Macbook Air Hard drive Question

[bigjnyc]

So right now i'm torn between a macbook alum or getting a macbook air. I wont bore you guys with that dilemma since there are 100 threads on that already....

one of my options is to get the Air BTO and bump up the processor to 1.86ghz but leave the hard drive as the SATA since SSD is grossly overpriced. my plan is to then swap out that hard drive and buy a 2.5" 7200RPM for $70 like this one: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3317097&CatId=2676

i have two questions:

1- will a 7200RPM hard drive work in the MBA

2- How does one go about getting a hard drive set up with leopard and all the software and drivers necessary to run the Air since it doesnt have an optical drive, and obviously you cant use the wireless optical drive option with no software to run it.


FYI - i have a 2.8ghz iMac as well.

[TBi]

The Air won't take a 2.5" drive, only 1.8". That's why the drive sizes are so small.

[bigjnyc]

The Air won't take a 2.5" drive, only 1.8". That's why the drive sizes are so small.

aaah ok got you. I guess there goes that plan lol.

Thanks!

[tigres]

So right now i'm torn between a macbook alum or getting a macbook air. I wont bore you guys with that dilemma since there are 100 threads on that already....

one of my options is to get the Air BTO and bump up the processor to 1.86ghz but leave the hard drive as the SATA since SSD is grossly overpriced. my plan is to then swap out that hard drive and buy a 2.5" 7200RPM for $70 like this one: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3317097&CatId=2676

i have two questions:

1- will a 7200RPM hard drive work in the MBA

2- How does one go about getting a hard drive set up with leopard and all the software and drivers necessary to run the Air since it doesnt have an optical drive, and obviously you cant use the wireless optical drive option with no software to run it.


FYI - i have a 2.8ghz iMac as well.


He's right, the 2.5 Drives will not work.

I cannot speak for performance of the 2 (neck and neck) but I will say this.

If you read around a bit, you will see that the Air's missing optical drive is actually a big plus. You can utilze the Remote Disk and install anything from another computer with the Air.

Seeing as how you have another Mac, I looked at it like this.

Who needs a 250gb hd on a portable unless they demand to keep all of their crap on the machine at all times. I am going to learn to keep it lean and mean, makes life more efficient when handling all the wasted things. Keep the iTunes on a remote disk in the house, the movies as well, big apps can be done and transferred... etc.

Theres my .03

[TBi]

Who needs a 250gb hd on a portable unless they demand to keep all of their crap on the machine at all times. I am going to learn to keep it lean and mean, makes life more efficient when handling all the wasted things. Keep the iTunes on a remote disk in the house, the movies as well, big apps can be done and transferred... etc.


I like having my crap on the go, especially on a laptop which is designed to 'go'. What do you listen to when you are out and about if your iTunes store is on a different computer? Although i usually only listen to about 10GB worth of music at a go so it would be nice if you could set up the Air like an :apple:TV where you can synchronise some music onto it but not all.

[twist2b]

Yeah, one of the reasons the price is so high on the AIR is because ALOT of the parts are "custom" made. I think it was slightly ahead of its time, but I say in 2 years it can easily be amazing and a half.

[bigjnyc]

I'm not really concerned about hard drive space, i am going to keep everything on my iMac, my concern is speed.... a 1.6ghz processor with a 4200rpm hard drive seems like it would be extremely slow. But i really just need it for web surfing and travelling with it so I may just be fine with those specs... as long as the wireless internet is fast.

[twist2b]

Oh and another thing.
You can get the SSD version for the REV A at 700... NO JOKE ebay it :)

The reason SSD is so high in price is the fact that its new technology. When they find a way to bring down the price I am sure it will drop by atleast 250 instantly.