It is true that performance decreases as you fill the drive. This is due mostly to the fact that information on the outside of the platters spins at a faster linear velocity than that at the inside and can thus be read more quickly.
As far as replacement options go, you can currently get a [http://www.ifixit.com/search?query=7200+rpm|500GB 7200 RPM drive] but only if your machine is SATA. No 7200 RPM drives exist for PATA unfortunately.
It is true that performance decreases as you fill the drive. This is due mostly to the fact that information on the outside of the platters spins at a faster linear velocity than that at the inside and can thus be read more quickly.
As far as replacement options go, you can currently get a [http://www.ifixit.com/search?query=7200+rpm|500GB 7200 RPM drive] but only if your machine is SATA. No 7200 RPM drives exist for PATA unfortunately.
It is true that performance decreases as you fill the drive. This is due mostly to the fact that information on the outside of the platters spins at a faster linear velocity than that at the inside and can thus be read more quickly.
As far as replacement options go, you can currently get a [http://www.ifixit.com/search?query=7200+rpm|500GB 7200 RPM drive] but only if your machine is SATA. No 7200 RPM drives exist for PATA unfortunately.