Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Upgrading HD in TiPB...what drive should I get?

Rower_CPU

Rower_CPU

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Oct 5, 2001
11,219
2
San Diego, CA
I'd like to upgrade the 10GB HD that came in my TiPB, and I was wondering if people who had gone through the process had recommendations for brands/models or tricky things to watch out for.

I heard Toshiba is coming out with a new high capacity laptop HD soon (16MB cache, I think). Anyone know if this is true?
 
Originally posted by MacMaster
:eek: Wow! 16MB cache!:eek: My lacie external 40GB firewire drive only has a 2MB cache!:eek:
Click to expand...

I know, that's why I'm waiting to see if it's something coming out soon. It'd definitely be worth the wait.
 
The biggest consumer DESKTOP drive cache I have ever seen is 8MB in the Western Digital Special Edition or whatever. I doubt that Toshiba would release a notebook drive with a 16MB cache to the general public.

Personally, I recommend a 60GB 5400RPM Drive from a reputable maker (Toshiba, IBM) or a smaller drive with the same specs otherwise.

I can't buy a 60, though. My iBook needs the superslim drives.
 
Too bad that you won't be able to use it's full ATA 100 capabilities...(I'm assuming that ATA-5 100MB/sec transfer rate ment ATA 100)
Wow...A 40GB drive 5400rpm with that 16MB cache in a tibook would be really cool to see in action!
 
Originally posted by ibookin'@mwny
DAMN! I didn't even know such a thing existed. I stand corrected. Is there a superslim version for my iBook?
Click to expand...

I don't think so...but you never know if you do some digging.

I think they are pushing a higher disk cache to reduce the need for spinning the HD, which saps a lot of battery.

What makes me cautious is that the info is so hard to find on it. This is an awesome product, so why isn't there more hype out there?
 
if it will fit inside the laptop, I'd say that 40GB toshiba is a steal. A 16MB cache is nothing to scoff at. I think you'll be very happy with that drive.
 
Get the Toshiba 40Gig HDD model # MK4018GAP!!
It is a superb HDD for your money, the cost is <= 190 USD ;)
This is the same drive I got about 8 months ago!!!

A word of advice: Keep up with all your damn screws!!!!
I am speaking from experience;)
 
Re: Upgrading HD in TiPB...what drive should I get?

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
I'd like to upgrade the 10GB HD that came in my TiPB, and I was wondering if people who had gone through the process had recommendations for brands/models or tricky things to watch out for.

I heard Toshiba is coming out with a new high capacity laptop HD soon (16MB cache, I think). Anyone know if this is true?
Click to expand...


hey yo.. i juss did this to my pbg4 a few months ago (bout 6..) having gotten tired of the 10gb drive, too..

its really a pretty simple process.. xlr8 yer mac has insturctions on it.. basically it entails removing the bottom of yer case, unpluggin yer drive .. then swappin in yer new one...

i bought an IBM travelstar.. (not chure of da model).. thats 30gb..

it has work really nicely with my laptop.. i havent experienced any problems..

in terms of reliability ibm is well known ferr dat.. (cept ferr dat one drive a while ago.. forgot da name..)..

if ya need any help juss pm .. if ya want.. but its pretty easy to figure out yerself..
 
get a 5400rpm drive and get ibm (toshiba sucks).

ibm has 32gb, 48gb, and 60gb drives that run at 5400rpms. (the 32gb is not made anymore, but sme vendors still sell it). make sure you get a new drive (some resellers sell refurbs and drives pulled out of peecees). all ibm drives have a 3 year warranty but refubs and drives pulled out of peecees will usually only have a 1 year warranty though the reseller.

for laptop drives ibm is really the only quality manufacturer.

standard laptop drives run at 4200rpms, toshiba and ibm sell some drives at 5400rpms. these drives will provide a modest but significant speed boost for your system.

ibm's laptop drives are named 'travelstar' all the travelstar drives run quietly but the 48gb and 60gb drives are especially quiet. also the 48gb and 60gb drives use less battery power than other laptop drives. i typically get 4.5-5 (on each battery) hours in osx on my laptop (g3 powerbook).
 
60 gig---no less

I installed the 60 GB IBM TravelStar in my TiBook on the same day it was available.

It was either that or a new Firewire external Firefly drive and I decided I didn't want the extra drive to carry around nor the FireWire bus sucking power when I run on battery . . .

I partitioned it off into 2 disks and it works great. I can start my computer from either partition and repair the other partition if I need to without starting from a CD. I can have 2 systems--one for testing and one for daily use.

Get one if you have the cash. It's really easy to install yourself.
 
less is more

The fastest notebook drive on the market is IBM's 40GNX (5400rpm, 8MB buffer). Here's a head-to-head test that Barefeats did. The IBM gets 31mb of sustained read which is pretty damn sweet for a notebook drive.

It's also cheaper and easier to find. Try OWC or Computers4Sure.

By the way, both of these should fit into the new iBooks which take 9.5mm drives.
 
Re: less is more

Originally posted by dongmin
The fastest notebook drive on the market is IBM's 40GNX (5400rpm, 8MB buffer). Here's a head-to-head test that Barefeats did. The IBM gets 31mb of sustained read which is pretty damn sweet for a notebook drive.

It's also cheaper and easier to find. Try OWC or Computers4Sure.

By the way, both of these should fit into the new iBooks which take 9.5mm drives.
Click to expand...

Excellent link, dongmin!

It's amazing that the IBM with 8mb cache is beating out that Toshiba w/ 16mb.

I'll look around at prices, but I've bought from OWC before and liked their prices/service, so I'll probably go there.

Thanks everyone for the replies!:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back