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Which 500gb HDD to upgrade to?

J

jimjazzuk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 11, 2011
5
0
Hi everyone,

I'm sure this has been asked here before, but what with the speed at which new gear is coming out I thought I'd get the latest opinion...

I have a 2009 MBP 13" with a 160 gb HDD and have run out of space. I am looking to upgrade to a 500gb HDD.

What would you recommend? The current (Toshiba) has been great and is very quiet and reliable so I would want something of the same quality.

I have read that 7200rpm drives zap power and can get hot?

Thank you in advance,

Jim
 
I had a 7200rpm 320gb WD Scorpio Black in my 08 uMB and that thing was pretty loud.. I'm looking for a quiet drive 500gb or more that I can stick in my new 2011 MBP.
 
I was recently asking myself the same question..
After a few hours of research, I discovered that the best 7200rpm, 500GB disk is the Hitachi Travelstar 7k500.

Here is what I found out about the other disks:

Western Digital blue line disks seem to have spin down problems. The heads will park and cause beachballs once the disk is required to spin back up.
Western Digital black line disks have a tendency to vibrate in the 13" MBP and can also be loud.

Seagate Momentus drives have known firmware problems that cause spin down problems and disk clicking/chatter.

Samsung and Toshiba received both praise and complaints from users.
Some users were reporting that Toshiba disks never spun down which resulted in excessive battery use.
Samsung Spinpoint disks seemed to be the least used HDD by the MBP community, but those individuals that had one seemed to like them.

In the end, I chose the Hitachi Travelstar as being the best overall 7200rpm, 500GB disk for a few reason.

-No extra vibration over a 5400rpm disk
-Quiet, no clicking or chatter
-No firmware problems
-Energy efficient, minimal impact on battery life over 5400rpm disk

Everyone here that has the Travelstar has described the disk to have those qualities.
Moreover, my MBP shipped with a 320GB Travelstar originally and I felt that since Apple choose Hitachi as their factory drive in my MBP, it must be for good reason.

In closing I will say this, regardless what disk you choose, they're really all the same. Tolerance for noise, heat and vibration is different for everyone.

Hopefully this was of help to you.


[sent from my android]
 
Last edited:
kidaquarius said:
I was recently asking myself the same question..
After a few hours of research, I discovered that the best 7200rpm, 500GB disk is the Hitachi Travelstar 7k500.

Here is what I found out about the other disks:

Western Digital blue line disks seem to have spin down problems. The heads will park and cause beachballs once the disk is required to spin back up.
Western Digital black line disks have a tendency to vibrate in the 13" MBP and can also be loud.

Seagate Momentus drives have known firmware problems that cause spin down problems and disk clicking/chatter.

Samsung and Toshiba received both praise and complaints from users.
Some users were reporting that Toshiba disks never spun down which resulted in excessive battery use.
Samsung Spinpoint disks seemed to be the least used HDD by the MBP community, but those individuals that had one seemed to like them.

In the end, I chose the Hitachi Travelstar as being the best overall 7200rpm, 500GB disk for a few reason.

-No extra vibration over a 5400rpm disk
-Quiet, no clicking or chatter
-No firmware problems
-Energy efficient, minimal impact on battery life over 5400rpm disk

Everyone here that has the Travelstar has described the disk to have those qualities.
Moreover, my MBP shipped with a 320GB Travelstar originally and I felt that since Apple choose Hitachi as their factory drive in my MBP, it must be for good reason.

In closing I will say this, regardless what disk you choose, they're really all the same. Tolerance for noise, heat and vibration is different for everyone.

Hopefully this was of help to you.


[sent from my android]
Click to expand...

I was thinking this myself, with the exception that I'm going with the 5400 drive. My goal is only to increase storage, nothing else. I like the quietness of my current stock HD.
 
Tenorsaw said:
I was thinking this myself, with the exception that I'm going with the 5400 drive. My goal is only to increase storage, nothing else. I like the quietness of my current stock HD.
Click to expand...

The 7200rpm Travelstar I picked up seems to be just as quiet as the stock 5400rpm drive.
No humming or buzzing, no vibration.
However, I am seldomly in *silent* rooms, so maybe the background noises in the house and at work masks any additional noise from the drive.
Sound tolerance is different for everyone too.


[sent from my android]
 
kidaquarius said:
I was recently asking myself the same question..
After a few hours of research, I discovered that the best 7200rpm, 500GB disk is the Hitachi Travelstar 7k500.

Here is what I found out about the other disks:

Western Digital blue line disks seem to have spin down problems. The heads will park and cause beachballs once the disk is required to spin back up.
Western Digital black line disks have a tendency to vibrate in the 13" MBP and can also be loud.

Seagate Momentus drives have known firmware problems that cause spin down problems and disk clicking/chatter.

Samsung and Toshiba received both praise and complaints from users.
Some users were reporting that Toshiba disks never spun down which resulted in excessive battery use.
Samsung Spinpoint disks seemed to be the least used HDD by the MBP community, but those individuals that had one seemed to like them.

In the end, I chose the Hitachi Travelstar as being the best overall 7200rpm, 500GB disk for a few reason.

-No extra vibration over a 5400rpm disk
-Quiet, no clicking or chatter
-No firmware problems
-Energy efficient, minimal impact on battery life over 5400rpm disk

Everyone here that has the Travelstar has described the disk to have those qualities.
Moreover, my MBP shipped with a 320GB Travelstar originally and I felt that since Apple choose Hitachi as their factory drive in my MBP, it must be for good reason.

In closing I will say this, regardless what disk you choose, they're really all the same. Tolerance for noise, heat and vibration is different for everyone.

Hopefully this was of help to you.


[sent from my android]
Click to expand...

I bought a WD Scorpio Blue and had the same spin up spin down problems. I eventually got an enclosure for it and I've been using it as an external hard drive now.

Recently got a 500 gb hitachi 7200 rpm myself. Great to hear it's as quiet as the stock 160 gb 5400 rpm.
 
I tried several different 7200 RPM drives in my 13" i5. All of them created unacceptable amounts of vibration. (I tried drives from Seagate, Hitachi, WD, Samsung, and Toshiba.)

I have gone back to a 500 GB WD Scorpio Blue--no increase in vibration.
 
i was very happy with my Hitachi Travelstar. I had this in my Early 08" MBP for a year and a half. I have now have a Samsung 650GB 7200RPM that is just as quiet!
 
I had a scorpio blue 320GB for over two years with no issues in my 2007 MBP.
I've had two scorpio blues 500GB that died within 10 months of purchase.

After two drives dying I'm never gonna buy anything from western digital again.

I do now have a momentus xt 500GB, the drive is very quick compared to the original, but noticeably more noisier. Battery life is down a bit.
 
I'm trying to gather the model hdd I bought. I bought a 500GB 7200RPM Samsung hdd from MicroCenter for $50. It is quiet, no issues so far. It's been 3 strong months.
 
JDNGuru said:
I'm trying to gather the model hdd I bought. I bought a 500GB 7200RPM Samsung hdd from MicroCenter for $50. It is quiet, no issues so far. It's been 3 strong months.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, how's your battery life with the Samsung?

[sent from my android]
 
kidaquarius said:
I was recently asking myself the same question..
After a few hours of research, I discovered that the best 7200rpm, 500GB disk is the Hitachi Travelstar 7k500.
Click to expand...

The original hard drive in my 2010 MBP 13" is much too noisy/vibratey for my tastes, so I, too, have been hard drive shopping online.

I also found really good reviews and db stats on the 7k500. Most of the reviewers mentioned how quiet it was. But, since I really don't need a 7200rpm drive, and since some people say that the 5400 rpm ones are quieter (and the 4200 rpm ones quieter yet but I'm not going that slow), I figured "Okay, I'll get the Hitachi 5k500 (5400 rpm version).

But oddly, it seems as though that one is not typically quieter. Huh.

I haven't decided what to get yet (after which I'll put the original drive in an enclosure -- can't hurt to have another backup drive).

MT
 
ryanrich said:
I still recommend the Momentus XT. Mine has been in my MBP for a good few weeks now and I still love it.

Quiet, fast, no effect on battery life. In my experience anyway...
Click to expand...

I have recommeneded these since they came out. They are well regarded by reviewers (such as Anand). And I put yet another one in my new MBP15. If you're not getting a solid state drive, get a Momentus XT.
 
The new SD25 firmware for the Momentus XT is looking pretty good. It is expected to be released next week.
 
jimjazzuk said:
Hi everyone,

I'm sure this has been asked here before, but what with the speed at which new gear is coming out I thought I'd get the latest opinion...

I have a 2009 MBP 13" with a 160 gb HDD and have run out of space. I am looking to upgrade to a 500gb HDD.

I have read that 7200rpm drives zap power and can get hot?

Thank you in advance,

Jim
Click to expand...
I've had great service from 500GB/7200RPM Hitachi Travelstars.

They are by nature, noisier in the aluminum chassis of my MBP than the quite carbon fiber composite of my ThinkPad but it's never bothered me because it's normal.

Yet that said I've been using SSD's for awhile now and of course they are completely silent. It's a matter of what you're willing to spend.
 
HBOC said:
I haven't noticed any ill effects to my battery life with my Samsung...I have had it for about a week..
Click to expand...

my battery life is perfect. i only charge at night and i use my MBP heavily. what are your settings? i dont use the keyboard LED unless its bedtime lol.
 
How's the Apple 500GB 7200RPM upgrade drive? Does it have any know issues? I saw some where that it's a Hitachi drive. I can't decide between the stock 750GB (5400rpm) or upgraded 500GB (7200rpm). I'm a bit sensitive to noise level but want some speediness in a hard drive.

I do plan to upgrade eventually to SSD in the future. Apple's 128GB stock SSD seems like a reasonable upgrade but seems just a bit limited in space.
 
nowstime said:
How's the Apple 500GB 7200RPM upgrade drive? Does it have any know issues? I saw some where that it's a Hitachi drive. I can't decide between the stock 750GB (5400rpm) or upgraded 500GB (7200rpm). I'm a bit sensitive to noise level but want some speediness in a hard drive. ...
Click to expand...

According to user feedback, they are Hitachi drives.
This was another reason why I decided on going with the 7k500 Travelstar.
Noise is non-existent as far as I'm concerned.

[sent from my android]
 
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