of course). So, a minor rephrase is in order:
a major consideration for many these users.
The thing I find most distressing about computing in 2012, (and beyond), is the marketing industry has managed to establish a relationship between boot and access times, and the user's self esteem and ego gratification. Go figure. But then there is also the iZombie phenomenon as testimonial, which is largely predicated on shiny objects and merchandising prowess.
Having run laptops as my primary system for ~4 years now, the 5400 rpm is a non-issue (at least for me), as the system is used as a desktop, single user system and I don't do games.
Hm, "I don't do games"! Now there's a "cyber-blaspheme" if I've ever heard one. I won't admit to that anymore, no siree! I figure that puts a target on your back. A person could be cruising down the "cyber-freeway", and some thugs, immersed in playing, "Grand Theft Auto", might jump out, slam your head in a virtual church door, and finish you off with blunt force trauma to the head, using a 3D holographic statue of St. Christopher, as the weapon of opportunity. (And believe you me, that would hurt like hell, especially if the ne'er do wells are running DX-11).
But, using the laptop as a desktop, does take "battery life" out of the equation. That just tells me you're patient, as am I. My "erotic art machine", is P-4, Intel 915 based, running DDR. (Not a mistake, there's actually no number behind, "DDR").
All seriousness aside, when I first looked through this thread, I thought to myself, "that more or less, sounds pretty normal, the system would slow as you add programs". After all, with only Windows installed, what's to slow it down? (Don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question, and we have a sticky on the topic).
So, the first of my post seems to have gotten lost in the "need for speed shuffle". Adding AV software, with possibly iTunes, (a notorious Windows bricker), on top of it, would slow down the system quite a bit. Then you got your "googleupdate. exe, adobeupdate.exe, plus how ever many others, to add to the downward performance spiral. Then too, the whole "possibly malware" observation seems to have gotten misplaced also. "Do you know where those little rascal downloads of yours have been hanging out", seems like the sort of question worth asking.
In any event, if the OP isn't terribly concerned with battery life, but is in need of storage capacity, then a 7200RPM HDD might do some good. If absolute storage volume isn't a consideration, with $200.00 as a price ceiling, an SSD could be an alternative. The least expensive, in both time and treasure, would simply be, being patient.
(My New Year's resolution is to restrict the verbosity and satirical content of my posts. How am I doing so far)?
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