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MacBook Pro 13" Mid 2010 - Seagate 500GB Momentus XT HD Upgrade - Performance

D

dbasco

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 25, 2010
8
0
In july I bought a MBP 13":

- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz
- 4GB RAM
- 320 GB 5.400 RPM

I needed to upgrade this unit in order to increase performance with VMWARE Fusion as I needed to use a few Windows 7 features and Applications... and although Mac OS is OK... I have to recognize that some features of Windows 7 are better and I need some only windows applications.

So I researched online the option of upgrading memory and HD.

I read mixed opinions and experiences with non Apple Memory. But took the chance and during a recent trip to the US I purchased the Kingston upgrade kit... installed it... and so far no problems. I got a very noticeable increase in startup and working performance with Windows 7 and Fusion. Unfortunately I lost my notes regarding performance readings... sorry.

I was very intrigued with the Hybrid Seagate 500GB Momentus XT. Also read a lot of mixed experiences. I also picked up a unit during my trip to the US but waited to install it when I got back to Spain.

I just installed it and made some simple timings to check the performance.

--------------------------Hitachi 320GB 5.400---------------Seagate 500GB Momentus XT
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mac OS Startup........................45"........................................30"
Adobe CS 5 Startup...................27".......................................10"
Adobe CS 5 Restart....................4"..........................................3"
W7 Ultimate 64 / Fusion.............42"........................................16"
(start from suspended)

Aside from this I have to say the following regarding some comments I read during research:

- No noticeable increase in noise or vibrations
- No increase in heat... maybe even less heat
- Everything feels snapier.

Conclusion... Totally recommend the increase in memory and this hybrid drive (if you do not want to spend hundreds more in a SSD).
 
Cool, thanks for posting. I'd be interested to see the speed increases as you continue using the drive too. I'm glad you're liking it and am considering it if they have some nice deals later this year.
 
hey i am running a 2.66 ghz i7 15" mbp and i was thinking about installing it but as you stated there is A LOT of mixed opinions on it, i think i will end up doing it next month thanks for the info =D
 
TopHatPlus said:
hey i am running a 2.66 ghz i7 15" mbp and i was thinking about installing it but as you stated there is A LOT of mixed opinions on it, i think i will end up doing it next month thanks for the info =D
Click to expand...

I have an i7 mbp 15 too, and though I've been really interested in it, I've been holding out for the same reasons. It seems for almost every good review of it, there's another one that is terrible. Also, Seagate had issues when the 7200.4 500gb first came out too so it's just not reassuring getting the XT at this point.
 
circularforward said:
I have an i7 mbp 15 too, and though I've been really interested in it, I've been holding out for the same reasons. It seems for almost every good review of it, there's another one that is terrible. Also, Seagate had issues when the 7200.4 500gb first came out too so it's just not reassuring getting the XT at this point.
Click to expand...

haha yeah and the good reviews aren't just good but its pure preaching and then the bad ones are just tearing them apart, maybe i should contact seagate about this and see i can get one and run some tests for them =D
 
oplix said:
These drives are not fully compatible with macbooks. It may seem great now but wait a few months.
Click to expand...

if they weren't fully compatible...they wouldn't work at all..

no basis for this statement at all..it's random jargon.

i've had one in my 13" 2010 MBP for a month and it's been great.
 
RWil85 said:
if they weren't fully compatible...they wouldn't work at all..

no basis for this statement at all..it's random jargon.

i've had one in my 13" 2010 MBP for a month and it's been great.
Click to expand...

Well it can work but not be fully operational. I've read stuff on Apple discussion forums where people have encountered beach balling and write/read issues with this drive.
 
droodles said:
Well it can work but not be fully operational. I've read stuff on Apple discussion forums where people have encountered beach balling and write/read issues with this drive.
Click to expand...

There is a problem with the older firmware in which the power management frequently spins down the drive, and it takes 2-3 seconds for it to get back up to speed. The newest firmware never spins it down now, which may not be the best solution either.
 
circularforward said:
There is a problem with the older firmware in which the power management frequently spins down the drive, and it takes 2-3 seconds for it to get back up to speed. The newest firmware never spins it down now, which may not be the best solution either.
Click to expand...

so change it, there is an application called "spinndownHD" in xcode that allows you to set the idle time before the hd shuts off.
 
Those numbers are pretty good for a hybrid drive. I'm curious to see if they improve over time. Keep use updated.
 
I had one but couldn't live with the horrendous power consumption. It's fast, but my battery life went from 8+ to maybe 3 hours. No thanks.
 
I thought it was the workload but just sitting on the couch surfing the web with Firefox, the battery life indicator would read just under 3:00 on a full charge, and this computer is two months old.

I put a 500GB WD AV drive with 32MB cache in it, and now get 8+ hours.

And I found the SD23 firmware update for the Momentus XT didn't help much-it changed the spindown schedule to improve performance (reduce OS hangs) at the expense of power consumption. This would be an awesome drive for a Mac Mini.
 
pscraig said:
I thought it was the workload but just sitting on the couch surfing the web with Firefox, the battery life indicator would read just under 3:00 on a full charge, and this computer is two months old.

I put a 500GB WD AV drive with 32MB cache in it, and now get 8+ hours.

And I found the SD23 firmware update for the Momentus XT didn't help much-it changed the spindown schedule to improve performance (reduce OS hangs) at the expense of power consumption. This would be an awesome drive for a Mac Mini.
Click to expand...

Whats "500GB WD AV drive with 32MB cache"? Any links to the hard drive?
 
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