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Best HDD for macbook pro replacement - 500GB

fs454 said:
Wait, is it true that the 17" can fit 12.5mm drives without problems?
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The original model MacBook Pros, only the 17" models can support 12.5mm drives. I've opened my system up and checked the height and its possible without any problems.

In fact, I'm using a Wireless-N that was designed for an iMac in my Core Duo MacBook Pro, even though they said it "won't fit", it fits.
 
Installed the Hitachi a few weeks ago. Fast, Quiet, Cool. I've never been a big Hitachi fan in the past, I'm impressed so far.
 
I've had a few MacBooks and MacBook Pros with Hitachi drives. They worked fine and Hitachi makes some very well priced but highly-specced HDDs.

At the moment I have a 7200rpm Seagate with 16 MB (?) buffer and free-fall sensor (??). When I was looking for a replacement for my unibody MBP's HDD, I read a review from a leading Tech site that stated that the Scorpions (blue and black) were noisier than this Seagate. Apparently, mine is only marginally noisier and it only draws 1% more power than the equivalent 5400rpm one. Well, I can still hear it. So I wonder, how noisy those Scorpions are. So many people recommend them that you must read a few reviews about the range.




About the cloning... I saw a great video on YouTube. It was from a chubby guy, he might be part-Hawaian or some similar origin. He is great and this video beats the competition, I think.
 
MDemm said:
Get the Hitachi 500gb 7200 HDD... It works great on my MacBook Pro 15" !!! Tiger direct sells them for $ 75.00 / free shipping after rebate... http://tinyurl.com/ycuda29
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Is that Hitachi sold at Tiger Direct the exact same as this one at OTC ( http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Hitachi/0S00157/ )?

I thought OTC was supposed to have great prices but they're charging $125 instead, though they say it comes "in retail box" (is that to say the one from Tiger Direct does not and why would it not?) and it includes a 3 year warranty, whereas Tiger says "limited warranty." And although the product numbers (0S00157) are the same, Tiger says it's a 4th gen product whereas OTC says theirs is 5th gen.
 
Libertine Lush said:
Is that Hitachi sold at Tiger Direct the exact same as this one at OTC ( http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Hitachi/0S00157/ )?

I thought OTC was supposed to have great prices but they're charging $125 instead, though they say it comes "in retail box" (is that to say the one from Tiger Direct does not and why would it not?) and it includes a 3 year warranty, whereas Tiger says "limited warranty." And although the product numbers (0S00157) are the same, Tiger says it's a 4th gen product whereas OTC says theirs is 5th gen.
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Yes, I asked the same question of other Tiger Direct buyers but they have been silent on the topic. :rolleyes: Given that the first comment on Tiger Direct's site suggests that the company is selling something else in the guise of a regular TravelStar, I decided to hold off until there was confirmation that it's the same drive.

Too bad I had to miss the $15 rebate while waiting for an answer. :(
 
I just noticed that Newegg has a new rebate on this drive that in the form of a $10 Visa card. Notice the fine print:

The Visa prepaid card is not redeemable for cash or usable at any ATM. Terms and Conditions apply to the card. Subject to applicable law, a monthly maintenance fee of $3 (USD) applies, but is waived for the first six months after the card is issued. Your card is issued by MetaBankTM pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Cards can be used at any merchants that accept Visa debit cards. Hitachi reserves the right to substitute a check of equal value in lieu of a Visa prepaid card at its discretion. Prepaid cards will be paid in US currency.
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:rolleyes:
 
The Travelstar 7K500 is a fanstastic drive. I replaced my MBP's 7200rpm 320GB drive with this unit and am loving it. No noise, no issues. I've had great experience with Travelstars in the past and can say the same for WD and Seagate. Perhaps I've just been lucky like that!
 
MDemm said:
The WD 640gb HDD without a doubt was the loudest Hard Drive I have ever dealt with… I had another issue, which I considered worse... This was a constant 1 to 2 second lag / delay while spinning up / seeking… Do yourself a favor, time / money wise... Get the Hitachi 500gb 7200 HDD... It works great on my MacBook Pro 15" !!! Tiger direct sells them for $ 75.00 / free shipping after rebate... http://tinyurl.com/ycuda29 I've just installed the Hitachi 500gb... Its fast, its silent... IT WORKS !!!
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Thank you to all of you recommending the Hitachi 500/7200 drive. I'm wanting to get that one, but I'm finding all these haters that are steering me toward seagate or WD. I'd really rather get the Hitachi tho. I'm wondering, now that you've all had the Hitachi for a little while, have your opinions changed?? How is the battery life, coming from a 5400 rpm drive?

Thanks!
 
Lurchdubious said:
Thank you to all of you recommending the Hitachi 500/7200 drive. I'm wanting to get that one, but I'm finding all these haters that are steering me toward seagate or WD.
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I've spent considerable time before searching forums, googling and reading customer reviews at shops when I previously needed an external HDD. I've done much the same again now as I anticipate a MacBook Pro purchase, after they're refreshed, and will need to upgrade to a 7200rpm 500GB HDD. In both instances I've noticed that there are always people who are vehemently against certain brands, and once you consider everyone's experiences, not a single brand looks as appealing anymore as they've all been subject to bad user experiences, including ones I thought were generally well regarded, like WD. So unless you can find an article detailing through considerable research the reliability of specific drives models by specific makers, all you really have to go by is perceived reputation and often heavily conflicting, anecdotal recommendations on forums. If there are such articles around on 2.5" 500GB HDDs, I'd appreciate if someone can link us.

In my specific situation, it appears that if I want a 2.5" 7200rpm 500GB HDD, the Hitachi Travelstar 7K500 is the easy favorite based on what I've read in forums (like this thread) and the customer reviews of all the comparable drives listed at Newegg.

I did see a Tekzilla show recently where they interviewed someone discussing the reliability of HDD brands. However, when asked to share his findings, the interviewee oddily declined to reveal his findings in any detail. But he did say that he was surprised to find that there was not much disparity between brands and failure rate is very low. Which is reassuring, but doesn't address some of our other concerns like which brands/models are more quiet.
 
Here's the show I mentioned above: http://revision3.com/tekzilla/ipad

Skip to the 20 minute mark. The interviewee says from his findings, he gets a 3% failure rate from all the HDD brands. Hitachi had just a bit higher rate, but he said it was probably skewed by the range of Hitachi drives he included in his sample.
 
Libertine Lush said:
Here's the show I mentioned above: http://revision3.com/tekzilla/ipad

Skip to the 20 minute mark. The interviewee says from his findings, he gets a 3% failure rate from all the HDD brands. Hitachi had just a bit higher rate, but he said it was probably skewed by the range of Hitachi drives he included in his sample.
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Thanks! I was totally set on a 320gb 7200 WD, but saw a few negative reviews from people putting it into the same computer as me~a UMB. Then I found a couple threads here talking about this 7K500, which is one of the top 3 I had narrowed my search to. Still not sure what I'll do...
 
Does anybody know if there are any good 1T laptop hard drives out yet? and that will fit a 15 inch late 2009 unibody macbook pro?
 
Brannon said:
Does anybody know if there are any good 1T laptop hard drives out yet? and that will fit a 15 inch late 2009 unibody macbook pro?
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The only 1TB available is the Western Digital Scorpio Blue @ 5200RPM 8MB with Advanced Format.

It's currently on sale for $181 at Amazon. I ordered one yesterday.

It is 12.5mm high, but they say it'll fit in a Unibody MacBook Pro, 13"/15" or 17". The pre-unibody models are only the 17" MacBook Pros.
 
If you do go Hitachi, avoid the DeskStar. Many of these that are still on shelves are from a bad batch with high failure rates.

Just had two die within days of each other on one of our smaller servers :/

They've earned the nickname DeathStar.
 
drech said:
If you do go Hitachi, avoid the DeskStar. Many of these that are still on shelves are from a bad batch with high failure rates.

Just had two die within days of each other on one of our smaller servers :/

They've earned the nickname DeathStar.
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DeskStar are Desktop drives, not laptops. I had Hitachi 1TB DeskStars before and they were running in RAID-0 with no problems nonstop for months.
 
+1 on the Hitachi 7k500.

I just bought 2 from Micro Center last week and they've been awesomely fast, with no noticeable hit on battery life compared to my old 320 GB Scorpio Black. :D
 
ayeying said:
The only 1TB available is the Western Digital Scorpio Blue @ 5200RPM 8MB with Advanced Format.
It's currently on sale for $181 at Amazon. I ordered one yesterday.
It is 12.5mm high, but they say it'll fit in a Unibody MacBook Pro, 13"/15" or 17". The pre-unibody models are only the 17" MacBook Pros.
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Don't know much about these guys, but they had the WD10TPVT in stock for $175.95, so I ordered one.

http://oyendigital.com/laptop-hard-drive.html
 
I just installed the Seagate 500GB 7200.4 in my MBP this week and am very pleased with it thus far. Things happen noticeably faster, and there's no more noise than there was with the stock drive.
 
what is the best and biggest hard drive i can fit into my mac-book pro uni body 17? Right now i just have a 320 and am using almost half of it for boot camp (Need Windows For 3d Software and video Editing Software). I'm running out of room though. Im a video editor and music producer and pro tools hd, final cut studio 3, logic, adobe master suite, etc etc is taking up a lot of room on the mac side. I need a lot more space but reliable. What is the biggest i can get to fit in there? I have external hard drive already for Files but need bigger hard drive for programs. Also will the Apple genius at the apple store clone and replace the hard drive for me or will i have to do it myself? I would prefer someone that knows what they are doing to do it.
 
I just got off the phone about some problems with my late 2008 MBP. Just so you guys know, Apple will not repair your computer, even if under warranty or Applecare, if you install your own "unauthorized HD."

Yeah..lame. They also lost my 500gb HD, and replaced it with a "stock" 160gb hd, and did not fix my screen as requested. So currently I have to send my MBP back to get fully fixed, and Dispatch is looking for my HD.


-A peeved Apple fan.
 
If you are looking for speed and very little noise, why don't you buy a small SSD and put all your media on an external drive? I think right now there are very affordable brands like Kingsont V+ series which are really fast, and not than expensive like months ago...
 
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