Most RAM in netbooks is slooooooooooooooooooooooow. I tried that once and it basically brought my system to a screetching halt with beechballs flying all over the place. You would be best off searching for some PC5300 RAM, as I believe that every netbook out there uses 4200. If you have 5300 in the netbook, though, you'll be fine.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Contemplating used MBP purchase
- Thread starter clyde2801
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
How does the 120 gig hitachi travelstar that came with the system compare with more modern drives, like the wd 5400 rpm 500 gig or the scorpio black?
NOOOOO dont do it. The screens on those are not as nice. the Next gen (2.2 and 2.4s) are worlds better. Save your money!
( nevermind. just realized you already purchased.)
( nevermind. just realized you already purchased.)
Umm....thanks?
What's the difference between the screens? The matte on my 15" looks pretty darned good. Oh, are you talking about the led backlighting? If you are, yeah, that's a consideration, but I didn't want to take a chance on the nvidia 8600 chip with all its reported problems.
Tax included, I spent about the same amount on this system as I would have with an entry level white macbook. My needs are modest, and I think this will serve me well for a couple of years.
What's the difference between the screens? The matte on my 15" looks pretty darned good. Oh, are you talking about the led backlighting? If you are, yeah, that's a consideration, but I didn't want to take a chance on the nvidia 8600 chip with all its reported problems.
Tax included, I spent about the same amount on this system as I would have with an entry level white macbook. My needs are modest, and I think this will serve me well for a couple of years.
Hell, even if your needs aren't modest, it'll serve you well for more than a couple of years!
Many people way overbuy on technology simply to have the bestest and fastest thing out there.
Solid notebook. THe only problem I have with my MacBook is the power inverter for the backlighting. It keeps flickering so I'll have to get AppleCare to look at it but I think its a cheap fix ($50 or so) for those that don't have AppleCare.
Yeah, I'm contemplating a hd replacement on it eventually. I've got a 500 gig wd blue that's basically unused, or would possibly contemplate a wd scorpio black.
Assuming that lack of HD space is not an issue, do you think I'd be able to tell any difference between the original 120 gig hitachi drive and one of these newer ones performance wise?
Assuming that lack of HD space is not an issue, do you think I'd be able to tell any difference between the original 120 gig hitachi drive and one of these newer ones performance wise?
I compared the benchmark figures on my stock 5400 160gig Hitachi to the new 5400 500gig Seagate I'm putting in and the new drive has considerably better numbers. Just imagine what a 7200rpm 500gig drive would be like! drool...
I compared the benchmark figures on my stock 5400 160gig Hitachi to the new 5400 500gig Seagate I'm putting in and the new drive has considerably better numbers. Just imagine what a 7200rpm 500gig drive would be like! drool...
I'm astounded how hard drives have improved over the last couple of years. You'd think that the two seagates would have similar numbers and performance, since they have the same rotational speed and (I think) the same ram buffer...
Yeah i was talking the LED. But either way you got a great machine. I am just a screen guy. no worries
Enjoy your machine!
clyde, I just installed my 500GB drive. Took about 40 minutes and I went REALLY slowly and was hyper careful. This video: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1356676/how_to_replace_your_17_macbook_pro_hard_drive/ gives a good overview of what's involved. Very simple. I'm installing a fresh copy of OSX on it right now. What I'd really like to do is get an external superdrive and put a second HD in my machine to use with Time Machine. That way I'd have a totally portable video editing machine with a seperate but internal back-up drive and no need for hooking up external drives on the road except for occasionally when I need a DVD drive/burner.
EDIT: THIS is what I want: http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/ WOOHOO, what I want exists!
So seriously, you could tell that much of a difference between that and your stock drive? Was your original running out of space?
I needed more space. I had about 60GB of music alone. And I need a lot of space for video editing.
My future plan is replace the current 5400rpm drive with a 500Gig 7200rpm, put the 5400 in place of the SuperDrive (as my Time Machine drive). Get an external SuperDrive. I'm going to do all this next Fall when/if Snow Leopard is released.
What I'm wondering is if a new 500 gig wd 5400 rpm drive will give me a performance boost, or simply more storage? I'm 'bout half convinced I'll try to replace it myself, but if I won't tell a noticeable difference, I'll just wait until I get a 7200 rpm drive. Right now, space is not a problem, but I would like a faster boot up and shorter wait to cold start applications.
I'm sure a 500gig 5400rpm drive would give you a boost but probably not enough of one to do it if you don't need extra space. I'd wait till the 7200rpm drives are out again in a few months. It's really super easy to do yourself IF you take your time and make sure you have the right tools on hand. (I didn't bother to remove the keyboard/mouse ribbon, just propped the case open with the bill of my ball cap.)
I saw the tipping it up trick on the video (thanks) and figured I'd try that as well.
And yes, I figure I'll do a 7200 rpm drive. I may go ahead and get a 320 scorpio black from best buy...
And yes, I figure I'll do a 7200 rpm drive. I may go ahead and get a 320 scorpio black from best buy...
Yeah, of course 7200rpm 320gig drives are easily available right now...I just wanted to maximize space. But if you don't need more than 320gigs go for it...but read up on some benchmark comparisons...apparently the Seagate 7200rpm was faster than 320gigs at the same rpm's because of the way the platters are more efficiently utilized...or something along those lines. So I think the absolute best performance upgrade you can get is going to be the 500gig.
Went online to a slightly dated tom's hardware article that compared the 320 gig 7200 rpm seagate and wd drives. Think I'll go with the seagate based on the article. Does the 500 gig version have a bigger ram cache or faster throughput, etc.?
I believe so. Do a search here on the forums...there's a thread about it. (Apparently some have had vibration "problems" with it...but that was mostly unibody MBP users. Nobody with our vintage machines complained.) Also, I figure the upcoming second batch of this drive should have given Seagate time to fix any bugs/quality control issues. But everyone seems to agree that it freaking screams!
Another thread pointed me to a recent bare feats review about the new seagate drive, the results are impressive. The seagate is better about more intensive disk tasks, while the WD has a slight edge speedwise on reading and writing smaller bits of data, which is what to be expected of most users unless they're cloning a hard drive, doing software update or working on a large photoshop/FCP file.
Either one appears to be a valid option. Though, I'll probably buy either the 320 gig 7200 seagate or wd from my local best buy...I like being able to take the disk back in an hour if it's defective.
I may just wait to see what you have to say about the new seagate, and use my current stock drive...for now. Heck, I just got the machine, and it still has 80 gigs of free space left.
Either one appears to be a valid option. Though, I'll probably buy either the 320 gig 7200 seagate or wd from my local best buy...I like being able to take the disk back in an hour if it's defective.
I may just wait to see what you have to say about the new seagate, and use my current stock drive...for now. Heck, I just got the machine, and it still has 80 gigs of free space left.