When you are out shopping for a notebook hard drive, you probably have noticed that they come in different speeds.  The way the notebook drives are rated is by RPM (revolutions per minute).  Typically, you can find either 4,200 RPM, 5,400 RPM, and 7,200 RPM drives.  When making your decision, consider the pros and cons of each drive speed:

4,200 RPM

This drive has the lowest speed out of the bunch.  On the good side, it's slower rotational speed gives you better battery life.  On the bad side, you get less performance.  The performance on this drive should not affect you if you are doing normal computer tasks such as Internet, email, or typing.  For gaming and video editing, you would see the worst performance out of the bunch.

5,400 RPM

The 5,400 RPM drive is almost 30% faster than the 4,200 RPM drive.  You get better performance with this drive but less battery life.  Out of the three drive options, this drive gives you the best all round performance and battery life.  It is good for the everyday stuff, as well as game playing and video editing.

7,200 RPM

The 7,200 RPM drive is the fastest drive of the bunch.  Expect quicker boot times into your operating system, better game performance and quicker video editing times.  The catch:  this drive has the worst battery life of the bunch.

When you are out shopping, you need to decide if performance is most important to you, or if battery life is the major concern.  If you want the best compromise go with the 5,400 RPM drive - you get good battery life and good performance.