Can I put a Sata III HDD in a Old Macbook pro Sata I drive ?

[globalmark]

Hi
I want to Upgrade my HDD to a 1TB Sata drive and if Possible 720RPM ,

however there are a Few options and some are SATA III or SATA II and the Computer Currently is a MacBook Pro 3.1 2007 , A1226 model . 9.5mm HDD 2.5"
the Link speed is a 1.5GBs (SATA 1) drive currently .

So will a SATA III or II drive work ?? if so will it just run at SATA I speed ??

I was Currently looking at something like this HGST http://www.hgst.com/travelstar-7k1000

or something Similar ? can someone suggest best options for a 1TB drive , 7200rpm preferred but will do Slower if thats not Ideal .

Thanks In Advance
Mark

 

[yusukeaoki]

It will work.
You wont get a the full 6gbps speed obviously but the 1.5gbps.
If Im correct, all SATAs are backward compatible.

I have Samsung Spinpoint 1TB in my opticalbay.
They run flawless for me.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

S-ATA is backwards compatible, thus an S-ATA 3.0 Gbps (S-ATA II) or S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) drive will work with an S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface.

Also know, that a platter based HDD cannot even saturate the S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface with its 148 or so MB/s, thus you will not see any speed loss using a platter based HDD with its S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) interface with your MacBook's S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface.

 

[globalmark]

Hi Guys

Thanks for that speedy response

simsaladimbamba - sorry what does all that Last bit MEAN ?? (below)

Also know, that a platter based HDD cannot even saturate the S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface with its 148 or so MB/s, thus you will not see any speed loss using a platter based HDD with its S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) interface with your MacBook's S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface. ??????

Can you recommend one type or speed HDD, Platter type, RPM, etc over another ?

Thanks Mark

 

[yusukeaoki]

I think he means that you wont see any speed decrease on the SATAIII HDD even though you run it on SATAI.
Correct me if Im wrong.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Hi Guys

Thanks for that speedy response

simsaladimbamba - sorry what does all that Last bit MEAN ?? (below)

Also know, that a platter based HDD cannot even saturate the S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface with its 148 or so MB/s, thus you will not see any speed loss using a platter based HDD with its S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) interface with your MacBook's S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface. ??????

Can you recommend one type or speed HDD, Platter type, RPM, etc over another ?

Thanks Mark

HDDs are different from SSDs, they have rotating platters inside, which a write/read head flies over to write and read data.
Even the fastest 7,200 RPM HDD would not be as fast as the S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface in your MacBook, thus it does not matter, if you get an S-ATA 3.0 Gbps (S-ATA II) or S-ATA 6.0 Gbps (S-ATA III) HDD.
I cannot recommend any specific HDD besides the Momentus XT from Seagate, as I haven't bought a 2.5" S-ATA HDD to put into any computer in ages, since I use SSDs for my operating systems now and 7,200 RPM HDDs for my storage needs, but those are mostly 3.5" S-ATA HDDs anyway.

In other words, get the HDD with the best warranty, preferably a 7,200 RPM HDD, which offers around 95 to 105 MB/s (again, the S-ATA 1.5 Gbps (S-ATA I) interface offers 148 MB/s or so) and be done with it. Also get another 1 or 2 TB HDD for backup purposes, if you haven't already done so.

What is a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)? - measured in Bytes (B), MegaBytes (MB), GigaBytes (GB) and TeraBytes (TB)

The hard disk drive is the main, and usually largest, data storage device in a computer. The operating system, software titles and most other files are stored in the hard disk drive.

What Is a Solid State Drive (SSD)?

A solid-state drive (SSD), also called a flash drive, is type of hard drive. Though the architecture of an SSD is quite different from traditional hard drives, the name is carried over. An SSD utilizes a special kind of memory chip with erasable, writeable cells that can hold data even when powered off. It might help to think of an SSD as the larger cousin of the memory stick.

Another article about SSD technology​

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I think he means that you wont see any speed decrease on the SATAIII HDD even though you run it on SATAI.
Correct me if Im wrong.

No correction needed. You worded it more concise than I currently can. Damn night time shifts.

 

[globalmark]

Hi simsaladimbamba

Thanks so much for that Detail explanation - thats perfect

and thanks yusukeaoki for that simple but clear simple reply .

Cheers Mark

 

[yusukeaoki]

No correction needed. You worded it more concise than I currently can. Damn night time shifts.

Haha I feel you mate.
I always hated night shifts... they were hell for me.

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OP, if you're getting external HDD for backup as simsaladimbamba suggested, get the Seagate 3TB from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expan...TF8&colid=1ERU5DWRRIJCX&coliid=I3BVJDG7H6RVML

They are 119USD but was 109 yesterday so they should come down in a bit.
Its USB3 but also USB2 compatible so it will work on your 08 as well.

 

[globalmark]

hi yusukeaoki

Thanks for the Suggestion - I already Have 3 or 4 external Drives total 4+TB
and am in Australia and dont have a Amazon here have to Bargain for HDD in electronic shops here.
it was a Replacement Internal I wanted.

thanks Mark