uMBP 13' Ram and Hd Upgrade questions

[napalmit]

Edit: I noticed the exact thread 10 posts down, so now my only question is which HDD I should get.
Sorry for kind of double posting.

Hello all, long time lurker and since I am finally purchasing my uMB on sunday, I thought I would post a question or two regarding upgrading my 2.26 machine that I will be buying.

The ram I plan on buying is:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148191

I am fairly sure this is correct, for I have seen it in a few other threads as 'the ram' to buy...but can someone verify it?

My other question is about the HD. I am looking at these 2:

1. Western Digital Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280

2. Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136314

Now its the same drive pretty much except on is bigger, but a tad slower...

My question is, will I notice a difference between the 7200 and 5400RPM? I am a pretty average user, plus I play Sims and COD4 rather frequently, so Im asking would you pay 10bux more for the 500gb but a little slower?

Upgrading myself just seems like the best idea since I will have the same computer with a bigger hd, sans the negligible ~.5 processor speed...while saving 200$

Also, regarding installation, I read in another thread that before you turn on the machine you should install all the new hardware as this makes it the easiest? Is that also true? I have built a computer myself, but I just feel out of place in the macworld

napalmit

 

[clyde2801]

There are reports that the blue is almost as fast as the black. The seagate 7200.4 is supposed to be the biggest and fastest, but you may not be able to tell the difference between the three.

 

[HardHatMac9]

I'm in the very same boat (as you saw by my thread). I'm seriously at a loss on the Hard Drive question. I keep reading the boards here, on the Apple Discussions website, etc. yet I can't come to a conclusion. I ordered my RAM and it'll be here before the computer arrives.

From everything that I've read (reviews and technical analyses posted online), the WD Scorpion Blue 500GB is really a winner in many categories and is fast, if not faster than some of the 7200RPM drives. The issue is with the 1.7 Firmware Update that seems to render these drives useless. I sincerely hope (and secretly pray for the sake of Apple and its fans) that this isn't intentional.

My strategy as of now, is to order my uMBP 13" with the basic 160GB drive and upgrade down the line to a drive that is compatible or upgrade once they've issued a fix. Snow Leopard isn't the magic fix either as it's only an OS and not necessarily a Firmware fix (which would be pushed, in theory, directly to the computer).

Let me/us know what you decide and how it works out for you. Good luck!