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    MBP and 7200 RPM Hard Drive???

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by ash211, Mar 20, 2011.

  1. ash211

    ash211 Notebook Geek

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    Why no 7200 rpm hard drive options for MBP's? Can they not handle them?
     
    ash211, Mar 20, 2011
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  2. RainMotorsports

    RainMotorsports Formerly ClutchX2

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    17 inch offers a 500 GB 5400 rpm as opposed to a 750 GB 7200 RPM. So um what? 15 inch as well, only one that doesnt it seems is the 13.

    Actually pretty sad. I rarely price apple. But they should have at least 40 options to you with and they have like 5.
     
    RainMotorsports, Mar 20, 2011
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  3. ash211

    ash211 Notebook Geek

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    Maybe I wasn't very clear...I'm thinking of buying a MBP but I would want to install a 7200 RPM hard drive in it. Can I do this or is the MBP not rated for a 7200 rpm hard drive and that is why they don't offer it as an upgrade?
     
    ash211, Mar 20, 2011
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  4. RainMotorsports

    RainMotorsports Formerly ClutchX2

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    Maybe I wasnt clear? They do offer it on the 15 and 17 inch models, I just checked their configurator.

    I dont own one and all the apple junkies are away from me so I cant say for certain but 99% sure all models should be able to handle any drive upwards of 1 amp at 5v. I doubt you'll find too many drives that need even that much power. Apple probably prefers to keep battery life in check when offering options.
     
    RainMotorsports, Mar 20, 2011
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  5. Lieto

    Lieto Notebook Deity

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    You can replace it FOR FREE with apple.
     
    Lieto, Mar 20, 2011
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  6. steve p

    steve p Notebook Evangelist

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    If I am not mistaken it's the opposite: The 750 GB 5400 RPM drives can be replaced with 500 GB 7200 RPM drives at the same price...
     
    steve p, Mar 20, 2011
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  7. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

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    Either way, ALL current MBP models (13", 15", and 17") can handle 7200 RPM hard drives. The 13" requires aftermarket installation (it cost me $80 for a 750GB 7200 RPM hard drive) but Apple offers the configurations for the 15" and 17" on their site.
     
    kornchild2002, Mar 20, 2011
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  8. ash211

    ash211 Notebook Geek

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    Sweet, thanks guys. I take it if I buy a 13" I can swap out the drive myself?
     
    ash211, Mar 20, 2011
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  9. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

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    Yes. As I said, I did that with my model. I had a Newegg coupon code and I purchased a 750GB 7200 RPM Scorpio Black hard drive. It is the largest drive that fits the 2.5" form factor and is less than 10 mm thick (the 12.5 mm 1TB drives won't physically fit in the MBP line). The whole thing cost me a little over $80 and it took me all of 3 minutes to install it. I simply backed up my MBP using Time Machine and restored the backup onto the new, blank hard drive (I didn't perform a full re-install).
     
    kornchild2002, Mar 20, 2011
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  10. CanadianDude

    CanadianDude Notebook Deity

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    How's the speed of that drive? I have the 500 GB version but replaced it with the Seagate hybrid drive. I've read in reviews that the hybrid is faster than the blacks, but in real world usage I can't really tell.
     
    CanadianDude, Mar 20, 2011
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  11. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

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    Its pretty fast. I don't really do anything that would require anything other than a 5400 RPM drive but my Mac OS X boot times were cut down a bit, Windows 7 performs a little better under Parallels, and program installation processes tend to run a little faster. For example, it used to take my 13" MBP 46 seconds to cold boot but it now takes 35 seconds. Everything is essentially about 10 seconds faster. That might also have to do with the cache on the hard drive but I could be wrong.

    I really didn't need a 7200 RPM hard drive as I was looking at the Scorpio Blue 750GB model but the Scorpio Black was only a few dollars more (it is over $100 so I could use my $20 coupon, I couldn't do that with the Blue model as it came in below$100). I figured I might as well get the 7200 RPM drive if it was going to cost me $3 more.
     
    kornchild2002, Mar 20, 2011
    #11