Maximum speed/capacity HDD upgrade for 2007 MBP

[dudleybrooks]

I have a 13" MBP bought in May 2007. The specs page on the Apple website lists the various speed/capacity HDDs which could be bought pre-installed at the time.

What is the maximum speed/capacity combination(s) the laptop *can handle* if I upgrade with a third-party drive now?

Any recommendation on brands? Websites with clear instructions on doing the upgrade? Any other factors I have to consider? Thanks.

 

[DustinT]

Your laptop will accept any modern hard drive or ssd. So, there's no capacity or speed limitations you should be aware of. Any mechanical hard drive can be used and you can be assured of getting roughly all the performance its capable of.

If you choose to upgrade to an ssd you can enjoy a sizeable performance increase. You will likely not be able to enjoy the full performance of the ssd because the interface inside your MBP doesn't support it. Whether or not this is worth it to you would be something for you to decide.

The tradeoff with ssd's is much lower capacity but much higher performance, even in an older system like you've got you'll see a significant increase in performance with an ssd. I'd argue that unless you need a lot of storage space an ssd would be your best performance upgrade if you've already got a decent amount of ram.

If you need more space than you can afford from an ssd just grab a regular hard drive.

 

[dudleybrooks]

Getting contradictory info

I noticed from the online specs that in the several drives which were listed as being available as built-ins in 2007, the higher-capacity ones had the lower speed and vice-versa. That led me to suspect that there is some sort of limitation.

I should have mentioned that the reason I'm asking is because so far I have gotten completely contradictory answers from (1) a computer store; (2) an Apple tech support person; (3) now you. I've been told that there is a maximum speed (5400) the laptop can handle but no maximum capacity; that there is a maximum capacity (I forget how much), but no maximum speed (well, 7200, anyway); and now that there is no limitation either way. (Except physical size, of course.)

I just want to *really* be sure before I buy -- limited budget, limited time.

BTW, I do need size, not necessarily speed. On an external drive I have a lot of data about equal in size to the current internal drive (which is already 80% full without that data), and I would like to have it all on internal drive so I can take it with me and work on it away from home. Hence not an SSD.

 

[gmans46]

try a monmentus xt 500gb (hybrid) hdd. It spins at 7200rpm (so you should notice a nice speed bump from your 5400) plus it has 4gb of flash (ssd) memory so that your system will start up faster. Its not as fast as an ssd but sure as hell not even close to the price tag either. This way you shouldnt have any space problems either.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...704&cm_re=monmentus_xt-_-22-148-704-_-Product -$130 (+$5 shipping)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...591&cm_re=monmentus_xt-_-22-148-591-_-Product -$100 (+2 shipping)

hope that helps