Need help with HDD specs

[Moohasha]

I need to upgrade my 40 GB hard drive to something a little larger, but I haven't kept up with hardware in years so I don't know what to look for. I currently have a Toshiba MK4026GAX 40GB ATA-100 hard drive and I'm running Windows XP, so I'd like to know what I can get. Can I get a SATA HD, or does it have to be ATA? Are ATA and PATA the same thing? How important is RPM (other than speed)? Can anyone recomend a good supplier? I've checked tigerdirect, newegg, and amazon, and so far this is the best I've found.
Many thanks for any help I can get.

edit: oh yeah, this is for a laptop. Dell Inspiron 9300, purchased about 5 years ago.

[xavier]

If you don't have a SATA port on your MB, then you can get SATA PCI cards relatively cheap. IDE HDD are actually getting more expensive due to economies of scale, so you'll get more HDD for the money by going to SATA. SATA-300 is where we are now. The nice thing about a SATA card (or a MB with an external port) is that you can also pick up external eSATA drives relatively cheap as well (I've seen 1TB eSATA drives for ~$100).

[Moohasha]

Unfortunately this is for a laptop, so I don't think I have any PCI ports, and the HD just snaps in, so I doubt there's a SATA connection on the mobo I can connect to. So am I stuck with an ATA HD then?

[Lizard]

if you just need more storage space why not just get an external USB HDD, I've got a couple of seagate freeagent drives and they are great.

[twilight17]

Unfortunately this is for a laptop, so I don't think I have any PCI ports, and the HD just snaps in, so I doubt there's a SATA connection on the mobo I can connect to. So am I stuck with an ATA HD then?

Yes, and ATA and PATA are the same.

[Moohasha]

if you just need more storage space why not just get an external USB HDD, I've got a couple of seagate freeagent drives and they are great.

I would if it was for a PC. But since it's for a laptop, I don't want to lug around an external HD wherever I go. Also, running things off an external (especially compiling) takes longer. I actually already have an external, but don't use it on the laptop for those reasons. I just use it for storage of things I want to keep, but don't use a whole lot. But if I want to have at least two games (like WoW:WoTLK and anything else, which I can't do right now!!) installed at the same time, I'd rather they be internal.
Mainly I just wanted to understand the specs for HDs so I'd make sure I wasn't buying something that wouldn't be compatible, and you guys have helped with that. Thanks.

[xavier]

Also, running things off an external (especially compiling) takes longer.

I have the opposite experience. The internal drive in my HP zd8030 actually is far slower than accessing my external HDD (probably more due to disk seek than anything -- the internal is 5400 and the external is a 7200 ATA133 in a USB2.0 chassis).

[Moohasha]

[mod note: this is a reply to a post that was deleted, hence the non-sequitor]

user edit: Removed post since it was a reply to a post that was deleted. This is getting confusing...

[johnhpus]

The post above Moohasha's looks similar to the weird XBOX 360 post in another recent thread. The same question was asked at Yahoo answers, but the question is one year old http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 418AAq2jnd If you search for just the first sentence it appears in other locations too. The first line is actually the "question" on Yahoo's site, while the rest is from the "details" section.

[jacmoe]

Exact copy: word by word, spelling errors too. Weird.
Alright. I am deleting post and user.

<edit> Could be a thief. They often have to fix their stolen goods. </edit>