PowerBook HD compatibility

[stoid]

Hey all, I'm going to get a 100GB 7200RPM internal HD for my 15" 1.25Ghz (FW800) PowerBook. I'm a little confused on compatibility, and I wanted to see if anyone could clarify that this, link, drive will be compatible wih my laptop.

I'm trying to avoid the frustration of spending $300, going through the hassle of nearly completely dismantling my PowerBook only to have a drive that isn't compatible and will have to be sent back unused.

Thanks!

stoid

 

[mrichmon]

Hey all, I'm going to get a 100GB 7200RPM internal HD for my 15" 1.25Ghz (FW800) PowerBook. I'm a little confused on compatibility, and I wanted to see if anyone could clarify that this, link, drive will be compatible wih my laptop.

I'm trying to avoid the frustration of spending $300, going through the hassle of nearly completely dismantling my PowerBook only to have a drive that isn't compatible and will have to be sent back unused.

Thanks!

stoid

Yes, the drive you link to is compatible with your powerbook and will work nicely. I installed the same model in a 1GHz 15" powerbook and it works fine.

 

[stoid]

Yes, the drive you link to is compatible with your powerbook and will work nicely. I installed the same model in a 1GHz 15" powerbook and it works fine.

Awesome! Since you've got the same HD, could you answer some quick questions?

1) I'm curious, what changes did you notice in battery life. I've looked at specs compared to my current drive, and it appears to have about 10% higher power usage. However, I figured that it would amount to a barely noticeable 5-10 minute drop in battery life. However, I have heard people mention that a faster hard drive has increased they're battery life since the HD doesn't have to spend as much time reading.

2) Also, it's a touch louder according to specs, it's only a few deciBels, would you say it's noticeably louder?

Thanks mrichmon!

Also, I did a Froogle search and I found a company called Bence Computers that sells the drive for $55 less than OWC. Do you think it's worth going with a less 'trusted' source, or should I order from the good people at OWC?
edit: link to the Bence Computers online store
Thanks!

stoid

 

[stoid]

Well, I tried to call Bence Computers, to see if they had the drive in stock, and when it would ship if I ordered today. I got a busy signal when I dialed the 800 number, and that made me paranoid enough (yes I know busy signals on 800 numbers are perfectly normal) to go ahead and place the order with OWC. It should ship today, 2-day shipping for $5 and I'll get it by Tuesday, maybe Wednesday next week!

Now, all I need is a cheap (preferably both FW400 and USB 2.0) enclosure for the old internal drive. Nothing fancy mind you, I don't need a top of the line blazing case (since the drive I'm putting in it is only 4200 RPM). Feels rather daft to spend $60 at OWC for an Oxford911 enclosure when others are $15-$20 for a little less high-tech.

 

[damgpro]

Awesome! Since you've got the same HD, could you answer some quick questions?

1) I'm curious, what changes did you notice in battery life. I've looked at specs compared to my current drive, and it appears to have about 10% higher power usage. However, I figured that it would amount to a barely noticeable 5-10 minute drop in battery life. However, I have heard people mention that a faster hard drive has increased they're battery life since the HD doesn't have to spend as much time reading.

2) Also, it's a touch louder according to specs, it's only a few deciBels, would you say it's noticeably louder?

Thanks mrichmon!

I've also been thinking about upgrading my HD and I'm curious to know about these questions.

Thanks!

 

[mrichmon]

Awesome! Since you've got the same HD, could you answer some quick questions?

1) I'm curious, what changes did you notice in battery life. I've looked at specs compared to my current drive, and it appears to have about 10% higher power usage. However, I figured that it would amount to a barely noticeable 5-10 minute drop in battery life. However, I have heard people mention that a faster hard drive has increased they're battery life since the HD doesn't have to spend as much time reading.

It was not in my primary laptop so it is unlikely that I would have noticed the change. However I did not notice any change. Any differences due to read/write speed are theoretical since spinning the drive takes up much of the drive power. Also it all depends on your use of the computer and the amount of memory you have since lower memory would probably result in more page ins/outs.

Having said all that there are plenty of larger power draws in a laptop (such as the backlight) so I would expect that the increased hard drive power requirement would have less than a 5 minute impact on battery life. This seems to correspond to my experience with this drive.

2) Also, it's a touch louder according to specs, it's only a few deciBels, would you say it's noticeably louder?

Not noticable.

Also, I did a Froogle search and I found a company called Bence Computers that sells the drive for $55 less than OWC. Do you think it's worth going with a less 'trusted' source, or should I order from the good people at OWC?
edit: link to the Bence Computers online store
Thanks!

I've always been happy with OWC they provide good products at good prices and their customer support is excellent in my opinion. Personally I have ordered items from OWC where I have been able to find a slightly cheaper price elsewhere since I want to support the good Mac-focused companies out there. But that is just my opinion.

 

[mrichmon]

Now, all I need is a cheap (preferably both FW400 and USB 2.0) enclosure for the old internal drive. Nothing fancy mind you, I don't need a top of the line blazing case (since the drive I'm putting in it is only 4200 RPM). Feels rather daft to spend $60 at OWC for an Oxford911 enclosure when others are $15-$20 for a little less high-tech.

You can either get an enclosure designed for a 2.5" notebook drive or if you have a full size enclosure for a CD-ROM or a 3.5" drive then you can get an adapter for about $5 which will let you connect a 2.5" drive to a standard IDE cable and use the full size enclosure. The trade-off is the size of the enclosure and the power requirements for it... some of the 2.5" notebook drive enclosures can be powered from the USB bus.