Changing/Upgrading MBP Hard drive

[marclapierre13]

Im considering upgrading my macbook pros 120gb 5400rpm harddrive.

Has any one done this? I know there are some tutorials online and what not.
What hard drives are compatible, and give the best/optimal performance?

I would like to get something about 200GB 7200RPM if possible.

I have my hard drive partitioned right now for my windows xp, and mac osx, and only have 50gb on my os x and 24 on my xp left.


Discuss, tips, etc pease!

 

[gr8tfly]

iFixIt has some guides. It's not that difficult if you are comfortable working on something like a notebook.

iFixIt guide for MBP 15"

Make sure you have a quality Phillips screwdriver. The small case screw heads can be damaged or stripped out.

I've done upgrades on many PB's and my MBP 17". The MBP isn't so much difficult, as tedious. I would suggest making a screw guide to keep track of which screws went where.

I just put the Hitachi 200GB 7200RPM drive in my 17" MBP the week before Leopard. The difference was noticeable (upgrading from the 5400RPM 160GB), especially in Photoshop CS3.

 

[marclapierre13]

I was looking around at hard drives.

Like i said, Im not 100% sure what HD are compatible. I know MBPs use SATA hard drives, but other than that...??

I was looking around just for kicks, and saw these.
I am not sure what the "cache" on hard drives are, or if it matters. I noticed that they go from 8MB-32MB generally.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26180&vpn=0A35155&manufacture=Hitachi

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=17165&vpn=OA33423 &manufacture=Hitachi

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20082&vpn=PN-COMBO001&manufacture=Seagate

I know that MBP also use 2.5 inch HD...are all SATA HD 2.5 inches? Sorry, im kind of blind, Ive never done a HD change before.

 

[marclapierre13]

So I know at least 2 of those HDs that I posted wont fit...they are 3.5inch HD's...grrrr. I guess Id better keep looking lol.

 

[cavebob]

For those of you wanting to upgrade, you should wait. WD just put out a 320gb 2.5" sata. It should work for MB and MBP's (i hope coz i want one) PHAT storage to the max! I think thet're going to about 200-300...

 

[gr8tfly]

So I know at least 2 of those HDs that I posted wont fit...they are 3.5inch HD's...grrrr. I guess Id better keep looking lol.

Any 9.5mm SATA 2.5" drive should work fine.

It's just a matter of whether you want more space or more speed (250GB 5400 RPM vs. 200GB 7200RPM)

I ordered my 200GB 7200RPM Hitachi from NewEgg. They usually have decent prices and have been reliable.

 

[bagelche]

This may not be the right thread for this, but I'm interested in people's experiences with battery life differential between the 5400RPM drives and 7200RPM. And, for that matter, is there a significant different in power draw between the drives of different capacity but same speed?

I'm not fearful of upgrading a laptop, but want to know what to expect for my labors.

thanks!

 

[marclapierre13]

For those of you wanting to upgrade, you should wait. WD just put out a 320gb 2.5" sata. It should work for MB and MBP's (i hope coz i want one) PHAT storage to the max! I think thet're going to about 200-300...

Sweet. When is it avaialable?
Why cant we have a high capacity HD WITH a fast RPM speed?

Im confused about this "buffer" speed on harddrives. Is a lower MB buffer speed better, like 8 mb, or is higher better, like 16mb? I dunno what it is so Im not sure.

 

[cavebob]

Sweet. When is it avaialable?
Why cant we have a high capacity HD WITH a fast RPM speed?

Im confused about this "buffer" speed on harddrives. Is a lower MB buffer speed better, like 8 mb, or is higher better, like 16mb? I dunno what it is so Im not sure.

Its out on their site already, but no stock.
I believe higher to be better.

 

[vm7118]

those aren't buffer speeds, those are actually buffer capacities. so yes, with all other factors being equal, a drive with a larger buffer would perform better in most cases.

 

[djserg]

Problems with WS?

I'm about to upgrade, and the 300 gig WD hd looks good, but I've seen a lot of people reporting problems with the WD 250. Does anyone know if WD is usually a good, reliable HD?

 

[paul.b.davis]

i actually liked http://www.powerbookmedic.com's guide better, and they have a store set up with compatible hardware upgrades

 

[mmmoussa]

I'm about to upgrade, and the 300 gig WD hd looks good, but I've seen a lot of people reporting problems with the WD 250. Does anyone know if WD is usually a good, reliable HD?

Just bought the WD 250gb Scorpio last week and popped it into my Santa Rosa MBP. So far no problems with it at all. I would highly recommend it. Not to mention it's on sale at Best Buy this week for $140.