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Hitachi vs. Segate vs. WD Scorpio

R

Rashid Alkaabi

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 17, 2008
31
0
Hello,

I'm about to upgrade my Unibody Macbook Pro (late 2008) with a brand new 500 GB HD - 7200 RPM. I have been searching for an answer but people are "always" a fan of something.

Anyway, I'm considering these following Drives:
1- Seagate Momentus 7200 500GB 7200RPM

2- Hitachi 500GB Travelstar SATA 7200

3- WD Scorpio Blue ( Although it's 5400 RPM huge number of people recommended it)


So, I'd like to share your experiences with each of the ones above, in order to be sure while placing my next order :)


Thanks,

Rashid
 
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I've always liked Western Digital and Scorpio Blue is a great drive because it performs as well as most 7200rpm drives but no heat, battery, noise or issues.
 
I know you haven't listed it, but I have the Western Digital Scorpion Black (7200) in my MacBook and it is fast, but it vibrates noticeably. If I had to do it all over again I would go with something else.
 
It all depends on personal preference. I suggest you read on reviews for each drive to see how they perform.
 
BlackMax said:
I know you haven't listed it, but I have the Western Digital Scorpion Black (7200) in my MacBook and it is fast, but it vibrates noticeably. If I had to do it all over again I would go with something else.
Click to expand...

No 500GB Scorpio Black :(
 
WD makes the best drives right now. I have prob 10 TB worth of WD drives between me and my family.
 
Hellhammer said:
I've always liked Western Digital and Scorpio Blue is a great drive because it performs as well as most 7200rpm drives but no heat, battery, noise or issues.
Click to expand...

Like this person and other have said, I am too partial to Western Digital. They always seem to be the most reliable and performance is always on par if not better than other manufacturers in the same product category. +1 for WD!
 
i have the seagate 7200.4 and it works great, is quite, and no noticeable vibration but im returning it because of my crazy high load cycle count. its already up to 8500 after 3 weeks.

i think im going to go with the hitachi 7k500
 
sh

I've got the Seagate and have been fairly happy with it. I did read one post where some one claimed the Seagate cut the battery life of their 15" uMBP down to 4hrs. This seemed kid of funny until I checked my own 15"uMBP and after a full charge the battery shows about 5 hrs. I cant remember what it was with the original drive but I seem to remember Apple claiming 6-7 hrs. Not a big deal for me I'm rarely on battery power that long. Be aware that there are 2 versions of the Seagate 500GB Momentus, the ST9500420AS and the ST9500420ASG. The difference is that the G version has the built in shock protection. If you are going to put the drive in the HD bay then your better off with the non G as the uMBP has the shock protection built in. If you get the G model and put it in the HD bay you should turn off the shock protection in the uMBP itself. Apple has a support article on how to due this. If you are going to pull the superdrive and put the HD in that bay then you probably want to get the G version as that bay does not have its own shock protection.
 
BlackMax said:
I know you haven't listed it, but I have the Western Digital Scorpion Black (7200) in my MacBook and it is fast, but it vibrates noticeably. If I had to do it all over again I would go with something else.
Click to expand...

I 2nd that. I have the 320Gb Scorpio Black as well and the noise is clearly noticable. Although the harddrive is seriously fast I'll go for something else the next time around.

lyons238 said:
i have the seagate 7200.4 and it works great, is quite, and no noticeable vibration but im returning it because of my crazy high load cycle count. its already up to 8500 after 3 weeks.
Click to expand...

I believe this is normal with all SATA Seagate Drives. It is some incompatibility with the SMART Data rather than defective hardware. One of my Desktop Drives is already in the 8-digit area and still runs like clockwork.

I guess if I had to purchase a new Laptop harddrive right now I would go for the 1 TB WD option. Since the Storage Density is high the drive is fast and big. With only 5200 Upm it is pretty quiet as well so besides the price there is not much against this puppy.
 
i can vouch for the hitachi 7k500

i put it in my 2.2 SR Blackbook and it handily beats my relatively new stock 2.8 UMBP on speed.
 
I have the Hitachi 7K500, installed it as an upgrade to a WD 320GB Scorpio Blue (5400RPM).

Noticeably faster, very quiet, no vibration. Well worth the ~$90.
 
DO NOT get a Hitachi. I have a WD 500gb, it works great, but I think seagate is a little faster at 500gb and 7200rpm.
 
Im in the exact same boat as you. I've been reading through all the forums on the issue, as well as user reviews on amazon, newegg, etc. The choice is easy: Hitachi
 
Not so much a brand recommendation as I've had good (and bad) luck with all three, but let me give you a couple suggestions.

1) Be careful with 7200rpm laptop drives. Granted, I'm talking in reference to my wife's white plastic Macbook, not an aluminum unibody, but... when I installed a 7200rpm drive (it was a Seagate, BTW) I had an annoying vibration that was felt in both the palm rest area and in the keyboard. You could even hear it vibrating (if that makes sense, lol) on a hard surface. Too bad I'd already given away the old drive - I had to buy another 5400rpm. I bought a Samsung HM250HI, BTW - I'll explain that in number 2... Not to mention we lost 30 minutes of battery life, too.

2) Check the speed of whatever drive you're considering. Go to www.passmark.com and check the hard drive benchmarks. The reason I bought the Samsung drive I bought was because it is single-platter 5400rpm and its almost as fast as most 7200rpm drives, and even faster than some.

My advice: Get the fastest 5400rpm drive you can find. The Samsung drive in my wife's Macbook is blazing fast. Make sure you get a single platter drive, whether you go 5400rpm or 7200rpm. That'll take a bit of research, but you'll appreciate it. :)

EDIT: Based purely on speed and price, I'd recommend the Samsung HM501II. 5400rpm, but not single platter, and faster than most 7200s - including the Seagate 7200rpm you have listed and the Scorpio Blue (the Hitachi hasn't been test yet).

EDIT #2: Here's a good list of what 2.5" drives are single platter. Not 100% up-to-date, but its a good start. Not sure if you can get a single platter 500GB yet... looks like they may top out at 320GB.
 
js81 said:
Not so much a brand recommendation as I've had good (and bad) luck with all three, but let me give you a couple suggestions.

1) Be careful with 7200rpm laptop drives. Granted, I'm talking in reference to my wife's white plastic Macbook, not an aluminum unibody, but... when I installed a 7200rpm drive (it was a Seagate, BTW) I had an annoying vibration that was felt in both the palm rest area and in the keyboard. You could even hear it vibrating (if that makes sense, lol) on a hard surface. Too bad I'd already given away the old drive - I had to buy another 5400rpm. I bought a Samsung HM250HI, BTW - I'll explain that in number 2... Not to mention we lost 30 minutes of battery life, too.

2) Check the speed of whatever drive you're considering. Go to www.passmark.com and check the hard drive benchmarks. The reason I bought the Samsung drive I bought was because it is single-platter 5400rpm and its almost as fast as most 7200rpm drives, and even faster than some.

My advice: Get the fastest 5400rpm drive you can find. The Samsung drive in my wife's Macbook is blazing fast. Make sure you get a single platter drive, whether you go 5400rpm or 7200rpm. That'll take a bit of research, but you'll appreciate it. :)

EDIT: Based purely on speed and price, I'd recommend the Samsung HM501II. 5400rpm, but not single platter, and faster than most 7200s - including the Seagate 7200rpm you have listed and the Scorpio Blue (the Hitachi hasn't been test yet).

EDIT #2: Here's a good list of what 2.5" drives are single platter. Not 100% up-to-date, but its a good start. Not sure if you can get a single platter 500GB yet... looks like they may top out at 320GB.
Click to expand...

Wow! Thank you for that. I'm actually considering a 7200 RPM HD. So I think that having the same drive as I have right now with a higher capacity wont change anything. I think that I have took segeate out of my mind for now. and I'm shifting toward Hitachi .. Tell me what do you think?
I'm not professional in bench marking, but I'm trying to get the best out there :)

Thanks,
 
Just to say that my 7K500 exhibits no vibration. I've had in the past travelstar drives that vibrate, produce too much heat and make noise, and this one is as good as I've ever seen with virtually no annoying aspects. I have no loyalty to any brand, but I've had good experience with both WD and Hitachi. This is the best drive I've had in a laptop in terms of combining energy efficiency (noticed no impact on battery life), speed, low noise, little heat and high capacity.

Having owned the WD scorpio blue 500gb recently and found that it makes a revving sound that I thought was annoying, I would go for the hitachi over that one. But it's also clear that the WD is extremely popular, so I would assume that my ears are just unusually sensitive...I'm sure you'd be very happy with either drive.
 
PDE said:
Just to say that my 7K500 exhibits no vibration. I've had in the past travelstar drives that vibrate, produce too much heat and make noise, and this one is as good as I've ever seen with virtually no annoying aspects. I have no loyalty to any brand, but I've had good experience with both WD and Hitachi. This is the best drive I've had in a laptop in terms of combining energy efficiency (noticed no impact on battery life), speed, low noise, little heat and high capacity.

Having owned the WD scorpio blue 500gb recently and found that it makes a revving sound that I thought was annoying, I would go for the hitachi over that one. But it's also clear that the WD is extremely popular, so I would assume that my ears are just unusually sensitive...I'm sure you'd be very happy with either drive.
Click to expand...

7K500 ? or 7k200 ? So shall I just go with Hitachi then? And if I do so, what is the best inclosure to handle my current HD with either USB 2.0 or Firewire support?

Thanks,
 
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