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

Upgrading Macbook Pro Hardrive

B

bpetruzzo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 22, 2005
102
0
I'd like to get a larger hard drive for my MacBook Pro. However, I'm worried about upsetting the delicate balance between battery life and hardware performance. The articles I read seemed to mostly be about how to actually replace the drive. I'm trying to figure out the best drive to replace it with.

This is the one I'm looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136459

Does anyone have an insight here?
 
I agree with above... there really isn't much difference between 5400, 7200, and even SSD. I bet you would be had-pressed to tell the difference in real-world usage.
 
That drive is perfectly fine to use with a MBP. Odds are it won't affect your battery life at all.
 
So it's mostly about the drive speed. As long as it's the same drive speed I probably won't notice a difference. A half an hour isn't much, but since I work remotely quite a lot, I'm in favor of holding onto every minute I can get. But, in my computer now is a 7200 drive, so if I went down to a 5400 I'd probably get a few more minutes out of it.

If there's hardly any difference in the speed of things, I might go ahead and go to a slower rotation.

Thanks!
 
bpetruzzo said:
So it's mostly about the drive speed. As long as it's the same drive speed I probably won't notice a difference. A half an hour isn't much, but since I work remotely quite a lot, I'm in favor of holding onto every minute I can get. But, in my computer now is a 7200 drive, so if I went down to a 5400 I'd probably get a few more minutes out of it.

If there's hardly any difference in the speed of things, I might go ahead and go to a slower rotation.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that the faster performing drive will allow you to get work done faster, lessening the need for longer battery life (you won't spend as much time waiting for things).

If you can afford it and don't need too much space, I would recommend a SSD. They take about as much power as a 5400rpm drive, but give you much, much greater performance. Your computer will feel like a completely different machine! I would suggest drives from OCZ, Intel, or Kingston.
 
I think your first pick was an excellent choice
I would recommend going with it

You will always have pros and cons posted here
And there will never be agreement over brands, speeds, etc.
In real life, most of the differences will be minimal

I have the Scorpio Blue 500 GB 5400 and it has been great

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
A 7200 rpm drive may exhibit more vibration, which can be felt in the palmrest. Also, some 5400 rpm drives can have pretty comparable data transfer rates depending on their storage size and platter configuration. There's plenty of feedback from people on this forum for you to search on any particular model or manufacturer. I agree that an SSD is the way to go if you can afford one.
 
I got the exact same drive in a 13" MBP.
gets the same amount of battery life as it did with the stock 160.

Fast & really unnoticeable, i enjoy it.
 
i too can concur with no significant loss or gain on battery life, i own that same drive, havent had a single issue besides the rainbow ball, but thats not a hard drive issue thats just snow leopard being snow leopard.
 
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