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Decisions Decisions.... Hard Drive/RAM

S

Silverrune

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 2, 2011
177
0
I have had my eye on upgrading my Mid-2009 MBP for some time now. I have had my eye on a Crucial 8-GB kit (Spec's are correct) or maybe G.Skill. http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=0D805CB0A5CA7304
Any idea's or suggestions?

I have also been looking at a Seagate Hard Drive
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/internal-storage/momentus-7200-kit/
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/internal-storage/momentus-5400-kit/
Both at highest spec (640/750) I have heard some terrible reviews involving kernel errors and various other things. Would anyone like to set me on a good course as to better choices for similar items? I do not care about price as long as it is not crazy expensive. :confused:
 
Crucial, G.Skill, Mushkin, Corsair, Patriot, Samsung, etc. are all fine. As long as they are within spec (DDR3 1333 or faster, 204 pin SODIMM) you will be fine. No single brand will have improved performance over the other.
 
IllIllIll said:
Crucial, G.Skill, Mushkin, Corsair, Patriot, Samsung, etc. are all fine. As long as they are within spec (DDR3 1333 or faster, 204 pin SODIMM) you will be fine. No single brand will have improved performance over the other.
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The 2009 MBPs used 1066MHz DDR3. But you're right, brand doesn't really matter a whole lot. As for the hard drive, I'd probably stay away from seagate if you're seeing bad reviews. I have a western digital scorpio black that works well for me, although it is slightly louder than the stock drive. The scorpio blue will be a little slower than the black, about the same as stock, but quieter.
 
alust2013 said:
The 2009 MBPs used 1066MHz DDR3. But you're right, brand doesn't really matter a whole lot. As for the hard drive, I'd probably stay away from seagate if you're seeing bad reviews. I have a western digital scorpio black that works well for me, although it is slightly louder than the stock drive. The scorpio blue will be a little slower than the black, about the same as stock, but quieter.
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Even if the reviews are about 16 1 star vs 86 5 star? Every Hard Drive i've looked at (ALL Of them) should I just try it and if it fails send it back?
 
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Silverrune said:
Even if the reviews are about 16 1 star vs 86 5 star? Every Hard Drive i've looked at (ALL Of them) should I just try it and if it fails send it back?
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I've been pleased with Hitachi drives - you might try the 7200 RPM 750 version. 79.99 at Newegg. Fast, quiet, and the 500 GB versions have been quite reliable. As others here have pointed out, ALL manufacturers are going to have drives fail.

The Hitachi as a 3 year warranty, the WD Blacks have a 5 year warranty although I find them to be too noisy and prone to vibration.

As far as RAM goes, Crucial is good, G.Skill, Samsung, Kingston, etc., will all be fine. I have G.Skill and it's been fine.
 
Yeah, every HD manufacturer will have issues. I just speak from my experience, although Naimfan is right, the WD black can be a bit on the noisy side.
 
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A Momentus XT is not an SSD. It is jsut a hard drive with a bigger cache.
I wouldn't buy it because it is too loud. The WD black has less vibration although imo it is still to loud for a notebook on a desk.

An SSD system drive and 5400rpm data drive is by far the best solution. Not cheap though.
 
Silverrune said:
Ya I looked at it but I don't really want an ssd. I just don't see what's so good. I'll look up on it a bit more seeing as it says it's a hybrid.
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It's a hybrid HDD with 4GB SSD.

Momentus XT Real World performance:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6071&p=2
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3734/seagates-momentus-xt-review-finally-a-good-hybrid-hdd/2

dusk007 said:
I wouldn't buy it because it is too loud. The WD black has less vibration although imo it is still to loud for a notebook on a desk.
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I tried 2 WD Blacks. Returned them both because of strong vibrations. My Momentus XT is dead quiet. Can't hear it, can't feel it. Firmware SD28.

WD Black has lots of vibration complaints in the Newegg reviews.
 
Silverrune said:
Anyone have any tips for installing for when I make my final decision?
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Be sure you have the right screwdrivers. I'm not familiar with the 09's but the 10's need a small phillips and torx. You can get them in a cheap set at Home Depot - they're not the greatest tools but for occasional use will do the job.

Put the screws in a small bag or pill box so you don't lose ten and keep track of which hole they fit - the 10 has long and short screws holding the base.

Finally, pick up some blue loctite to keep the screws from coming loose over time.

As for drives - I had an XT that I just replaced with a 256g SSD. The XT is a nice drive but I really didn't see much of an improvement over my other 7200 rpm drive; that may because of the way the XT determines what to cache and how I use my Mac. SSD on the other hand. Wow. I picked up a refurb for under $300 and my mac flies now. If you can live with 126G a number of SATA-II drives are only about $50 more than a Momentus and will give a much more noticeable improvement in performance.

As for memory - avoid some of the el cheap brands, stick with brand names mentioned above and you'll be fine.
 
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