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Want to upgrade HD storage on White '09 MacBook

I

i-am-waiting

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2010
58
0
Hi guys,

I want to upgrade my MacBook from 250GB to about 500GB for as little money as possible (but a non-risky/reliable buy). I am in the UK and own the late '09 White Uni-Body MacBook 2.26GHz, upgraded to 4GB of RAM.

I'm in the UK!

Thanks :D
 
With the criteria that you mentioned of cost and reliability, it'd be very tough to beat out the WD Scorpio Blue. Indeed, the Scorpios Blue and Black are the class leaders for their categories, and the Blue is known to even outperform some 7200rpm drives.
 
On a somewhat related note,

What sort of effects will upgrading from the stock Macbook 2010 hard drive to a 7200 rpm hard drive have on noise level and battery life? The two prime HDD's im considering are the Hitachi Travel Star and the Seagate momentus 500 gb.

Will I notice any differences in either category? I do love the fact that I can't hear a peep out of my macbook, and I'd really hate to sacrifice battery life for performance.
 
OK, well I'll go ahead and recommend Hitachi (used them for quite a few years now). In my macbook, I have:

"Hitachi HTS545050B9A300" - 500GB, 5400RPM

I bought it off scan.co.uk, which I have dealt with on a number of occasions and have found to be reliable and well priced. At £54, I think the above is a pretty solid bet...
 
Well thanks so much guys, ima get the originally posted HD, and use that video :D Thanks :D £54 is cheap :p
 
circularforward said:
With the criteria that you mentioned of cost and reliability, it'd be very tough to beat out the WD Scorpio Blue. Indeed, the Scorpios Blue and Black are the class leaders for their categories, and the Blue is known to even outperform some 7200rpm drives.
Click to expand...

Trying to decide between the WD Scorpio, Hitachi HTS545050B9A300 cand the Seagate Momentus 500 GB 7200RPM. Any recommendations?

Deciding between the three and want to buy soon.
 
Macnificant said:
Trying to decide between the WD Scorpio, Hitachi HTS545050B9A300 cand the Seagate Momentus 500 GB 7200RPM. Any recommendations?

Deciding between the three and want to buy soon.
Click to expand...

If you're looking at real-world speed, Phil over at NBR would suggest WD Scorpio Black, Hitachi 7k500 (I notice you listed the 5k500), and then the Seagate 7200.4.
 
Macnificant said:
Trying to decide between the WD Scorpio, Hitachi HTS545050B9A300 cand the Seagate Momentus 500 GB 7200RPM. Any recommendations?

Deciding between the three and want to buy soon.
Click to expand...

I'd go with the WD. I have the 320GB version and wouldn't know it was in there other than the increase in speed.
 
I am in the exact same position as OP. My only question is would upgrading the HD myself void the Apple Care warranty?

Prior to finding this thread, I called the Apple store to ask if it was possible to upgrade the hard drive in the MacBook and was told no. I'm guessing they want you to buy a new laptop?
 
Bozley0621 said:
I am in the exact same position as OP. My only question is would upgrading the HD myself void the Apple Care warranty?

Prior to finding this thread, I called the Apple store to ask if it was possible to upgrade the hard drive in the MacBook and was told no. I'm guessing they want you to buy a new laptop?
Click to expand...

No, it does not void your warranty. Apple even provides instructions how to do it
 
Is there a max amount of storage that the late 2009 MacBook can handle?
Also, what do I have to do to the hard drive prior to installing it and how do I do it. For example, how do I transfer data before I put it in my MacBook?

You guys rock!
 
Bozley0621 said:
Is there a max amount of storage that the late 2009 MacBook can handle?
Also, what do I have to do to the hard drive prior to installing it and how do I do it. For example, how do I transfer data before I put it in my MacBook?

You guys rock!
Click to expand...

It's the unibody, right? Then it can take up to 1TB. If you want everything to be just like they were before, then put the new drive in an enclosure and clone your hard drive with Carbon Copy Cloner. Then install the new drive and that's it
 
The WD10TPVT is 12.5 mm tall, and I am pretty sure that it will NOT FIT in a white MacBook.
 
I think the description refers to the 13" Aluminum Unibody MacBook, not the White Unibody MacBook. Apparently, iFixit claims that a 12.5 mm drive will not fit in the White Unibody, while another website says it will. You should try to find out for sure if you want to get a 1 TB hard drive.
 
cubeeggs said:
I think the description refers to the 13" Aluminum Unibody MacBook, not the White Unibody MacBook. Apparently, iFixit claims that a 12.5 mm drive will not fit in the White Unibody, while another website says it will. You should try to find out for sure if you want to get a 1 TB hard drive.
Click to expand...

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade

It says 1TB will fit in unibody MacBook. White MacBook is actually 0.13 inches (0.33cm) higher than aluminum 13" MacBook (Pro)
 
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