Need advice on hard drive for MacBook Pro

[badlydrawnboy]

I have a MacBook Pro i5 2.3 Ghz with a 120 GB OWD SSD in it. I'm about to get the OWC Data Doubler which makes it possible to add a second hard drive in place of the optical drive.

I plan to buy the SSD as the boot drive with system and apps, and then the other drive for data storage. I need about 750 GB - 1 TB of space, and I'm wondering which HDD would be the best choice. It's been a while since I researched hard drives. I'd like it to be fast and quiet, and I'm willing to spend some money for a good drive.

What do you think?

 

[jon08]

It's really hard to find a fast and quiet classic HDD because it's usually one or the other.

If you want a quiet HDD, I'd go for WD Scorpio Blue 750GB 5400rpm, if you want a fast, though louder HDD (and possibly with some vibration), go with WD Scorpio Black 750GB 7200 rpm, and if you want a HDD that's almost as fast as the latter but not as loud, I'd go with Hitachi Travelstar 750GB 7200 rpm, which is what I use in my Data Doubler.

There are absolutely no vibrations, the only thing audible about it is a constant slight "whoosh" sound that the drive makes while running, but it's not loud - just audible. In a quiet environment you'll most likely hear the HDD head-parking on either of these drives too, so if that annoys you, I'd recommend running hdapm, which is what I use as well and I'm quite happy with it.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Thanks a lot for your reply - exactly the info I'm looking for. So the Scorpio 5400 is the quietest, the Scorpio 7200 the fastest, and the Travelstar 7200 a good compromise? How much faster is the Travelstar 7200 than the Scorpio 5400? Is it noticeable in everyday use or just a small difference that only turns up in detailed testing?

 

[VMMan]

I may be wrong but the Scorpio Black has SMS while the Scorpio Blue may not. Check this out with another source.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Sorry - what's SMS?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Sorry - what's SMS?

It's the Sudden Motion Sensor.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Right, thanks. I read on another forum that the WD SMS conflicts with Apple's own motion sensor in the MBP, and can cause problems unless the Apple sensor is disabled. I've also read some really positive reviews of the Travelstar 7k750 so I think I'll go in that direction.

 

[Ca$hflow]

I don't understand why so many people complain about the WD scorpio black 7200rpm drives. That's all I've ever used. The only noticeable annoying sound I ever notice is the fan on my MBP.

 

[Krazy Bill]

All drives in the universe are made by the same 3 people in China who get all get their parts from relatives in Thailand.

Seriously... as much as one drive company would like to claim theirs is better it just ain't so. Not one supplier knows anything the others don't. WD, Hitachi, Samsung... they either work or they don't. (Same applies to RAM).

Go with cost of course but backed by the best warranty. Buy from somebody reputable like NewEgg.

 

[jon08]

Thanks a lot for your reply - exactly the info I'm looking for. So the Scorpio 5400 is the quietest, the Scorpio 7200 the fastest, and the Travelstar 7200 a good compromise? How much faster is the Travelstar 7200 than the Scorpio 5400? Is it noticeable in everyday use or just a small difference that only turns up in detailed testing?

It's most likely noticeable with larger files, like transferring/copying them and things like that. I'm not so sure, but most of the reviews I read about Scorpio 5400 "complained" about its somewhat sub-par performance, though they praised its quietness.