Anyone Else Waiting For A 7200RPM 1TB Hard Drive?

[ooans]

Hey all!

I wonder if there are others also waiting for a 7200rpm 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm hard drive for my MBP. I already have a SSD in my hard drive bay and I use a normal hd in my optibay.

I know that there are at least two 5400rpm 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm models out there, Samsung and WD, and that they're reasonably fast. For most people these would suffice, but I have a few really large virtual instruments (like taking 200GB of space) and when loading these in Logic Pro having a 5400RPM HD or a 7200RPM HD really makes a difference.

The sad thing is that none of the big hard drive companies have yet to make any announcements concerning 7200rpm 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm hard drives. So who knows how long it will take before one goes on sale. For all I know there might be a problem with getting a 7200rpm speed one one of these 500GB platters or something, and they'll be able to make a reasonably priced version only like years from now.

 

[wikus]

Hey all!

I wonder if there are others also waiting for a 7200rpm 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm hard drive for my MBP. I already have a SSD in my hard drive bay and I use a normal hd in my optibay.

I know that there are at least two 5400rpm 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm models out there, Samsung and WD, and that they're reasonably fast. For most people these would suffice, but I have a few really large virtual instruments (like taking 200GB of space) and when loading these in Logic Pro having a 5400RPM HD or a 7200RPM HD really makes a difference.

The sad thing is that none of the big hard drive companies have yet to make any announcements concerning 7200rpm 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm hard drives. So who knows how long it will take before one goes on sale. For all I know there might be a problem with getting a 7200rpm speed one one of these 500GB platters or something, and they'll be able to make a reasonably priced version only like years from now.

It'll probably be 3-6 months before a 7,200 rpm variant becomes available in 1TB form. Thats being generous too.

Too long for a lot of people to hold out on a slightly faster hard drive.

 

[awer25]

By the time they come out, there will be 1.5TB 5400 RPM drives, so the situation won't change. Do you want slightly faster access times, or a lot more space?

SSD + 1TB HDD is a great speed/space compromise at the moment.

 

[Nielsenius]

You forgot to mention SSDs. There are essentially three routes you can take when picking a hard drive:
1. Slow with lots of storage
2. Average with decent storage (I'd say 750 GB is a lot, though)
3. Fast (SSD) with not much storage

You just need to choose what works best for you. Personally, I don't need much storage, but I like a super fast system. I would never go without a SSD at this point. When you consider external Thunderbolt (Little Big Disk) and FireWire storage it seems reasonable to go with a SSD for your system and use the external device for movies and pictures (or whatever is using up those hundreds of GBs).

 

[Prodo123]

I would rather opt for a 1TB 5,400RPM Hybrid HDD with 16GB SSD user-accessible storage.
Due to the sheer density of a single 500GB platter, 9.5mm 1TB 5,400RPM HDDs can hold their own against 7,200RPM drives. Add user-accessible SSD storage for the OS and you got truly SSD-like speeds with extreme capacity.

 

[televisi]

I'd love to have 1TB 7200RPM 9.5mm for my optibay....

 

[Mersailios]

I'm barely putting a dent in my 500 GB 7200 RPM hard disk as it is (I believe I'm using around ~40 GB in total including Mac OS X, applications, and my data)... so 1 terabyte would be overkill.

 

[alphaod]

I've been fine using a 1TB 5200RPM drive before and then the thinner 5400RPM drive now.

I don't see the need for more vibrations and noise.

If they offer a 1TB 7200RPM drive, I would expect a 1.5TB or 2TB 5400RPM drive as well and I would go for the bigger capacity.

If I wanted speed, I'd get a half-terabyte SSD instead.

 

[TheRdungeon]

I'm using a 7200rpm 750gb in the optibay for logic files, loving it. Definitely have no need for all 750 right now

 

[dusk007]

I wonder if there are others also waiting for a 7200rpm 1TB 2.5" 9.5mm hard drive for my MBP. I already have a SSD in my hard drive bay and I use a normal hd in my optibay.

Why would you need a 7200rpm data drive?
Even if there was 7200rpm 1TB drives I would still get a 5400rpm one. It is less noisy, less vibration and the performance difference is entirely unimportant for a data drive.
I store backups, movies, pictures and stuff on there. All access sequentially and the performance difference is quite small sequentially. You get better performance from forming multiple partitions and set up a script that moves less important staff to the end of the drive.

I can understand if someone has no SSD and prefers a 7200rpm system drive but if one goes the SSD + HDD route I would always prefer the 5400rpm drives.

That is a similar issue with Seagate cancelling the 5900rpm green drives, becuase the speed decrease is apperantly not worth the power savings. But for NAS, HTPC, HDD PVR and all the stuff what you care most about is noise and vibrations the speed of the drives for backups is secondary and for a NAS that runs many hours a day every bit of power savings is good.
I would take a 4200rpm drive for my PVR in the living room if I could get my hands on one.

It may just be me but noise is something I notice while I don't really care if a backup takes 15% less time, I don't really care if the file copy takes 10 instead of 12 sec, I cannot even notice the difference when I read any kind of data from the drive.
BTW it is still a faster data drive than running anything external over USB 2.0 or even FW800.

 

[Pentad]

I would love a 7200 RPM 1 TB HD. Of course, when you post something like this you can a gaggle of trolls spouting tripe about how much better SSDs are.

I KNOW that SSDs are much faster than traditional HDs but I need SPACE first and speed 2nd. Some of us use our MBPs for real work and space is needed for some of what we do. I use a number of VMs so I would like a larger HD and 16 GB of memory to better handle multiple VMs.

-P

 

[Steve's Barber]

I would love a 7200 RPM 1 TB HD. Of course, when you post something like this you can a gaggle of trolls spouting tripe about how much better SSDs are.

SSD's are better.

I KNOW that SSDs are much faster than traditional HDs but I need SPACE first and speed 2nd.

Then why are you so keen on 7200 RPM's? There are 9.5mm 1TB internals now albeit 5400 RPM.

 

[warvanov]

I'm waiting for the price of 1TB drives to come down. I suspect this will happen once faster 1TB drives are released.

Right now OWC has a Samsung 750GB drive for $85 and a 1TB drive for $130. I'd like to upgrade my internal 320GB drive to a nice round number (1TB) but I don't want to pay an extra $45 for 250GB of space. I'm not in a hurry though as I have an external 1TB drive to keep me from running out of space any time soon.

 

[Wicked1]

5400 is good enough, if you want real speed go SSD

I am waiting until they have a 2TB 2.5" Laptop drive which I am not sure will ever happen only because the Spindle will require the drive to be twice as thick as the current 2.5" drive now.

I am going 120SSD for boot and Apps, and everything else is on external USB which is backed up to an external FW800 drive which goes in my fire safe.

 

[takeshi74]

Why would you need a 7200rpm data drive?
Even if there was 7200rpm 1TB drives I would still get a 5400rpm one.

Why do you think your preferences have anything to do with anyone else's?

I KNOW that SSDs are much faster than traditional HDs but I need SPACE first and speed 2nd. Some of us use our MBPs for real work and space is needed for some of what we do.

Some of us use our MBP's for real work and space isn't the biggest priority. Be careful tossing the "troll" label around. Again, your needs and wants aren't everyone's.

 

[Spadoinkles]

Why would you need a 7200rpm data drive?

It may just be me but noise is something I notice while I don't really care if a backup takes 15% less time, I don't really care if the file copy takes 10 instead of 12 sec, I cannot even notice the difference when I read any kind of data from the drive.
BTW it is still a faster data drive than running anything external over USB 2.0 or even FW800.

What a time-waster. You sir, are the one to question if you even need a 21st century computer, because any old Pentium IV would quite easily allow you to ask stupid questions on here.

Professional users (NOT gamers) require fast access to large files. A 7200rpm drive, for video/film editors, usually allows for real-time previews and rendering, and would otherwise be a bottleneck on 5400rpm. Likewise for him, large virtual instruments bottleneck on the 5400rpm drive.

What he's asking is if our current 500GB platters would spin at 7200rpm. Sure, they could make 750GB twin-platter 5400rpm drives, but that's not his question. Neither is asking him to buy a 512GB SSD because that'd probably be out of most budgets.

Of course you don't care about a minimal backup time, boot or app launch time. Likewise, the OP's question is entirely futile to your usage and you've just wasted your time trying to answer.


With everything I've said though, and the time it'll take (look at Thailand right now..) large-capacity SSDs may become reasonable in prices and be adopted as mainstream before we even see 1TB 7200rpm.

----------

I'm waiting for the price of 1TB drives to come down. I suspect this will happen once faster 1TB drives are released.

Right now OWC has a Samsung 750GB drive for $85 and a 1TB drive for $130. I'd like to upgrade my internal 320GB drive to a nice round number (1TB) but I don't want to pay an extra $45 for 250GB of space. I'm not in a hurry though as I have an external 1TB drive to keep me from running out of space any time soon.

Thailand buddy!

 

[Steve's Barber]

Right now OWC has a Samsung 750GB drive for $85 and a 1TB drive for $130.

I have 2 of the 1TB Samsungs. Paid $90 each for them. Decent drive.

That OWC deal is compelling so you might want to jump on it. The cost of the Samsung is all over the place (because of the flooding in Thailand I'm told).

OWC: $130
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Samsung/HNM101MBB/

NewEgg: $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152291

B&H: $150
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/818372-REG/Samsung_HN_M101MBB_1_TB_Spinpoint_M8.html

 

[jdiamond]

Some one who has been just DYING for a 7200RPM 1TB drive

OK, since there's been so much speculation on this thread, let me be the first to say - for me, a 1TB 7200RPM laptop drive is CRITICAL. I've been DYING without one. About 2 years ago, I got one of the first WD 1 TB laptop drives off the assembly line. (The limited run.) I used up almost all of it, but could off load stuff and keep within the 1TB limit. But it was just too slow - I couldn't deal with it. It took over 5 minutes to boot up, programs took forever to launch. I kept reinstalling the OS, but when you've got that many programs, it slows down fast.

So last year, I finally downgraded - to a 750GB / 7200RPM drive. Now I boot in a reasonable 35 seconds, and most programs run well. But I have to lug around an extra hard drive, because I can't fit everything on it.

For those that wonder where the space goes:

-> I find that just installing the bare minimum programs I need to run on a daily basis with NO data at all takes up 35GB
-> I find that installing most the programs I use plus my most active data takes up around 350GB. At this point, I can actually be productive, though I'm constantly installing new things and bringing in new data.

-> By around 450GB, I'm operational with external stuff... at 700GB I'm doing well, but with many things offloaded. For example, no iTunes or music on the disk, no data, no media...

It's just been so painful - I can't wait until I can have all my primary data on my laptop again. Sure, I'd be even happier for a hybrid 1 TB drive, or a 7200rpm 1.5 TB drive. But for now, I've managed to fit into 1 TB, and I need it to be fast.

Of course, my media files are another story - I keep them on a 4 TB external drive.

 

[shardey]

OK, since there's been so much speculation on this thread, let me be the first to say - for me, a 1TB 7200RPM laptop drive is CRITICAL. I've been DYING without one. About 2 years ago, I got one of the first WD 1 TB laptop drives off the assembly line. (The limited run.) I used up almost all of it, but could off load stuff and keep within the 1TB limit. But it was just too slow - I couldn't deal with it. It took over 5 minutes to boot up, programs took forever to launch. I kept reinstalling the OS, but when you've got that many programs, it slows down fast.

So last year, I finally downgraded - to a 750GB / 7200RPM drive. Now I boot in a reasonable 35 seconds, and most programs run well. But I have to lug around an extra hard drive, because I can't fit everything on it.

For those that wonder where the space goes:

-> I find that just installing the bare minimum programs I need to run on a daily basis with NO data at all takes up 35GB
-> I find that installing most the programs I use plus my most active data takes up around 350GB. At this point, I can actually be productive, though I'm constantly installing new things and bringing in new data.

-> By around 450GB, I'm operational with external stuff... at 700GB I'm doing well, but with many things offloaded. For example, no iTunes or music on the disk, no data, no media...

It's just been so painful - I can't wait until I can have all my primary data on my laptop again. Sure, I'd be even happier for a hybrid 1 TB drive, or a 7200rpm 1.5 TB drive. But for now, I've managed to fit into 1 TB, and I need it to be fast.

Of course, my media files are another story - I keep them on a 4 TB external drive.

Do you want to see real tests against a 1tb 5400rpm vs a 750gb 7200rpm? You are in dire need of "speed" but really you couldn't justify the difference. To me, 2 1tb 5400rom would be sufficient for you.

However, you can get 14mm (maybe 12.5mm) drives that have 1.5tb now and install it with a slight bulge, see this thread

 

[jdiamond]

Using 14-15mm drives in 17" MBP

Do you want to see real tests against a 1tb 5400rpm vs a 750gb 7200rpm? You are in dire need of "speed" but really you couldn't justify the difference. To me, 2 1tb 5400rom would be sufficient for you.

However, you can get 14mm (maybe 12.5mm) drives that have 1.5tb now and install it with a slight bulge, see this thread

In my case, I really, truly noticed the speed difference between the 1 TB Scorpio Blue and 750GB Scorpio Black, and it was truly annoying - more annoying than suffering with small space. But I really thank you for the post about installing a fat hard drive with a bulge. I wonder if a 16mm is possible as well?

Actually, I'm considering the Toshiba 1TB hybrid drive. I've just gotten so burned in the past with Seagate hybrid drives, because the results are so inconsistent - sometimes I get amazing speed, but a lot of time it's slower than any hard drive I've ever owned...

 

[gorskiegangsta]

What I am waiting for, is for SSD prices to come down to ~0.5 $/GB so that I can get a 512GB SSD for $250-300

 

[eron]

What I am waiting for, is for SSD prices to come down to ~0.5 $/GB so that I can get a 512GB SSD for $250-300

Totally agree. The point of this poll is asking whether someone wants a "larger 2.5" HDD at the 'fastest' RPM". When SSD prices drop even further, the poll would be insignificant as SSD is just more worthwhile.

 

[skaertus]

I'd rather have a 128 GB SSD than a yottabyte HDD.