Optimus V Spec - Please help me choose 2nd hard disk?!

[usdeus]

This will be for gaming and everyday use. I will be using this to replace my long suffering desktop so I really want something that will last a long time. I am a student and will be taking this to university, and I can't stretch my budget any further than this.


Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
12GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (3 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ULTIMATE-N 6300 (450Mbps)
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)

I have a couple of questions about my spec

Fristly, will there be any significant difference in performance if I choose 3x4gb 1333MHz RAM over the 2x4gb 1600MHz RAM option?

And secondly, more pressingly, which should I choose for my 2nd hard disk?

1. 1TB Seagate Hybrid GEN3 SSHD Drive (5400rpm)
2. 1TB WD Scorpio Blue (5400rpm)
3. 750GB WD Scorpio Black (7200rpm)

As far as I'm aware, the Scorpio Black has a 5 year warranty and the other two have 3 year warranties. I read that the Seagate SSHDs are often the fastest with loadscreens in gaming, but people generally don't use them as just a secondary drive? I've also heard they have less longevity due to use of MLC NAND, and that the Scorpio Black gives better performance in overall use. The Scorpio Black seems decent but I would much rather have 1tb than 750gb. The Scorpio Blue is the slowest but I heard it's not that much slower than Black, and since I plan on having this laptop for a long time, I would take it over the Hybrid SSHD if it is genuinely likely to last longer.

Which should I choose?

Any and all input appreciated! Planning to order this in the very near future

 

[Yamikotai]

Fristly, will there be any significant difference in performance if I choose 3x4gb 1333MHz RAM over the 2x4gb 1600MHz RAM option?

Depends on your requirements for the laptop. If you're doing video/3D/compute stuff, then go for the faster stuff. Otherwise go for whatever takes you fancy.

1. 1TB Seagate Hybrid GEN3 SSHD Drive (5400rpm)
2. 1TB WD Scorpio Blue (5400rpm)
3. 750GB WD Scorpio Black (7200rpm)

As far as I'm aware, the Scorpio Black has a 5 year warranty and the other two have 3 year warranties. I read that the Seagate SSHDs are often the fastest with loadscreens in gaming, but people generally don't use them as just a secondary drive? I've also heard they have less longevity due to use of MLC NAND, and that the Scorpio Black gives better performance in overall use. The Scorpio Black seems decent but I would much rather have 1tb than 750gb. The Scorpio Blue is the slowest but I heard it's not that much slower than Black, and since I plan on having this laptop for a long time, I would take it over the Hybrid SSHD if it is genuinely likely to last longer.

Since it's for a secondary disc, go for the slower, higher capacity - that is, the Scorpio Blue. I happen to have one in my laptop btw, and it's still plenty fast (I use it for running VMs off and storing video). Unless you're very often going to loading the same ~8GB's worth of stuff off the drive, the SSHD isn't worth it.
If want a better idea of the Scorpio Blue's performance I can do a benchmark for you, if you like.

 

[usdeus]

Depends on your requirements for the laptop. If you're doing video/3D/compute stuff, then go for the faster stuff. Otherwise go for whatever takes you fancy.

Mostly just gaming, so I think I will stick with the slower more spacious RAM.

Since it's for a secondary disc, go for the slower, higher capacity - that is, the Scorpio Blue. I happen to have one in my laptop btw, and it's still plenty fast (I use it for running VMs off and storing video). Unless you're very often going to loading the same ~8GB's worth of stuff off the drive, the SSHD isn't worth it.
If want a better idea of the Scorpio Blue's performance I can do a benchmark for you, if you like.

Well I'm not too worried about things like the speed of copying files or anything like that, for the most part I just want something that's not too sluggish when loading up games. I don't think I will be able to fit many on the SSD (the new Rome Total War is apparently asking for 35GB free space...), so I'll end up depending on the HDD for a lot of my gaming needs. If the Scorpio Blue can handle that relatively well then I'd be happy to go for that, but if the Black is significantly faster I would consider sacrificing the extra space.