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MacBook Pro 5400 rpm vs. 7200 rpm HDD??
- Thread starter bayol05
- Start date
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Let's just put it this way.
I recently got my new MacBook Pro with the 7200RPM hard disk.
My "boss" who is the head of the IT department (I support ~300 Macs for the University of Texas System) had the almost identical 15" MacBook Pro, save with the 5400RPM hard disk.
After playing around with mine... he has a 7200RPM hard disk sitting on his desk waiting to be installed.
He's pissed he didn't order it with the faster drive.
1. What size is the 5400?
2. Have you breached the 80% capacity yet?
How many platters in your 500 gig? Has to be at least 3 since saturation seems to be about 170 gigs per platter on a 2.5" drive.
If you're doing principally video work, I'm not so sure that's a wise decision. Your biggest issue is the size of DV files, not hard drive speed. Plus, video uses a lot of sustained writes, where the higher density drives excel.
Hi
@ Cave Man ... I think with this reply I am hearing you Loud & Clear ... going with the 320GB ... also Tom's Hardware rates it #1.
My only Q ... let's say I am too cheap and I go with the 250GB becuase it is $100+ cheaper ... how hard is it to swap to 320GB or even 500GB at a later date and have my OS installed since the darn OS now comes on the HD and not as a Stand-alone install DVD or CD!?!?
Thanks,
G!
@ Cave Man ... I think with this reply I am hearing you Loud & Clear
... going with the 320GB ... also Tom's Hardware rates it #1.My only Q ... let's say I am too cheap and I go with the 250GB becuase it is $100+ cheaper ... how hard is it to swap to 320GB or even 500GB at a later date and have my OS installed since the darn OS now comes on the HD and not as a Stand-alone install DVD or CD!?!?
Thanks,
G!
7200!
The power difference is <1W at normal usage and just over > 1W when starting up.
Only reason to get 5400 is if you need more space!
The power difference is <1W at normal usage and just over > 1W when starting up.
Only reason to get 5400 is if you need more space!
Or if you get the 500Gb, 5400 RPM drive, you would get it for speed AND space.
Yeah, what he said! You'll get more speed writing to a non system drive, it'll probably be cheaper than what you'd pay for the upgrade to the 7200 and your battery will last longer when you aren't chained to the wall.
Yeah, what he said! You'll get more speed writing to a non system drive, it'll probably be cheaper than what you'd pay for the upgrade to the 7200 and your battery will last longer when you aren't chained to the wall.
Unless he gets an eSATA card he will not have better performance than his internal drive. It is a 1.5 mbps SATA, vs. max 800 mbps FW800. It doesn't really matter if the drive is 7200 rpm or not - the bottleneck is the external's controller.
I replaced my MBP hard drive in about 20 minutes. Not hard, you just have to take your time. Keep the screws in an ice tray for each step of the process and follow the video from MacSales.com to do it.
Cloning the drive is easy, too, provided you have an external enclosure or a Universal Drive Adapter. Just download Carbon Copy Cloner (free) and it will make a bootable clone of your current drive onto the new one.
Yeah, what he said! You'll get more speed writing to a non system drive, it'll probably be cheaper than what you'd pay for the upgrade to the 7200 and your battery will last longer when you aren't chained to the wall.
I'd get the internal drive, but that's me; I carry my iTunes library around; don't want to plug a drive in everytime I want to listen to some tunes.
Yeah, i don't have the latest rendering times with the 7200 rpm internal drives but usually for video/3d you go with an external drive. Same for protools but he didn't mention that. I guess it depends how serious he is about video/3d etc.
If he's not that serious he may want to check out the top of the line macbook.
almost the same processor right? It also depends how much jing he wants to spend, my last 10 or so macs have been refurbs, very nice way to go imo.
Well when he mentioned video editing/3d my inclination was to go with the external drive. Best of both worlds go big 5400 and if that doesn't handle his needs get an external drive. Yeah if he's got a big music/video collection he'll want the big drive. I don't keep alot of movies on my internal HD but that's me. With the 8 gig dvds being as cheap as they are, I just offloaded some movies onto a couple of those and load them back on the drive if I get the urge to watch a movie I have it with me.
I agree. For video or photo work, I'd buy the middle MacBook and with the savings off a MBP, pick up the Samsung 500 gig internal drive ($300), a 24" external display ($350), and bluetooth keyboard and mouse ($100). Alternatively, instead of the bigger internal, buy a 1 TB firewire drive. Editing video on a laptop can be challenging because of the small screen size.
Of course, if he's planning on using Motion or Color, then gotta go with a MBP.
Since you're on the subect...I haven't yet loaded final cut onto my macbook just use the G5,( I haven't done much video lately) but how is final cut on a macbook? Kinda on topic..which esata card do you recommend?
Anyhow, this guys has lots of opinions and options!
Peace
I have a MBP and FCE, but had a MB prior and FCE ran just fine on it. The MBP is faster, but only by virtue of its processor (2.4 gHz C2D vs. 2.0 gHz C2D).
I just upgraded my hard drive today to 7200 and i can noitce a nice speed bump. I've always felt my mbp is a touch slugish, this has helped it along, worth it imo
this is what i got this: http://www.span.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=16013
Its probably quieter than the stock hard drive. I don't do many demanding things with my computer either but still feel it was worth it for the snappyness
this is what i got this: http://www.span.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=16013
Its probably quieter than the stock hard drive. I don't do many demanding things with my computer either but still feel it was worth it for the snappyness
I found it difficult NOT to put the 7200 RPM drive into the MBP. Why compromise performance, even modestly, on the drive that houses your OS?
I got the 7200 RPM for my Macbook, and can't even tell the difference. But I love the extra storage capacity
A 7200 RPM drive will most definitely make the computer "snappier".
The problem that some on here have is they are apparently comparing today's 5400 RPM drives to yesterday's 7200 RPM drives.
Doesn't work.
A much denser "current" 5400 RPM drive will seem faster than an older 7200 RPM drive that has been bogged down with an installed OS that is a few years old now.
However, if these same people had replaced their "old" 7200 RPM drive with a 5400 RPM drive from the same ERA or generation of drives, there would be no speed increase.
When considering a 7200 vs 5400 RPM drive, it must always be within the context of same-generation drives.
I was chided earlier for comparing a 7200 RPM new generation drive to older 5400 RPM drives... however my point was just that... that it's fools gold to do so. And to further illustrate that point... I simply pointed out that a CURRENT 7200 RPM drive would make an older 5400 RPM drive look like a bad monkey doing a math problem... which, although not said, but inferred... meant that you can't compare generational drives. If you are going to replace your drive with newer technology, then compare only drives of that generation.
7200 RPM drives will ALWAYS be a better choice for a boot drive than a 5400 RPM drive... IF the goal is to have a snappy, speedy boot OS drive.
Obviously, everyone's goals are not the same. If space is the ultimate deciding factor for you, then a larger 5400 RPM drive is the wise choice.
Me, personally?
I'd rather have a current, fast 7200 RPM 200 Gig Boot Drive (as I do) and for storage, maybe connect a 2 TB Raid 0 Lacie drive through FW800 if I needed a ton of space! ;-)
5 platters..12.5mm.. Only fits in MBP 17" but b/c that's what I have, I was able to get it instead of waiting for the samsung!
7k320... Faster And More Friendly...
You (and others) may wanna check this one out... the Standard Hitachi 7k200 is being Upgraded soon!! WAY More space and Less Power usage... seems too perfect!! Should be out soon... I hope..
You (and others) may wanna check this one out... the Standard Hitachi 7k200 is being Upgraded soon!! WAY More space and Less Power usage... seems too perfect!! Should be out soon... I hope..
You (and others) may wanna check this one out... the Standard Hitachi 7k200 is being Upgraded soon!! WAY More space and Less Power usage... seems too perfect!! Should be out soon... I hope..
There you go. Higher platter density in action! Let's see how the Samsung 500 does when its available.