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Limit on hard drive storage capacity?

LSUtigers03

LSUtigers03

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 9, 2008
2,089
41
Is there a limit on the storage capacity that a 2007 MacBook can use? Also would a 12.5 mm high drive fit?
 
Shouldn't be. Some Gx Macs have limits but AFAIK Intel Macs do not. Anyway, the biggest you can install is 750GB because that is currently the biggest 2.5" 9.5mm drive.
 
By all means get 7200rpm if possible.

5400rpm if budget is limited.

Do not get 5200rpm for boot drive.
 
Consultant said:
By all means get 7200rpm if possible.

5400rpm if budget is limited.

Do not get 5200rpm for boot drive.
Click to expand...

Spinning speed is not everything. For example, 500GB 5400rpm drive can be faster than 320GB 7200rpm drive because it's denser. Same applies to 1TB, it's 333GB per platter so even though its spinning speed is low, it's very dense thus it has to spin less.

Here is a post I made yesterday:

Yeah, it should be faster than e.g. 500GB 5400rpm drive because that 1TB is made of three ~333GB platters while 500GB is made of two 250GB platters. When the drive is denser, it can read/write more data per round. 333GB is around 33% denser than 250GB so in theory, the 500GB drive has to spin 1.33 rounds to read/write the same data. 5400rpm is only ~4% more than 5200rpm so 1TB should be faster. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good benchmarks

However, 750GB 5400rpm should be the fastest 5400rpm drive as it's made of two 375GB platters.
Click to expand...

And there are hundreds of threads where people complain about noise, vibration and short battery life. Besides, any 5400rpm drive is going to be faster than what OP currently has. High capacity 7200rpm also cost the top $
 
Hellhammer said:
Spinning speed is not everything. For example, 500GB 5400rpm drive can be faster than 320GB 7200rpm drive because it's denser. Same applies to 1TB, it's 333GB per platter so even though its spinning speed is low, it's very dense thus it has to spin less.

Here is a post I made yesterday:



And there are hundreds of threads where people complain about noise, vibration and short battery life. Besides, any 5400rpm drive is going to be faster than what OP currently has. High capacity 7200rpm also cost the top $
Click to expand...

I had a 5200rpm 750gb. it's less responsive for boot than 160gb 5400rpm.

7200 rpm price difference is like $20 more for 500gb.
 
of course, seek time is slower on lower rpm drives. but raw data speed is greater with greater density.
 
Intell said:
I think the overall theoretical limit is 2Tb, but we're a few years away from that.
Click to expand...
That's only FAT32.
Cluster values are represented by 32-bit numbers, of which 28 bits are used to hold the cluster number, for a maximum of approximately 268 million (228) clusters. This allows for drive sizes of up to 8 TiB with 32 KiB clusters, but the boot sector uses a 32-bit field for the sector count, limiting volume size to 2 TiB on a hard disk with 512 byte sectors.
Click to expand...
 
Let me throw two drives out there and get some opinions on both. It looks like a 640gb 7200 rpm drive would be a better buy than a 750gb 5400 rpm drive.

Newegg
 
LSUtigers03 said:
Let me throw two drives out there and get some opinions on both. It looks like a 640gb 7200 rpm drive would be a better buy than a 750gb 5400 rpm drive.

Newegg
Click to expand...
One thing to notice is the 640GB drive has double the cache of the 750GB drive, which will contribute to it being faster.
 
LSUtigers03 said:
Let me throw two drives out there and get some opinions on both. It looks like a 640gb 7200 rpm drive would be a better buy than a 750gb 5400 rpm drive.
Click to expand...
Just to throw you a curve.

One thing to consider, is what is more important to you?
  • Storage space.
  • Speed.
  • Cost.

In the portable arena, depending on what your needs are these variables can affect your decision.

For example, in my case a year or so ago, I wanted the largest storage that I could get regardless of speed and cost. At the time it was 500GBs. Now I would go for the 750GB just because to me, storage space is the driving factor for my needs.

I know others would say speed would be their driver. And of course others would say cost.

Your decision might be easier if you can determine the driver in your decision, which I'm guessing is speed.
 
sushi said:
Just to throw you a curve.

One thing to consider, is what is more important to you?
  • Storage space.
  • Speed.
  • Cost.

In the portable arena, depending on what your needs are these variables can affect your decision.

For example, in my case a year or so ago, I wanted the largest storage that I could get regardless of speed and cost. At the time it was 500GBs. Now I would go for the 750GB just because to me, storage space is the driving factor for my needs.

I know others would say speed would be their driver. And of course others would say cost.

Your decision might be easier if you can determine the driver in your decision, which I'm guessing is speed.
Click to expand...

Right now I have a 320gb 5400 rpm drive. I would say storage is the most important. One thing I don't know is how much better the 7200 rpm drive would perform over the 5400 rpm drive. If it's a very noticeable difference then I may go with the better performing drive.
 
LSUtigers03 said:
Right now I have a 320gb 5400 rpm drive. I would say storage is the most important. One thing I don't know is how much better the 7200 rpm drive would perform over the 5400 rpm drive. If it's a very noticeable difference then I may go with the better performing drive.
Click to expand...

Here is one lengthy thread about Seagate's 7200rpm HDs. A lot people here in MR have used Seagate Momentus drives and generally Seagate is a reliable brand, many OEM manufacturers such as Apple use their drives. It also comes with 3-year warranty
 
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