Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New hard drive for MacBook
- Thread starter LSUtigers03
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It depends on the drive and how you use it. Are there two or three that you're comparing? What kinds of things do you do with your computer (e.g., lots of restarts, random access, sustained access, etc.)?
A friend told me to get this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148307
I didn't have anything particular in mind just something that is at least 200-250gb. I have a 120gb drive right now and I'm running out of room. I rarely restart my computer. I use it for basic things like internet, listening to music, watching movies, downloading, encoding and burning dvd's, etc. I don't do much with making music or videos. He told me the 7200 would be faster but if a 5400 is fast enough then I'll get that instead.
I'd suggest you get a 320 gig 5400 rpm drive for your uses. Cheaper an a lot more storage space. I have the Samsung 320 in my MBP and it is plenty fast for my work, which is similar to yours.
7200 RPM drives are a bit faster and you can see the difference when opening up applications. but they also run hotter and are more power hungry. I would say go for 5400 RPM because of price, performance and storage difference works out to be the best one.
There is essentially no difference in energy consumption or heat generation between the current 7200 and 5400 rpm drives.
I agree, the 320g is perfect. I got the WD from newegg. The install was very easy and I now enjoy all the extra room.
The prices keep dropping as well.
Thanks for all the responses. I'll get the 320gb 5400. How about this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136197
Also I've never used Time machine. Is it pretty easy to use so I can get everything on my current hard drive to the new one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136197
Also I've never used Time machine. Is it pretty easy to use so I can get everything on my current hard drive to the new one?
Do you have a cloning strategy in place? Sure makes troubleshooting easier, should a problem arise.
This might help you. I just bought and performed an upgrade for my macbook. After days of searching I ended up replacing my 80Gb 5400rpm for a 200Gb 7200rpm. I almost decided to go for bigger space rather than rotation but here comes the shocking news : the fast drive consumes less energy and there is a very noticeable performance increase. As others have said, everything opens faster and Parallels is just perfect now. Before the upgrade I was ok waiting a few seconds here and there but it opens so fast that this alone was worth the choice. Regarding heat : yes, it gets warmer but it is not catastrophic worse. I was very afraid of the fan noise but there is not terrible.
if you can live with 200Gb (or 320Gb if you get the latest Hitachi), I guarantee you that 7200 rpm is the right choice.
I bought my drive from OWC (there is a rebate available).
Good luck.
if you can live with 200Gb (or 320Gb if you get the latest Hitachi), I guarantee you that 7200 rpm is the right choice.
I bought my drive from OWC (there is a rebate available).
Good luck.
What about this hard drive? It's $50 more than the 5400 and the same storage space.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280
This is completely spurious. You are comparing an older, low density 5400 drive to a current gen 200/7200 drive. A more enlightened comparison is between current gen 5400 and 7200 drives. The 160x1, 320x2, 500x3 platter drives have the highest drive densities, thus the better performance. The only 7200 rpm drive available that is clearly faster than any of the 5400 rpm drive is the Hitachi 320. The 320/5400 and 200/7200 are just about the same in typical performance and power consumption.