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What is best HDD/SSD combo... for those of you that have ACTUALLY done it.

M

millerb7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
870
153
So doing an optibay this week... I'm gonna be doing SSD for boot/applications and then HDD for home folder and media (storage mainly).

I have become spoiled with the zero noise zero heat from the SSD... what's the best way to avoid any noise/heat from the HDD? You can set it to spin down after one minute via terminal command I believe?

Anybody actually go with a 7200RPM HDD or 5400RPM HDD and regret their choice? Why?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
If you're going to run bootcamp off of the hard disk, it'll perform better with a faster drive.

If you're only going to store data in it, a 5400rpm drive is OK (something like a WD Scorpio Blue 500GB or larger is good).

I can hear my Seagate drive spinning in a very quiet room. As with heat, I don't seem to notice it, as most of the heat is from the graphics card.
 
millerb7 said:
I am way to lazy to look that drive up, but it's 5400RPM isn't it?
Click to expand...

5200 RPM actually. The SSD is plenty fast so the slower speed of the HDD doesn't bother me. Because of data density (sectors are closer together) it also is faster than an equivalent 500GB drive.
 
I'm rocking a CRUCIAL CT256M225, which was cutting edge when I got it in November 2009. Been a great performer--once they updated the firmware for garbage collection, I haven't seen any slowdowns in benchmarks or real world use.

If I were in the market today, I would go with Crucial again because it worked out well, and would probably get the C300:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148349

And I'm using a SAMSUNG HM100UI, which holds 1 TB, 5400 rpm, and is, to my ears, pretty close to silent.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152242
 
I'm gonna go with either:

ALL WESTERN DIGITAL:

1. 500GB 7200RPM ($69)
2. 500GB 5400RPM ($59)
3. 640GB 5400RPM ($79)

I'm leaning toward 3 just for the storage room. I really like WD and don't want to do a seagate (which has the 750GB size).

Since I'll just be using it for storage and the occasional VM of win7 I should be good with 5400RPM.
 
millerb7 said:
I'm gonna go with either:

ALL WESTERN DIGITAL:

1. 500GB 7200RPM ($69)
2. 500GB 5400RPM ($59)
3. 640GB 5400RPM ($79)

I'm leaning toward 3 just for the storage room. I really like WD and don't want to do a seagate (which has the 750GB size).

Since I'll just be using it for storage and the occasional VM of win7 I should be good with 5400RPM.
Click to expand...

Why not go for 1TB?

Amazon had the 640GB for 49 last week. Might still be good.
 
millerb7 said:
Was under the impression the 1TB wouldn't fit properly into the optibay.
Click to expand...

Good point. It does fit into the regular HDD bay.

I have the 1TB in my HDD bay, and the SSD in the optibay.

The 1TB benefits from the motion sensor and the SSD is in the location more susceptible to movement.
 
sbddude said:
Good point. It does fit into the regular HDD bay.

I have the 1TB in my HDD bay, and the SSD in the optibay.

The 1TB benefits from the motion sensor and the SSD is in the location more susceptible to movement.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I just like my SSD nice and cosy where it's at ;)

500GB 7200RPM or 640GB 5400RPM... hmmm....
 
I've got the Scorpio Black 500GB (the 7,200 rpm drive), and I love it. So, I would suggest that.

Plus, how much storage are you using in your computer now? I've personally never used 500GB. Plus, you can always get a 1tb external harddrive down the road when the prices fall.
 
In my current MBP (2008 unibody), I have a 90GB Vertex 2 in the Optibay and a 7200rpm in the hard disk slot. Works great, except hibernate (it crashes when it comes out of a full hibernate - not sleep - because the boot drive isn't where it expects it to be). The hard drive doesn't have shock protection, only the bay itself does, so keeping it where it is. Besides that, this set up is FANTASTIC.

For my next MBP, arriving this week. I'm putting a 240GB in the hard drive bay, and the 500GB 7200rpm in the Optibay. This is going to be my main computer, so it should run like lightning.

My plan is to store my pictures and music on the spinning disc, so for me, the 7200rpm is still important.

One point to note is that battery life has shot up now that the hard drive is asleep most of the time. Before I was getting about 3 hours, now I'm easily topping 4.
 
I went with the WD 640GB 5400RPM.

I have the SSD for speed, and I'm way to addicted to my silence and battery life. Just didn't see the benefit of the 7200RPM as a pure storage drive for me.

Everyone I've used has added quite a bit of vibration, noise, heat, and battery drain.

I would have went 750GB but I don't like Seagate. I'm addicted to WD.
 
wakeborder556 said:
Yeah sandforce and 7200 RPM is legit
Click to expand...

Yeah don't see the need for 7200 just for storage. Plus I NEED the battery bad. Those 7200RPMs SUCK THE LIFE out of the good old batteries.

Either way, this optibay is going to rock!

It shipped out today, I'm excited.
 
Whats the best way of going about this? I see a lot of people saying they move their home folder to the HDD in the optibay, but wouldnt this mean that the HDD gets accessed more? Currently I have a 750 GB in the optibay that I use mainly for music and VMs. Would it be beneficial to move the home folder to the HDD?
 
My question about this is... What do you do with the old HD? Keep it for a back up?

Since the new HD didn't have anything in it, how do you make it run on OS X? Re-install OS X through the disk you get in the box?

I apologize if these are NOOB questions but I'd really like to know.
 
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