New Hard drive...

Planning to upgrade the HDD of my new MBP 13 incher.

Any recommendations on a good/ reliable laptop hard drive?

Also does a 7200 rpm hard drive improve speed and reduce battery life (i saw some ppl complaining) ? Just wondering whether to shop for a 5400 or 7200 rpm.

Thanks!!

 

I just upgraded my 13" MBP with a Western Digital 500GB 5400rpm Scorpio Blue drive. It's slightly faster than the original 160GB Hitachi drive (higher platter density), is slightly quieter (less clicking noise when seeking), and seems to be cooler (the palm rest doesn't seem to get as hot, but I have no hard data for this).

I got mine from Amazon for $89. Also with the MBP, don't waste your money buying the more expensive HDD model with built-in free-fall sensor. The Macbooks have the sensors built into the motherboard and perform the same task, some drives with it built-in actually conflict with this sensor and can cause problems.

7200rpm drives don't really reduce battery life (you'll lose maybe 5-10 minutes on the full charge which isn't very noticeable on 4-7hrs of battery life), but their speed advantage is really only noticeable on boot and when loading/installing large files or apps. And even then you'll only be gaining a second or 2 here and there. IMHO, I'd much rather have a larger 5400 rpm drive for the same cost than the slight speed bump that's really only noticeable in benchmarks.

Also, if you don't already have a Torx T-6 screwdriver go out and get one before attempting to replace the HDD. Apple couldn't be simple and use the same 00 philips screws for the HDD like the screws for the case bottom. I was aggravated by having to make a quick run to the hardware store at 8:30 at night just to buy another screwdriver to change my HDD...argh!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

 

^^ thanks snork...i think this screwdriver set from amazon should do :
http://www.amazon.com/pcs-Torx-Phillips-Slotted-Screwdriver/dp/B000S8ZZG8

Also I noticed in your signature that you upgraded your RAM. Which one did you put in and how much it cost you ?

 

I got a 500gb scorpio blue as well... threw it in as the main drive cuz they are fast, and took my older 320gb and stuck it in as a secondary drive instead of my Superdrive.

Its been a very good drive. theres a lot more to drive speed than the RPMs.

 

I got the 500gb Scorpio Blue as well. I had to RMA it once, it was having issues, to many bad sectors. But I haven't had a problem with the replacement.

 

IMO, you are better off going 1 notch higher in capacity than you wanted than going 1 notch higher in rotational speed. You'll have lower seek times, which should offer a great deal of offset to the faster read/write potential of the higher rpm drive, but you will also have less heat with the slower rpm drive. Less heat is certainly a factor when using an alum body laptop on your lap.

 

If you're looking for a fast and pretty quite 500GB drive, I've used the Seagate Momentus 500GB 7200RPM spec. It's pretty fast and it is pretty quiet. Well I guess quiet to my standards and I usually notice the lightest hum.

 

Yeah, that screwdriver set should do you fine. That's a good deal, probably would have gotten something from similar if I had some patience Paid $3.99 for one T-6 Craftsman screwdriver

I got the Crucial 4GB DDR3 204 pin SODIMM kit from Amazon. In my research it was the only ram kit that seemed to be guranteed to work with the MBPs. Other RAM (cheaper and more expensive) companies seemed to have reports of trouble with sleeping their Macs and properly resuming.

Right now it's $104.98 at Amazon I got it in late August for only $76.50 so you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere at this time (newegg?). I primarily order from Amazon since I have a Prime membership and I live in NJ so I gotta pay newegg sales tax if I order there

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-CT2KI...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258722315&sr=8-1

 

thank you all for your response.

@snork i am getting the same ram from buy.com for $84 + $6 shipping and no tax. Now if only i can get free shipping from buy.com

 

If you can afford it, get an SSD. The performance increase is dramatic.

 

Newegg and Amazon have been the same price on the scorpio blue 500gb lately. Wait tell black friday, I know newegg is doing a bing 10% cashback from 11-25-2009 at 3pm PST.

 

^^ ohh cool thanks for the info. I bought the drive for $75 from ewiz.com

Havent been lucky in finding that crucial memory cheap. Everybody is quoting around $100....bummer

 

Yikes. I just checked newegg and its 108. I searched my order history and I got the exact same RAM for 61 2 months ago!!!!

 

well now we know a 10% cashback isn't really a good deal

 

Unfortunately RAM prices fluctuate month-to-month...it's just annoying knowing your buying at a high point

 

The price didn't change that much during the summer. I would imagine it is because of W7 coming out (people bought new computers with the intent on upgrading it themselves or need to upgrade their existing ones).

Not to mention this is now the holiday season, where by raising the price, they can "lower" it to make people who do not pay attention think they are getting a great deal.

 

^^ its the holiday season...i agree...what a scam!