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Seagate SSD/HDD Hybrid Drives

I had the 500GB model in my 17 inch 2011 MBP and it worked great. You do see the difference in speed compared to a standard hard drive. I just sold mine for a 750GB for space reasons, but I would have kept it if I didn't need more space.

Yes, it will fit in your MBP, it's a standard 2.5 inch.
 
reclusive46 said:
Compared to the standard hard drives in the MacBook pros are they a lot faster?
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not really.

they aren't too considerable of an upgrade of 5400 rpm drives for the price imo and some 7200 rpm drives outperform the momentus xt.

i'd stay away from it and just get a regular 7200rpm hdd personally. however a lot have used it to some success and would recommend it.
 
chimming in with my experience with the momentus xt:

I had the 500 gb installed on my 2010 mbp. Performance was definitely faster than a standard 5400 rpm hdd. That being said, it is nowhere close to an ssd, which is what I am on now. Point being is do not purchase this drive thinking you will get anywhere close to an SSD.
 
I've been using the 500GB version for about 6 months and have no regrets (it was quite a noticeable upgrade on my 2007 MacBook Pro). The best thing I can say is that you can't go in expecting true SSD speeds, more like a 7200 rpm that from time to time goes on roid rages.

Note that I say from time to time, as it seems usage tends to dictate either on-par 7200 rpm-like performance or that which can be noticeably faster (but again, not SSD). If you like to open your computer and start the exact same three or four programs all the time, you just might find the drive to be viable.
 
I bought one and installed, but the drive I had caused significant vibration throughout my late 2008 MBP. Enough so that I had to send it back for a refund.

It has made me a little gun-shy. I am very keen to a) boost my MBP speed (for no other reason than "because I can", and b) get more storage space (currently 320 gb). For each of these reasons I don't really need an SSD.

Have the other posters in this thread noticed any increase in vibration? Note that my MBP went from NONE with the stock 5400rpm to *massive*. I partially assume it was a faulty drive, but I'm reluctant to purchase again unless I can 'try before I buy'.

You can't beat the price of this hybrid drive when you're searching for a speed boost, particularly for older Mac's.
 
I have had a 500GB in my MacMini for 6 months and would buy another. Not earth shattering speeds, but better than the 5400 RPM for sure. Next is to put one in the MBP.
 
I've had one for nearly a year now in my 2008 Al MacBook. The vibrations were absolutely terrible at first. The updates have helped. Now running SD24 with no problems except it will never spin down, so if battery life is important to you I would still avoid the Momentus XT. There is SD25 out last I checked, but I am afraid to update because many Mac users are reporting intermittent beeping from the drive.

Better to save your money and get a regular 7200 HD or, if you don't need the space, an SSD.

Have you read through this? http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Momentus-XT-Momentus-Momentus/bd-p/Momentus Not to mention there are several threads in MacRumors if you search.
 
I replaced the 5400 RPM 160 GB drive in my early 2008 Macbook with a Momentus XT 500 GB 7200 RPM / 4GB SSD hybrid and I couldn't be happier. Well I suppose I could be happier if I had 500 GB of SSD but I don't have two grand lying around. So for under $200, I got much faster boot time (not that OS X boot time is anything to complain about in the first place but faster is faster), overall better performance (though I don't own a pure SSD rig to compare to), 4 GB of RAM (I had 2) and my geekbench scores are running 10 percent higher now 3300ish vs 3000ish.

Another option some users have pursued is to install a 64 GB SSD and sacrifice the optical bay for a 7200 RPM drive for data. I'm happy enough with the setup I have and I wouldn't consider an SSD until it was "only 3x" the price of rotating media. This 10x ratio we are dealing with right now is a good reason to consider hybrid or even a plain old 7200 RPM drive over the extremely pricy SSD. I did find a 255 GB SSD at Microcenter for around $250. This would have fit within my "only 3x" ratio but it was some sort of refurb with NO WARRANTY. No thanks. I'm glad I went with the Seagate.
 
Fishman Dan said:
Have the other posters in this thread noticed any increase in vibration? Note that my MBP went from NONE with the stock 5400rpm to *massive*. I partially assume it was a faulty drive, but I'm reluctant to purchase again unless I can 'try before I buy'.
Click to expand...

I'm running SD24, and while I noticed some increase in vibration, it seemed fair for the upped rotation speed. It's certainly not a massive increase or something that distracts me from my usage, which is anything from writing, light work in CS4, gaming, surfing, and listening to iTunes (often multitasking, though often not everything at once!).
 
Fishman Dan said:
I bought one and installed, but the drive I had caused significant vibration throughout my late 2008 MBP. Enough so that I had to send it back for a refund.

It has made me a little gun-shy. I am very keen to a) boost my MBP speed (for no other reason than "because I can", and b) get more storage space (currently 320 gb). For each of these reasons I don't really need an SSD.

Have the other posters in this thread noticed any increase in vibration? Note that my MBP went from NONE with the stock 5400rpm to *massive*. I partially assume it was a faulty drive, but I'm reluctant to purchase again unless I can 'try before I buy'.

You can't beat the price of this hybrid drive when you're searching for a speed boost, particularly for older Mac's.
Click to expand...

I've had mine since Nov. and it's virtually silent with no vibration. I would say you were just unlucky. There are many more who don't have vibration issues than with, and that goes for other 7200 RPM drives as well. I had to go through a couple of WD 320GB SB to get one both quiet and vibration free.
 
alfmil said:
I've had one for nearly a year now in my 2008 Al MacBook. The vibrations were absolutely terrible at first. The updates have helped. Now running SD24 with no problems except it will never spin down, so if battery life is important to you I would still avoid the Momentus XT. There is SD25 out last I checked, but I am afraid to update because many Mac users are reporting intermittent beeping from the drive.
Click to expand...

I tried SD25 with no change. I really only used the drive for a short time - to Carbon Copy my system disk (twice - 2 x 3 hours) and only a short time in my MBP.

alfmil said:
Better to save your money and get a regular 7200 HD or, if you don't need the space, an SSD.
Click to expand...

I require the space, and not necessarily the speed. Basically I'm tinkering because .... well, because I can ;) I am semi-addicted to the thought of upgrading, but I can wait for an SSD price drop.

alfmil said:
Have you read through this? http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Momentus-XT-Momentus-Momentus/bd-p/Momentus Not to mention there are several threads in MacRumors if you search.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. That thread is quite damning, to the point where I am going to abstain (again!). I have read (and contributed to) many other threads, including discussions.apple.com - the vibration seems to be fairly well documented, though at varying degrees.

Mine was terrible though - when used on my kitchen table with the family asleep I could hear the 'drone', with the vibration humming on the wooden table.
 
I have it and it does not vibrate at all. As far as greater speed over a standard 7200 rpm HDD - who knows?
 
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