Early 2011 Macbook Pro HD Upgrade

[i4k20c]

Hi All,

I have an early 2011 MBP 13 inch and want to upgrade the HD for more space. Here are two HDD's that I found that seem to get pretty good reviews. Would you recommend one over the other? Is there another one i should be looking at?

Thanks for your suggestions.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Momentus-7200RPM-Hybrid-ST750LX003/dp/B00691WMJG

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Solid-Hybrid-2-5-Inch-ST1000LM014/dp/B00B99JUBQ

if it matters, i am on 10.9.3, 2.3ghz i5, 8gb ddr3 ram.

 

[raptor402]

Hi All,

I have an early 2011 MBP 13 inch and want to upgrade the HD for more space. Here are two HDD's that I found that seem to get pretty good reviews. Would you recommend one over the other? Is there another one i should be looking at?

Thanks for your suggestions.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Momentus-7200RPM-Hybrid-ST750LX003/dp/B00691WMJG

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Solid-Hybrid-2-5-Inch-ST1000LM014/dp/B00B99JUBQ

if it matters, i am on 10.9.3, 2.3ghz i5, 8gb ddr3 ram.

Hi,

Personally, I would advise you to go for an SSD instead. It'll be much, much faster. Of course, since you need space, the best solution would be to get a 240GB SSD and move your current HDD to the optical drive bay. The SSD will make your system blazing fast.

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-240GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-CT240M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ8RM1A/

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/

Either of those two should be great.

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Unibody-MacBook-SuperDrive-Replacement/dp/B0058AH2US/

This should be all you need for space.

http://www.amazon.com/Micro-SATA-Cables-External-Burner/dp/B005RFOJT6/

You would want this too if you still use the optical drive.

Best of luck!
Raptor

 

[venom600]

They are both HDs from the same product line. They renamed the Momentus XT series to SSHD with the 1TB model. No reason not to choose that one over the 750GB. And there is no reason to choose any regular HD over either of them... hybrid HDs aren't SSD fast, but they blow regular HDs out of the water. Me, personally? I just broke down and got a 750GB SSD and said goodbye to spinning platters.

 

[Naimfan]

I've used this to good effect: http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Travelst...1401934738&sr=1-1&keywords=hgst+1+tb+7200+rpm

 

[i4k20c]

Hi,

Personally, I would advise you to go for an SSD instead. It'll be much, much faster. Of course, since you need space, the best solution would be to get a 240GB SSD and move your current HDD to the optical drive bay. The SSD will make your system blazing fast.

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-240GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-CT240M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ8RM1A/

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/

Either of those two should be great.

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Unibody-MacBook-SuperDrive-Replacement/dp/B0058AH2US/

This should be all you need for space.

http://www.amazon.com/Micro-SATA-Cables-External-Burner/dp/B005RFOJT6/

You would want this too if you still use the optical drive.

Best of luck!
Raptor

wow, thank you for all that help. i still use my optical drive so i didn't want to give that up, but maybe it is something i can consider especially with that enclosure being so cheap. is this an easy install to do?

also, from the amazon description page it says that the start up for a SSD is 20 seconds while SSHD is 22 seconds. It doesn't seem like too much of a difference, but is it faster in other ways?

i currently have a 320 gb hd, so with a 240 i guess i am at 560 gb. any knowledge of whether the 500gb ones go on sale for ~$150ish or cheaper? I'd be willing to go a full SSD route if i can keep it near or under $200 (with all the extra things like the accessories).

They are both HDs from the same product line. They renamed the Momentus XT series to SSHD with the 1TB model. No reason not to choose that one over the 750GB. And there is no reason to choose any regular HD over either of them... hybrid HDs aren't SSD fast, but they blow regular HDs out of the water. Me, personally? I just broke down and got a 750GB SSD and said goodbye to spinning platters.

that sounds awesome. what are the major differences you notice? does everything work faster? copy and pasting? honestly, my laptop feels fine right now in regards to speed, but it does take a long time to start up and copy/pasting big files can be a drag. but otherwise it does what i need it too.

I've used this to good effect: http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Travelst...1401934738&sr=1-1&keywords=hgst+1+tb+7200+rpm

out of curiosity, what made you choose this over the hybrid drives or an ssd + regular hd like raptor suggested?

 

[Naimfan]

out of curiosity, what made you choose this over the hybrid drives or an ssd + regular hd like raptor suggested?

1. Seagates seem to be the least reliable of the major HD brands, and I've had a couple Seagates fail. The HGST (formerly Hitachi) models have been, at least for me, rock solid.

2. The speed difference between the hybrids and a good 7200 RPM drive like the HGST or the Western Digital Black is not something to get excited about, especially if you're a real person and don't reboot every 15 minutes or launch and re-launch applications - which is where you see the biggest advantages of a hybrid drive or a SSD.

3. Part of my work requires that I have a LOT of data available on a laptop and the HGST is far more cost effective than a SSD - the 1 TB drive was $68 when I posted vs. $450 or more for an equivalently sized SSD.

4. Like you, I require an optical drive (it's how data gets moved from one level of classification to another) and can't use an external (which defeats the purpose of a lighter all-in-one laptop anyway).

 

[raptor402]

wow, thank you for all that help. i still use my optical drive so i didn't want to give that up, but maybe it is something i can consider especially with that enclosure being so cheap. is this an easy install to do?

also, from the amazon description page it says that the start up for a SSD is 20 seconds while SSHD is 22 seconds. It doesn't seem like too much of a difference, but is it faster in other ways?

i currently have a 320 gb hd, so with a 240 i guess i am at 560 gb. any knowledge of whether the 500gb ones go on sale for ~$150ish or cheaper? I'd be willing to go a full SSD route if i can keep it near or under $200 (with all the extra things like the accessories).

The Crucial M500 480GB is available for around $215. I'm not sure about sales, though.

I had a Seagate Momentus XT (first generation). It was the worst upgrade to my Mac. There were tons of firmware issues. Clicking sound. Horrible battery life due to poor power management. The list goes on. However, the issues were limited to OS X. It is now the boot drive in my desktop and working just fine. I think that the subsequent generations were bereft of such issues.

I've also found that the Hybrid Drive isn't quite as fast as an SSD. Boot times are definitely faster on the SSD but they aren't too bad on the hybrid drive. Applications are a completely different story. SSDs just kill in that field. 7 seconds for Lightroom (and that's on SATA II, not SATA III) to startup. The hybrid drive used to take a lot longer.

The installation of the drive(s) and the caddy bay(s) is quite simple. You can always follow iFixit guides and YouTube videos.

You must take a call between extreme performance and silent running, and high storage and low costs.

Best of luck!
Raptor

 

[JPamplin]

Fusion Drive!

I just bought a late-2011 MacBook Pro 13 2.3Ghz i5 with 16GB of RAM, and am outfitting it with the 1TB HGST 7200RPM HD in the drive bay and a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO in the optical bay - then merging them into a kickass SATA3 Fusion drive. This would be the best of both worlds for you.

Instructions: http://blog.macsales.com/15617-creating-your-own-fusion-drive

I think putting the HD in the normal HD bay is better because the SSD doesn't need sudden fall protection, but the HD does.

 

[nfl46]

I have the same laptop, and I wanted the best 256GB SSD drive on the market right now...and that is the Samsung Evo 840. I ordered it this week. I got it for $122 on Newegg with a coupon. The Crucial MX100 just came out, but according to benchmarks, isn't better than the Evo 840.

Here's the one I got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147248

masterpass10 is the coupon.

----------

The Crucial M500 480GB is available for around $215. I'm not sure about sales, though.

I had a Seagate Momentus XT (first generation). It was the worst upgrade to my Mac. There were tons of firmware issues. Clicking sound. Horrible battery life due to poor power management. The list goes on. However, the issues were limited to OS X. It is now the boot drive in my desktop and working just fine. I think that the subsequent generations were bereft of such issues.

I've also found that the Hybrid Drive isn't quite as fast as an SSD. Boot times are definitely faster on the SSD but they aren't too bad on the hybrid drive. Applications are a completely different story. SSDs just kill in that field. 7 seconds for Lightroom (and that's on SATA II, not SATA III) to startup. The hybrid drive used to take a lot longer.

The installation of the drive(s) and the caddy bay(s) is quite simple. You can always follow iFixit guides and YouTube videos.

You must take a call between extreme performance and silent running, and high storage and low costs.

Best of luck!
Raptor

Oh crap, you too with the Seagate Momentus XT! Horrible experience that I had with my MacBook. That thing would spin and spin and make so much clicking noise. It frustrated the crap out of me.

 

[simonsi]

I run an SSD and HDD in mine, best setup for speed and capacity and full control of what is where (unlike a hybrid).

 

[raptor402]

Oh crap, you too with the Seagate Momentus XT! Horrible experience that I had with my MacBook. That thing would spin and spin and make so much clicking noise. It frustrated the crap out of me.

It was a nightmare. I eventually moved the drive to my system for boot but it seems to be failing now. Hybrid drives just aren't worth it anymore.

Raptor