I just replaced the 5400rpm hitachi from my 15" i5 Macbook pro with a 320Gb WD Scorpio black (WD3200BEKT) that was lying on my media center. I guess 5400 rpm will be more than enough for it.
Anyway, maybe not all 7200rpm drives are made the same. Definitely faster than the original one, but I really can't tell any difference in noise or battery life.
Searching a bit, it seems that Scorpio black are very decent performers and energy efficient.
Just a tip for you wondering if it's worth to upgrade the 5400 rpm drives from the base models.
Anyway, maybe not all 7200rpm drives are made the same. Definitely faster than the original one, but I really can't tell any difference in noise or battery life.
Searching a bit, it seems that Scorpio black are very decent performers and energy efficient.
Just a tip for you wondering if it's worth to upgrade the 5400 rpm drives from the base models.