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Running out of Macbook HD space - what's the best internal HD?

S

snowboarder943

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 31, 2008
128
0
Pennsylvania
My early is very close to running out of internal hard drive space. It came with only 120 GB which is insanely low nowadays. I've had very good experience so far with my My Passport for Mac 500GB HD by Western Digital. What are some recommendations for internal hard drives? Thank You!!:D
 
I've owned both the Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 5400RPM and the Hitachi Travelstar 500GB 7200RPM - both are excellent drives. I'd recommend them both highly.

The Hitachi is a little bit faster, while the WD a tiny bit cheaper, and both in my experience both have been quiet and vibration-free.

500GB Scorpio Blue @ Amazon - $60

500GB 7200RPM Hitachi @ Amazon - $70
 
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Wow, thanks for all the quick responses! I think I'll stick with the Scorpio Blue just because it's Western Digital and it's what I'm used to. So since I backup my current internal 120gb HD to my external 500gb western digital using Time Machine. When I get the new one, I just replace it, the restore from the latest time machine backup?? Thanks!
 
snowboarder943 said:
Wow, thanks for all the quick responses! I think I'll stick with the Scorpio Blue just because it's Western Digital and it's what I'm used to. So since I backup my current internal 120gb HD to my external 500gb western digital using Time Machine. When I get the new one, I just replace it, the restore from the latest time machine backup?? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yeah, just put it in, reinstall OS X from the install disk and at the end of installation it'll ask you if you want to migrate from a TM backup
 
Hellhammer said:
Yeah, just put it in, reinstall OS X from the install disk and at the end of installation it'll ask you if you want to migrate from a TM backup
Click to expand...

And then everything will look exactly the same right? Dock, settings, file structure in Finder, everything? haha it's very nerve-wracking.
 
I highly recommend the Hitachi Travel Star 500GB @7200RPM or the brand new Seagate Momentus XT 500GB @7200RPM. I had the Hitachi for about 6 months and I just installed the XT a day ago. So far both drives are silent, cool, and quick!!!
 
gaps said:
I highly recommend the Hitachi Travel Star 500GB @7200RPM or the brand new Seagate Momentus XT 500GB @7200RPM. I had the Hitachi for about 6 months and I just installed the XT a day ago. So far both drives are silent, cool, and quick!!!
Click to expand...

I don't know though because 1. I have the old white non unibody macbook, so faster spinning platter I'm sure would be heard, and still be hot because of the macbook not being aluminum. 2. The scorpio black has been around awhile with amazing reviews and I found one at Best Buy on sale for like $54.

If I had the extra money I probably would, unless I splurge and get it, use my $25 best buy gift card. What ya think?
 
snowboarder943 said:
I don't know though because 1. I have the old white non unibody macbook, so faster spinning platter I'm sure would be heard, and still be hot because of the macbook not being aluminum. 2. The scorpio black has been around awhile with amazing reviews and I found one at Best Buy on sale for like $54.

If I had the extra money I probably would, unless I splurge and get it, use my $25 best buy gift card. What ya think?
Click to expand...

I think the 500GB Scorpio Blue will suit you just fine. Stick with that.

Good luck.
 
snowboarder943 said:
Hahh alright man I think I will. Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Did you end up going with the Scorpio Blue? I'm thinking of upgrading my own HDD, and the Blue is what I'm thinking about (or the black; not sure if the 5400 vs 7200 will make a difference for my needs). So, got any feedback?
 
I got the 640 gig Scorpio Blue a couple of months ago. It went in my pre unibody polycarb MacBook just fine. I do not notice any extra noise or heat, it just works. Replaced a 320 gig Seagate Momentus that replaced the stock 120 gig.

Chef Jay
 
If you want something extremely fast and expensive you could always get a 512GB SSD. Although I think that might be a little out of range of your budget(from $999 and up).

Although for some people they really need speed and capacity. :p

Oh and another thing to look into if you want speed and a much lower price are the Hybrid drives. I personally don't have any experience with them but check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Momentus-7200RPM-Hybrid-ST95005620AS-Bare/dp/B003NSBF32
 
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I got a WD6400BPVT a few weeks ago. Works great. Not problem with vibrations, and I've sorted out the energy saving clicking problem/irritation.

It's a lot faster than the stock hard disk that came with my unibody. Boot time has dropped to about 41s from 1m.
 
reubs said:
Did you end up going with the Scorpio Blue? I'm thinking of upgrading my own HDD, and the Blue is what I'm thinking about (or the black; not sure if the 5400 vs 7200 will make a difference for my needs). So, got any feedback?
Click to expand...

I got the Scorpio Blue 500gb model. Just restarted from restore right now! Time Machine backup worked perfectly!
 

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Awesome. I picked up the same one today. Great deal, too, since they are $90 in store and $55 online. I got the online price in store with no problems, and I'm staring the restore process now.

Thanks for the heads up!
 
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