Performance difference: 7200rpm vs. 5400 on MBP?

[pjny]

Hi,

I'm using Adobe Lightroom 3.3 and find the MBP 13" 2010 with 4gb ram, 10.6.6 and the 5400 rpm slow for a smooth workflow. The mouse freezes for about 5 seconds when I export one 12 megapixel file in Lightroom.

This did not happen with my old Dell M1330 laptop specced at Core 2 Duo 2.2GHZ, 7200rpm, Win 7, and 4gb Ram.

I have a spare 320gb Western Digital Scorpio drive 7200rpm. I would like to know if the 7200 rpm drive will be noticeably faster before I remove any screws on the MBP. I've heard 5-15% on some forums.

I am considering this option until 256GB SSD drops to about $400.

 

[Exana]

Yes, a fast 7200 rpm HDD like Scorpio Black 320 GB will speed up your Mac. 5 to 15% is correct. You can even get more boost.

Check this web for some 2,5" HDD reviews : http://www.storagereview.com/seagate_momentus_750gb_review_st9750420as

 

[pjny]

Thanks. I just "upgraded" from a 2008 Dell M1330 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo with same specs running Windows 7. I cannot work with this Mac. Too slow. Lame that Apple still stuffs 5400 rpm drives in 2011.

Yes, a fast 7200 rpm HDD like Scorpio Black 320 GB will speed up your Mac. 5 to 15% is correct. You can even get more boost.

Check this web for some 2,5" HDD reviews : http://www.storagereview.com/seagate_momentus_750gb_review_st9750420as