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Best HD to upgrade to (mid 2009 13" MBP)?

S

Synergie

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 15, 2011
771
210
Halifax, Canada
I would like to upgrade to 1 TB ideally.... I currently have the 320 GB HD in my 2009 13" MBP. It originally came with the 250 GB but I had them install the 320 when I got it.

Everyone says the best way (without SL disc) is to attach the new HD (with an external enclosure), and use an app (I can't remember the name) to copy over or image the entire current HD and then just switch them over. I am currently running Lion, don't have my SL disc anymore (I can't find it) but I do have the Leopard install DVD. And I do have current Lion backups with Time Machine on my 1 TB Time Capsule. I don't want to have to mess with reinstalling OS's and having to upgrade again etc. so this sounds the best route for me (plus I can still use the old HD in the external enclosure afterward?). My question is....

Is there a 1 TB HD I can put in this MBP? If not, what is the largest drive I can put in here?

And can you suggest a good brand / price? Same for an external enclosure? And can someone tell me the name of the app that will do the image of the HD (I lost which thread that was mentioned in!!)

Thanks in advance!
 
Synergie said:
I would like to upgrade to 1 TB ideally.... I currently have the 320 GB HD in my 2009 13" MBP. It originally came with the 250 GB but I had them install the 320 when I got it.

Everyone says the best way (without SL disc) is to attach the new HD (with an external enclosure), and use an app (I can't remember the name) to copy over or image the entire current HD and then just switch them over. I am currently running Lion, don't have my SL disc anymore (I can't find it) but I do have the Leopard install DVD. And I do have current Lion backups with Time Machine on my 1 TB Time Capsule. I don't want to have to mess with reinstalling OS's and having to upgrade again etc. so this sounds the best route for me (plus I can still use the old HD in the external enclosure afterward?). My question is....

Is there a 1 TB HD I can put in this MBP? If not, what is the largest drive I can put in here?

And can you suggest a good brand / price? Same for an external enclosure? And can someone tell me the name of the app that will do the image of the HD (I lost which thread that was mentioned in!!)

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Your choices are limited. 1TB drives only exist in 5,400RPM configurations, otherwise it's just too thick. Or, you could get an Optibay installed for a dual-hard drive, no ODD option for even more storage.

WD, Samsung, and Toshiba sells 1TB 5,400RPM drives.

As to installing Lion, my best recommendation is to do a fresh install, for that would clean out any junk from the last hard drive. But since you don't have a SL disc, I will tell you the legal way of transferring data.
The program people talk about is Carbon Copy Cloner. Get a FW800 or Gigabit Ethernet enclosure and make an image of your hard drive using it. I say those because they are the fastest connections you get, and the Gigabit Ethernet could be used as a server if you choose the right one. USB 2.0 will take forever, so I don't recommend it.
 
Optibay not an option as I actually DO use my optical drive for watching DVD's (mostly when I am at sea... I can borrow one of the submarine's DVD's and throw it in the laptop) Fiddling with an external optical drive in that scenario would be a PITA especially with no power outlet nearby my bunk.

Hmmm maybe I will wait a bit for more 1 TB options... or just go slightly smaller maybe 750 GB...
 
i have a 1.5 tb in mine... granted it's a little thicker than the original drive but it fits fine in the standard bay
 
Synergie said:
Optibay not an option as I actually DO use my optical drive for watching DVD's (mostly when I am at sea... I can borrow one of the submarine's DVD's and throw it in the laptop) Fiddling with an external optical drive in that scenario would be a PITA especially with no power outlet nearby my bunk.

Hmmm maybe I will wait a bit for more 1 TB options... or just go slightly smaller maybe 750 GB...
Click to expand...

What are you trying to do? Have you run out of HD space? If so, if there is stuff you can clean off putting your old 250 (if you still have it) in an external enclosure and move over the unneeded items.

One issue with 1TB is speed - while they have increased density they are generally a bit slower. One way around that is a dual part ion - a small part ion 1 on the outer edge to store the OS and apps, and a large inner one for at a. Having a smaller outer partition allows for faster reads since the heads do have to move as far and as the disk gets fragmented the data is still stored over a smaller area.

If raw speed is what you want - drop some of that sub pay on an SSD. You're going to be out on a big and black and never come back for a while anyway.

Don't bother with firewire enclosures - you aren't constantly using it so the extra speed isn't really a long term plus - especially when you consider the price of a FW800 enclosure. I'd go with a docking stain - it allows you to transfer files as well as swap HD easily for backup purposes. For example:

http://www.amazon.com/Diablotek-EN3...I5LI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1312025748&sr=8-2

That's what I do along with Carbon Copy Cloner. It also allows you to do installs from the existing Mac instal disks since your Mac sees it as one of its drives.
 
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I have not run out of space... mostly because I don't keep much for video files on here. I'd like to though.... and also I'd like to be able to increase my iTunes lib as well.


Right now the drive I have in here I am pretty sure is 5400 rpm, so would it be comparable to the 1 TB at 5400 rpm? Would it be so slow that I'd notice? And if it is, why are so many people getting them?
 
Synergie said:
I have not run out of space... mostly because I don't keep much for video files on here. I'd like to though.... and also I'd like to be able to increase my iTunes lib as well.


Right now the drive I have in here I am pretty sure is 5400 rpm, so would it be comparable to the 1 TB at 5400 rpm? Would it be so slow that I'd notice? And if it is, why are so many people getting them?
Click to expand...

Get a 750GB 7200RPM if you're worried about performance, or wait until a 1TB 7200RPM comes out.
 
Synergie said:
I would like to upgrade to 1 TB ideally.... I currently have the 320 GB HD in my 2009 13" MBP. It originally came with the 250 GB but I had them install the 320 when I got it.

Everyone says the best way (without SL disc) is to attach the new HD (with an external enclosure), and use an app (I can't remember the name) to copy over or image the entire current HD and then just switch them over. I am currently running Lion, don't have my SL disc anymore (I can't find it) but I do have the Leopard install DVD. And I do have current Lion backups with Time Machine on my 1 TB Time Capsule. I don't want to have to mess with reinstalling OS's and having to upgrade again etc. so this sounds the best route for me (plus I can still use the old HD in the external enclosure afterward?). My question is....

Is there a 1 TB HD I can put in this MBP? If not, what is the largest drive I can put in here?

And can you suggest a good brand / price? Same for an external enclosure? And can someone tell me the name of the app that will do the image of the HD (I lost which thread that was mentioned in!!)

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

hi mate, yesterday i was at my electronic local shop, and found me this

external hdd http://www.verbatim.com/prod/hard-drives/portable/acclaim-sku-97393/

very small, my idea was to use it as an external hdd for media storage and for backups. i was using a 500g hdd on my pro, but i was getting closer to the 500g. so i tough since the verbatim was so small, it is 2.5'' same as the one MacBooks use, the only thing i was worried about was the high of the hdd, the 500g i was using was 9.5 mm and the verbatim was 12.5mm, its a samsung hdd actually 1tb at 5400 rpm rebranded verbatim.

so i made a clone of the 500g to the 1 tb ,with carbon copy cloner, took out the 500g and put it the 1tb and now its working like a champ !!

now i have 400 gigs left to use :D

hope this help you

pic

63644600.jpg
 
Is a 5400 rpm 1 TB that bad ... really??? Do I NEED a 7200?? As a side note, I had heard the 7200 are very noisy??

and iKIKO: I take it the extra few mm's in height didn't cause any trouble?? So let me get this straight... you bought a USB external HD, carbon copy cloned your internal HD to the external one... then took apart the USB external drive and put that drive in your MBP?? I didn't know you could dismantle the USB drives - or even that they would be compatible!
 
Synergie said:
Is a 5400 rpm 1 TB that bad ... really??? Do I NEED a 7200?? As a side note, I had heard the 7200 are very noisy??

and iKIKO: I take it the extra few mm's in height didn't cause any trouble?? So let me get this straight... you bought a USB external HD, carbon copy cloned your internal HD to the external one... then took apart the USB external drive and put that drive in your MBP?? I didn't know you could dismantle the USB drives - or even that they would be compatible!
Click to expand...

yes, thats exactly how i did it bro. works perfect, carbon copy makes it real easy on the cloning a hdd. i guess not all the external hds are removables for say it that way. but i had the luck that the one i bought was :D

its 5400 rpm, fast enough for me, my dad's mac has a 320g 7200 and i can't tell that much difference between his 7200 and my 5400. and i think the 7200 will consume more battery (correct me if I'm wrong)

so, now you know that you can put in there a 1tb 5400 12.5mm thick hdd :rolleyes:
 
Synergie said:
I have not run out of space... mostly because I don't keep much for video files on here. I'd like to though.... and also I'd like to be able to increase my iTunes lib as well.


Right now the drive I have in here I am pretty sure is 5400 rpm, so would it be comparable to the 1 TB at 5400 rpm? Would it be so slow that I'd notice? And if it is, why are so many people getting them?
Click to expand...

For such use (iTunes) you'd see no noticeable difference between a 7200 and 5400 drive in daily use. If you were opening huge files and programs a lot - maybe.
Dual partition a 5400 and you'll address many of the speed issues through smart use of the drive's operational characteristics.
What do you do on the boat? Nuke or forward puke?
 
I read here that the new Samsung 1Tb 2-platter drives are very nice.

Might want to check them out.
 
jlc1978 said:
For such use (iTunes) you'd see no noticeable difference between a 7200 and 5400 drive in daily use. If you were opening huge files and programs a lot - maybe.
Dual partition a 5400 and you'll address many of the speed issues through smart use of the drive's operational characteristics.
What do you do on the boat? Nuke or forward puke?
Click to expand...

Neither...

1) I'm Canadian
2) I'm a girl
3) We don't have Nuke boats! :)

Dolphin 38!!!!!

p.s. my trade is Sonar

As for the drive, the only large files I open and deal with are photos... and the drive I have now is 5400 rpm. So if I got the 1 TB 5400 rpm, it shouldn't be any worse than what I am using now then?
 
Synergie said:
Neither...

1) I'm Canadian
2) I'm a girl
3) We don't have Nuke boats! :)

Dolphin 38!!!!!

p.s. my trade is Sonar
Click to expand...

A submariner is a submariner - no matter what type of boat. Me, i was a nuke in a previous life.

Synergie said:
As for the drive, the only large files I open and deal with are photos... and the drive I have now is 5400 rpm. So if I got the 1 TB 5400 rpm, it shouldn't be any worse than what I am using now then?
Click to expand...

Generally no. as the drive gets fragmented you may see some greater slowing down but that is true of any drive as you increase capacity. I doubt you will notice the difference in practical use.
 
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