What HDD to put in Optibay?

[Gold89]

Hi,

I'm looking at getting a new 15" MBP and need the storage of a HDD and would like the speed of a SSD, logically leading to the optibay solution.

I would order the MBP with the 128gb SSD already fitted leaving me to upgrade the superdrive to the optibay + HDD. However which is the best (750gb?) HDD to use. I have been reading that it is essential to get a drive with a motion sensor built in as if the drive is in an optibay this is not provided.

Which HDDs provide this technology? And any other recommendations?

Thanks. 🙂

 

[kdoug]

Hi,

I'm looking at getting a new 15" MBP and need the storage of a HDD and would like the speed of a SSD, logically leading to the optibay solution.

I would order the MBP with the 128gb SSD already fitted leaving me to upgrade the superdrive to the optibay + HDD. However which is the best (750gb?) HDD to use. I have been reading that it is essential to get a drive with a motion sensor built in as if the drive is in an optibay this is not provided.

Which HDDs provide this technology? And any other recommendations?

Thanks. 🙂

Frankly, it depends on the SSD. If you're buying a SATA II, you can install it anywhere. Some people have had some issues with sleep and waking up by putting it in the optical bay, many more have not. I've not had any issues with putting it in the optical bay. If you're buying a SATA III SSD you definitely want to put it in the stock bay to take advantage of the 6gb/s. As far as the hard drive, I'd look into purchasing a Seagate Momentus. The G-Force protection is the best there is. Your next choice is whether or not to buy 5400 or 7200 spin. You'll need to look at power requirements on both.

 

[Gold89]

Frankly, it depends on the SSD. If you're buying a SATA II, you can install it anywhere. Some people have had some issues with sleep and waking up by putting it in the optical bay, many more have not. I've not had any issues with putting it in the optical bay. If you're buying a SATA III SSD you definitely want to put it in the stock bay to take advantage of the 6gb/s. As far as the hard drive, I'd look into purchasing a Seagate Momentus. The G-Force protection is the best there is. Your next choice is whether or not to buy 5400 or 7200 spin. You'll need to look at power requirements on both.

Thank you for the advice, the sleep issues are what I had read about, the easiest option looks to be the Apple SSD and the Seagate Momentus.

 

[kdoug]

Thank you for the advice, the sleep issues are what I had read about, the easiest option looks to be the Apple SSD and the Seagate Momentus.

Personally, I'd order the MacBook with a factory 750GB HD, I believe Apple uses the Hitachi Travlestar 5k500.b, they have a built in shock sensor and one of the lowest power requirements of any 5400 HD. Order a Intel 320 SATA II SSD from a retailer. You'll not only save some dough but the Intel SSD is considerably faster than Apple's SSD and very compatible.