One of the major differences between 5400 and 7200 hard drives is that the latter spins faster compared to the former. Other differences between the two are hinged on this little difference stated above. 7200 hard drive comes with a reduced rotational latency, and this allows the system that uses it to have faster reads and writes speed.
This also allows it to offer faster file transfer speed. Unlike 7200 hard drives that offer transfer speed of 120 MB/s, 5400 hard drives offer transfer speed of 100 MB/s. Desktops and laptops that use 7200 hard drive can execute programs quicker, and also run an operating system faster compared to 5400 hard drive.
In terms of price, 7200 hard drives are quite expensive compared to 5400 hard drives. However, one of the problems usually experienced with 7200 hard drives is that they generate more noise, heat compared to 5400 hard drives.