Macbook (not Pro) and 7200 RPM Drive

jefframsey said:

If I put a 7200 RPM drive in the new Macbook (not the pro), will I benefit from the speed increase, or will it still run at 5400 RPMs, due to the controller's limitations?

Another way of asking this question is does the drive controller on the new Macbook's logic board support 7200 RPM drive speeds?

P.S. If this post should have been under the buying questions forum, please feel free to tell me/move it/etc.

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The Macbook SATA controller isn't constrained in such a fashion. So your performance benefits would be the same as on a MBP. Note that it's not a "speed" increase. Hard drive speeds are RPMs and RPMs don't come out a cable. You are interested in bandwidth and IOPs and your mileage may vary. I'm a big fan of 7200RPM drives but if you think you are going to run benchmarks that are 33% faster because of the ratio of 7200:5400, then you don't understand the technological benefits and should purchase a quality 5400rpm drive.

There might be heat issues, plus finding a drive that fits. 7200 drives would seem to run hotter than 5400.

old-wiz said:

There might be heat issues, plus finding a drive that fits. 7200 drives would seem to run hotter than 5400.

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yeah, but it's not always the truth.

Many of the new 7200's (Western Digital "Scorpio Black", Hitachi 7K320, etc.) use less power than the 5400s originally shipping with many macbooks. Size? No problem, I don't believe there are any of the 12.5mm notebook drives in 7200rpm (I am pretty sure that all 200 and 320GB 7200rpm drives are 9mm).

So, no worries there either.

scorpio black 7200 update

Updated macbook with above hard drive. Speedier boot ups, shut down, transfers, etc.

I can definitely tell the difference on the upgrade. Get a torx set from radio shack if you don't have one or have access to one. I htink it's a very worthwhile upgrade to the macbook.

clyde2801 said:

Updated macbook with above hard drive. Speedier boot ups, shut down, transfers, etc.

I can definitely tell the difference on the upgrade. Get a torx set from radio shack if you don't have one or have access to one. I htink it's a very worthwhile upgrade to the macbook.

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That's the drive I'm tempted by. What's it like for noise? 320GB should be perfect.

what noise?

See title. People have complained about this drive or that drive having noise, vibration or heat issues, but I've had none. I bought mine from BB just in case it was crap.