Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

n20nine

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2008
155
45
Hey guys,

I am selling off my 160GB Hitachi hard disk that came with my aluminium macbook and i am intending on upgrading to a 320GB hard drive. I am thinking of either:

1. Hitachi 5K500.b hard drive
2. Hitachi 7K320 hard drive
3. WD Scorpio

I am leaning towards the Hitachi as I have had no problems with mine, and I love the fact that it is very quiet and does not produce too much heat.

Between the 5400rpm and 7200rpm, which should i choose, price diff is negligible? My concern is additional heat, noise and vibration. I was told that battery life sacrifice would at most be 10 minutes? Is this true?

If we are looking at 7200rpm, between the Hitachi and WD, which would you choose? I need to decide quick as someone has expressed interest in buying my current hard disk.

Cheers.
 
I have #3 WD Scorpio Black and it works well. No complaints about a 7200 rpm doing anything but giving you faster access speeds. I've installed it into my first gen white MB and then transplanted it into my new aluminum MB. 2 thumbs up. -GDF
 
It's always worth keeping your original drive around.

if you're mac is still under warranty, keep it for that reason, if not, pop it in a cheap USB 2.0 case, instant external storage!

You might end up selling the mac one day, put the original drive back in it and you're 320Gb drive becomes an external USB 2.0 drive for backing up that mac too.
 
if you're mac is still under warranty, keep it for that reason, if not, pop it in a cheap USB 2.0 case, instant external storage!

You might end up selling the mac one day, put the original drive back in it and you're 320Gb drive becomes an external USB 2.0 drive for backing up that mac too.

I wish I could do that, but I am on a tight budget and dont intend on spending any extra cash, besides I already have 2 external drives that I use for backup purposes.

Also, if the hard disk fails, it comes with 3 years warranty (Hitachi). Even if I buy AppleCare, I only get a total of 3 years warranty including the current one year, so either way it will be taken care of.

Regarding selling my macbook, well i think the 320GB hard disk might boost the price a little bit...
 
out of your three choices, i'd go with the western digital. i've always had good luck with WD. that being said, as far as i'm concerned, the 2.5" 7200 rpm HDD to buy is the seagate momentus 7200.4

I ordered the 250 GB model (on order right now with every online retailer, so i'll have to wait a while to get it) a couple days ago. $58. not bad.
 
I just took delivery of a Seagate Momentus 320 GB ST9320421AS 7200 RPM. Haven't had a chance to install it yet as I'm at work but I did some research before my purchase and people say it doesn't consume much power and is quiet which is why I bought it. Worth a look perhaps?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.