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Best HDD for macbook pro replacement - 500GB
- Thread starter brettatredback
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That doesn't sound right. I thought that the warranty is not at all affected unless the the issue boils down to the replaced hard drive itself.
rezenclowd3
macrumors 65816
Didn't sound right to me either, and I do remember reading on apple.com/support at the time of replacement that it was ok. Now I am getting a different story over the phone at Apple currently. My HD had no problems, yet mysteriously, when I sent it in, it did. Still don't know where my HD went though....
I got the WD 640 scorpio blue for like a month now, very happy with it (my old one is SG 320 7200)
If you can, get an ssd online, and get a $20 enclosure from Micro Center of newegg for that old hd. You'll increase your storage, speed, battery life and performance.
+1 Bought the same drive back in Nov 09, been extremely happy so far. Note: usually a WD guy, and was actually on Newegg to purchase the WD Scorpio Black, but couldn't pass on the price at the time.
I agree, the consensus opinion is that the Hitachi 7K500 Travelstar is the best 500GB/7200rpm drive available today. Users say it's quiet and I have seen no reports that it consumes more battery power.
I'm also glad to see that Amazon.com is now carrying this drive itself, of great interest to Prime members.
http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-Travelstar-Internal-HD20500IDK-7K/dp/B002FYJQB8/
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I'm also glad to see that Amazon.com is now carrying this drive itself, of great interest to Prime members.
http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-Travelstar-Internal-HD20500IDK-7K/dp/B002FYJQB8/
If you buy from OtherWorldComputing, it costs about $20 more, last I checked, but it comes with some basic tools to help you open up the MBP. I haven't looked into this yet but I assume as as long as you have a selection of screwdrivers at home, you'd be set? Though OWC does also provide an external enclosure for the HDD you'll be removing. So it seems like a great price.
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Actually, I have a unibody AluBook with a very easy to remove battery cover that also reveals the hard disk, it couldn't be any easier.
I don't think you'll find anything much better than this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139111
I don't think you'll find anything much better than this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139111
Wow! Didn't know SSD's go up to 512. OWC and Newegg's offerings only go up to about 256 if I recall correctly.
I could overlook the extreme price premium, but not until OSX supports TRIM. Or are there workarounds?
I replaced my 200 GB Apple drive with a Scorpio Blue 500 GB. I cloned it and replaced it and my system was moving very slow. I did a complete reinstall with Snow Leopard and the systems is moving at light speed! Just my 2 cents.
I tried the Hitachi 500GB with my 15" MBP (June 2009) and had random stalls. There's a lot of discussion about rolling back the EFI fw to 1.6 but nothing, IMO, conclusive. The Apple discussion thread starts here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2054387
and continues here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2267098&start=0&tstart=0
I also tried the WD 650GB and also had random stalls. This appears to be primarily a problem with the mid 2009 15" MBP's.
I have a late 2008 unibody MBP, is this model affected with the WD 640GB drives?
It's impossible to choose between that and the 7200rpm 500GB Hitachi drive, so many conflicting stories....
It's impossible to choose between that and the 7200rpm 500GB Hitachi drive, so many conflicting stories....
Late '08 with the Hitachi running perfectly fine. Seems like the mid '09s are cursed with drive issues.
I would go with the 500GB Hitatchi 7200RPM drive. I've heard nothing but positive reviews about it. The stock drive is a Hitachi, and it's fast and quiet, so this one is probably of similar quality. I plan to get this when I upgrade to a 500GB drive since WD doesn't make a 500GB 7200RPM one. I may even go SSD if they come down in price anytime soon, but that may be a while away.
That's what my research suggests too. The Hitachi has many positive reviews, while the new Seagate Momentus appears to be faster in certain regards.
Is the stock drive and the $50 upgrade to the 500GB 7200rpm in the Apple Store also the 7k500 Travelstar or another Hitachi line?
Another vote for the 7k500. I initially got the WD scorpio blue 500gb and while it was generally quiet and fast, it made a swooshing sound that I didn't like -- like a fan revving up and down. Other than that it was great, but I sent it back. Should add that I'm very sensitive to noise on my laptops...most people probably would never have noticed the sound.
The 7K500 is just as quiet without the swooshing and revving and it's cool-running and super fast. As far as I can tell, I also don't think it has affected battery performance at all. It's simply great...as long as it holds up over time, which I have no reason to doubt given my good experience with travelstar drives.
The 7K500 is just as quiet without the swooshing and revving and it's cool-running and super fast. As far as I can tell, I also don't think it has affected battery performance at all. It's simply great...as long as it holds up over time, which I have no reason to doubt given my good experience with travelstar drives.
