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uMBP Mid-2009: HD and RAM Dilemma

H

HardHatMac9

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 2, 2004
197
0
Hi All,

Having spent a ton of time MRoogling and reading through the posts, I'm left with a couple of lingering questions I am hoping I can resolve through this post. I'm ordering a base model Unibody (Mid-2009) 13.3" Macbook Pro and looking to update the RAM and HD myself. Here are my questions.

1. I am considering the Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB (Here), however from what I'm reading this drive has issues on Mid-2009 uMBPs. Is this truly the case? Anyone with experience? If so, is there a different HD I should consider? I'm not getting a SSD as it's out of my current budget for the laptop.

2. I am considering getting a 4GB RAM kit by Crucial (Here). Any differing advice or suggestions?

Thank you in advance for all of your assistance and advice! The Macrumors community is always incredibly helpful. The last thing I want to do is get a new uMBP and have to deal with headaches instead of enjoy it...
 
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amarcus said:
We must be kindred spirits or something ;)
Click to expand...

Haha! Almost! I'm concerned about the '09 uMBP (13.3") not the '08...I haven't read of many issues with the WD Scorpio Blue and the '08 uMBP, but there may be some issues with the '09 one. Hoping to clarify it on this post.

Anyone?
 
I got the base model 2009 uMPB 13" and changed the HD with Hitachi 500GB. It's the same model as the original stock Hitachi 160GB HDD with the only difference it'a 500GB and X-bench says it has better performance, but I haven't seen any difference.
Also you should be prepared with a Torx screwdriver or else you won't be able to unscrew the mounting screws of the HDD... I went to 3 hardware stores and they didn't have the right screw, so I went to the apple store on Boylston str. in Boston. I was redirected to the RadioShack which was about .5 mile away and guess what they didn't have the Torx srewdriver either.... 4 hardware shops without TORX!!!
Why the f*ck does apple use TORX and not an ordinary X or flat screwdriver for the mounting screws? I removed the back panel with an ordinary made in china screwdriver set from the Dollar Tree... and couldn't unscrew 4 simple mounting screws!!!
Anyway I returned to the AS and they agreed to unscrew them and screw them back on my new HDD.

I'll suggest you wait an year or so and get 8GB kid instead for ram... It's not worth it to upgrade now and in an year or 2 once again.
 
I put the exact same things into my MBP about 2 weeks ago. Everything works great, no problems whatsoever.
 
DivineEvil said:
-
Why the f*ck does apple use TORX and not an ordinary X or flat screwdriver for the mounting screws?
Click to expand...

"By design, TORX head screws resist cam-out better than Phillips head or slot head (flathead) screws. Where Phillips heads were designed to cause the driver to cam out, to prevent over-tightening, TORX heads were designed to prevent it."

sez Wikipedia.
 
DivineEvil and NikFinn, thanks for your replies. Did you install the 1.7 Firmware update that people have reported issues with?

Do your HDs give off any clicking or buzzing sounds?
 
I've installed everything that Apple sends via Software Update.

So with the Firmware 1.7 I have only the random freezes for 10-15 seconds when playing movies with VLC (I don't use Quicktime, because I need to install codecs...). But this problem I had with the stock 160GB HDD... So it's not about the drive it's something in the OS...
I don't have any buzzing or beeping noises... The sound performance is exactly like the 160GB stock Hitachi drive. That is why I went for Hitachi!

And firmware 2.0 is not showing in Software Update.
 
DivineEvil said:
So with the Firmware 1.7 I have only the random freezes for 10-15 seconds when playing movies with VLC (I don't use Quicktime, because I need to install codecs...). I don't have any buzzing or beeping noises... The sound performance is exactly like the 160GB stock Hitachi drive. That is why I went for Hitachi! .
Click to expand...

This is really good to know. A 10-15 second freeze up is seriously unacceptable and annoying though! :eek: I don't even get that with my PowerBook G4! Is this the drive you purchased?

The Hitachi is making more sense for a few reasons, but I can't get over how much faster the read/write times are on the WD Scorpio Blue. I might just get the 160GB stock HD and wait till Snow Leopard comes out to see if the HD issues continue.
 
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otoloui said:
DivineEvil and NikFinn, thanks for your replies. Did you install the 1.7 Firmware update that people have reported issues with?

Do your HDs give off any clicking or buzzing sounds?
Click to expand...
I believe I purchased it with the 1.7 firmware preinstalled. I have had no clicking or buzzing sounds whatsoever. I did have problems with VLC, but the same thing happened with the stock drive. I previously used VLC all the time on my PC, but apparently it's not all that it's cracked up to be. I installed Perian for QuickTime and have no problems with it.
 
otoloui said:
This is really good to know. A 10-15 second freeze up is seriously unacceptable and annoying though! :eek: I don't even get that with my PowerBook G4! Is this the drive you purchased?

The Hitachi is making more sense for a few reasons, but I can't get over how much faster the read/write times are on the WD Scorpio Blue. I might just get the 160GB stock HD and wait till Snow Leopard comes out to see if the HD issues continue.
Click to expand...
I'm in the same predicament. I'm also going to wait and see if the Scorpio Blue is going to have problems with Snow Leopard. I'm thinking I may just wait until SL comes preinstalled and then buy my MBP. I was even considering SSD, but they're so darn expensive :mad:
 
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otoloui said:
This is really good to know. A 10-15 second freeze up is seriously unacceptable and annoying though! :eek: I don't even get that with my PowerBook G4! Is this the drive you purchased?

The Hitachi is making more sense for a few reasons, but I can't get over how much faster the read/write times are on the WD Scorpio Blue. I might just get the 160GB stock HD and wait till Snow Leopard comes out to see if the HD issues continue.
Click to expand...

Yes that is the drive I installed. Bought it from newegg though... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145257

I know the freezes are unacceptable, but this is not the only drive with this problem. Hell other drives have clicking and beeping noices! I'll wait for SL to see if it fixes this problem... but who knows..
 
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FYI that same ram is on sale at Newegg.com right now with free shipping.

I would jump on it before the price goes back up.

I got my ram today in the mail from a seller on eBay for $66 with free shipping, BUT the sale has ended and his price went back up to $100.


look under the online deals or something on newegg.com
 
Hd

I upgraded to the WD 500hd this week and have had no problems. Seems a little faster but not sure. They have the drive at bestbuy for $100.
 
Thank you.

gethyphyyo said:
someone didn't search......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148191
Click to expand...

Gethyphyyo, you're awesome. I actually looked TOO hard and saw the 240 pin version which isn't compatible. Thank you very much for posting this link. It's $10 less than Amazon's price after tax. I just ordered it up and should be ordering the uMBP tomorrow or Saturday. I think they'll both arrive around the same time.

Now if I could only decide on which HD to get! The jury is still out!
 
saks73 said:
I upgraded to the WD 500hd this week and have had no problems. Seems a little faster but not sure. They have the drive at bestbuy for $100.
Click to expand...

Which MacBook Pro do you have? Is it quieter and are you getting the same types of "freezes" and "hang-ups" others have been complaining about?
 
otoloui said:
Gethyphyyo, you're awesome. I actually looked TOO hard and saw the 240 pin version which isn't compatible. Thank you very much for posting this link. It's $10 less than Amazon's price after tax. I just ordered it up and should be ordering the uMBP tomorrow or Saturday. I think they'll both arrive around the same time.

Now if I could only decide on which HD to get! The jury is still out!
Click to expand...

your welcome!
 
otoloui said:
Which MacBook Pro do you have? Is it quieter and are you getting the same types of "freezes" and "hang-ups" others have been complaining about?
Click to expand...
I have the 09 13"MBP No freeze or hangup whats so ever !! no regrets !!
 
Update and Final Decision

Just to provide an update...After reading TONS of pages of posts on this site and the Apple boards, I finally decided to order the uMBP 13" with a larger drive from Apple (250GB) and I just received the 4GB RAM upgrade from Crucial that I will install in the system when I receive it.

I figured my chances of having issues with the (stock) Apple HD are going to be much less than if I purchased and installed a third party drive such as the WD Scorpio Blue 500GB HD. I'll wait to see if the issues with Firmware 1.7 are resolved in the future and/or upgrade the drive in a year or so when SSDs offer greater capacity at a more reasonable price.

Thank you again to everyone for your help and insight!
 
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