Which brand internal HD

[Sairo]

here's what i did in your situation:

1 main 256ssd and 2 external 5400 usb backup drives (2.5" each). i have lion and adobe apps installed on the ssd, and projects are loaded off of the external drives (both are clones of each other). i'm planning on switching to raid 1 mirrored drives at some point as it would be easier to work with compared to my current setup.

That isn't an option.
The whole point of the HD upgrade Is not to carry around an external one.

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My battery life appears to be the same. It's probably slightly lower than with the stock. When I'm not running anything I'll get a full 7 hours+. I currently have a few applications running with several Firefox tabs open and I have 3:45 remaining with 69% battery.

Supposedly the 7200's are faster than 5400's but I haven't noticed a thing. Unless you have your face to your laptop or you're in some setting with complete silence, you won't notice the sound, but that's the same with 5400's. Most people who are really sensitive about the sound issue say that there's not really much of a difference and they often don't notice.

I never had the old XT so I can't give you an experience on the different between the 3Gb/s and the 6Gb/s. I read about a dozen reviews when looking into this drive before buying and almost all of them said that there was just a considerable difference in every aspect of the newer model.

Chances are Seagate will release something new towards the end of 2012 or sometime in 2013 but the price-tag on it will be much higher. The price of the current 750GB will probably go down when a newer model is released but it's really only speculation on when something will come out.

Thanks for clearing it out.
Ill be going with the 750gb xt!

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5400 vs 7200 isn't so cut and dried.

Spinning disk read/write speed decreases as you move from the beginning of the disk to the end, and this drop off increases dramatically as you go beyond 50% capacity.

So with that in mind - a 5400rpm drive that is using only half its capacity may be faster than a 7200rpm drive that is 80% full - for the hot data that you are actively working on which will be at the end of the consumed space.


For the best speed, buy at least 2x as much space as you need, and then if you can afford/find a drive that is higher rpm of that size, go for that.


Conversely, if your option is only a 750gb 5400rpm or 500gb 7200rpm (as mine was), work out how much you can keep OFF your disk. If you're going to need say 400gb of space, the 750gb drive may well be faster for the "hot" data you are currently working on (which being new data, will be at the end of the disk).

see here:

http://macperformanceguide.com/Storage-WhyYouNeedMoreThanYouNeed.html

and

http://macperformanceguide.com/Storage-BiggerIsBetter.html


I suspect that if you "need" 400-500gb of space, a 750gb drive will be faster, even if it is only 5400rpm, vs a 500gb 7200rpm drive. If you can get a 1tb 5400rpm, even better.


Al other things being equal (same size drives) - 7200 rpm will be faster, particularly when multitasking, swapping to disk, etc. It can simply seek to different locations on the disk faster. It just depends if you're willing to pay the extra for the faster drive.


With all that in mind, for 400-500gb of data i'd be looking at the Seagate Momentus XT 750gb hybrid, if you can afford it.

Ill be doing multitasking so the 7200 Will fit me well.

You guys are so helpull!
I am gracious

 

[Hephaestus]

I just bought myself a 1TB 2.5" Samsung Spinpoint drive, it's had brilliant reviews so I thought I'd give it a go.

 

[iamthedudeman]

Hello guys,

Im new to the Mac world (used them before at school, but never owned one) and I'm looking for some advice. I already tried the search function, but I don't get the information I'm looking for out of the threads.
I also tried google, but most of the information is outdated.

I own a mid 2010 MBP, with currently the stock 250GB Hitachi hard drive and I'm looking for an upgrade.
At first I was looking at the 500GB drives but then I bought why not go to 750GB for a little bit of extra?
I'm a graphic designer so the extra space won't hurt.

Then came the first complication; do I buy a 5400 rpm or a 7200 rpm?!
I know most of you will say the difference isn't that noticeable, but it will improve my boot time of apps like photoshop and lightroom.
Will the 7200 be a noisy battery sucking drive? Or does the power consumption of 7200 drives these days almost equalizes the 5400's?

The second complication is; what brand? I was looking at Seagate disks (the Seagate ST9500325AS |500GB 5400RPM| & Seagate ST9750420AS |750GB 7200RPM|) because of the pricing and reviews.
I have a Windows pc running and always been into the Western Digital disks, but I can't find positive feedback on those drives for the MacBooks so that brand is a doubter. The Samsung disks didn't impress. Then I bought to be a smart guy and put a Hitachi in it like the stock, but I could only find the Hitachi Travelstar 5K750 (750GB 5400RPM).

So basically I'm looking for help and opinions.

1. Will I notice that I'm running a 7200rpm disk? (sound & battery drain)
2. Which brands work well with the MacBooks?

An SSD is not affordable for me when it comes to 500GB.

Thanks in advance!

I would not waste my money on a HD, in any flavor. And it has nothing to do with 'speed' or needing the fastest thing in my Mac. It has everything to do with useability.

It seems you want the benefits of a SSD but don't want to pay for it. You want Apps to open faster, you want your machine to boot quicker and you need more space. The only thing a HD will give you is more space, as far as speed, forget it.

The Hybrid drives are good, but a real SSD is better. Much better. And no it does't give you 95% of the benefits of a SSD, no way no how. I own several Momentus XT, as well as various SSD's. All my Macs have SSD's in them, and that is over 30 Macs for my business and three I have at home. I don't have a HD in any of my machines.

A SSD is the most important upgrade you can make in a computer. It is more important than the CPU, GPU anything. The first time you use a SSD it is literally shocking. Being noticeable is the understatement of the year.

I am going to do you a favor and help you out here.

I don't think fully understand the benefits of a SSD.

Think about this for a moment, your 2010 MBP 13 with a SSD will be faster in everyday use than a loaded 2012 model 13 MBP with a HD and a core i7 ivy bridge processor.

Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. It can boot your Mac up in under ten seconds, it will launch apps instantly. That is in milliseconds. You can launch all your apps at once( that is in all in the same time, all your apps that you own) in the time it takes two apps to open on a HD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwrel&NR=1&v=e2_Jwq3UdyA

HD vs SSD boot up.

45 apps at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMP0k0R0TJk

If you want your MBP to run cooler, last longer, run silent, launch apps instantly, boot in seconds, and allow you to get more work done at the same time by letting you open as many apps as you want at the same time, less chance of breaking, doesn't get affected by movement or shocking movements as in a drop so to speak. If you like all of the above, get a SSD.

If you want your MBP to be noisy, have a possible chance of breaking( HD which is a mechnical drive, and moving parts break), boot slower, wait for apps to launch, and limited by how many apps you have open at once, hence limiting what and how much you can do at the same time, run hotter, get a HD.

Buying a HD is like investing in a floppy drive, it isn't warranted and is the worst investment you can make for your computer or laptop. It is a DOA device in this day and age for a main drive. Extra space yes, use it, main drive not on your life.

You want 500GB of space, buy a 256 SSD and use your existing HD as a external or opitibay and there goes your 500GB of space. 250GB SSD + 250 GB of HD space equals 500GB of usable space avail to you.

The cost is minimal compared to the benefits. A $109 dollar difference is not allot. Save a little longer and believe me you will thank yourself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148599

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

 

[magbarn]

I would not waste my money on a HD, in any flavor. And it has nothing to do with 'speed' or needing the fastest thing in my Mac. It has everything to do with useability.

It seems you want the benefits of a SSD but don't want to pay for it. You want Apps to open faster, you want your machine to boot quicker and you need more space. The only thing a HD will give you is more space, as far as speed, forget it.
.....

+1000000!
I've upgraded several client's 2008 uMBP to SSD, and it kept one from upgrading to a 2012 when she took her 2008 and compared to the HDD powered 2012 MBP's at the Apple store. Unless you need to upgrade today, save your euro's and at least wait till winter. SSD prices have dropped by 50% in the last 12 months!

 

[01mggt]

Didn't read all replies, but I noticed alot of people were saying to go with the seagate momentus XT hybrid drive. I AGREE totally I put the 750GB version with the 8gb cache/ssd in my 200 unibody macbook 13 inch and it made a massive difference. That upgrade combined with 8gb ram made the machine a beast DON'T buy the older less reliable 500GB version. It is slower and has had numerous problems in the past with not being reliable

 

[Sairo]

I would not waste my money on a HD, in any flavor. And it has nothing to do with 'speed' or needing the fastest thing in my Mac. It has everything to do with useability.

It seems you want the benefits of a SSD but don't want to pay for it. You want Apps to open faster, you want your machine to boot quicker and you need more space. The only thing a HD will give you is more space, as far as speed, forget it.

The Hybrid drives are good, but a real SSD is better. Much better. And no it does't give you 95% of the benefits of a SSD, no way no how. I own several Momentus XT, as well as various SSD's. All my Macs have SSD's in them, and that is over 30 Macs for my business and three I have at home. I don't have a HD in any of my machines.

A SSD is the most important upgrade you can make in a computer. It is more important than the CPU, GPU anything. The first time you use a SSD it is literally shocking. Being noticeable is the understatement of the year.

I am going to do you a favor and help you out here.

I don't think fully understand the benefits of a SSD.

Think about this for a moment, your 2010 MBP 13 with a SSD will be faster in everyday use than a loaded 2012 model 13 MBP with a HD and a core i7 ivy bridge processor.

Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. It can boot your Mac up in under ten seconds, it will launch apps instantly. That is in milliseconds. You can launch all your apps at once( that is in all in the same time, all your apps that you own) in the time it takes two apps to open on a HD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwrel&NR=1&v=e2_Jwq3UdyA

HD vs SSD boot up.

45 apps at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMP0k0R0TJk

If you want your MBP to run cooler, last longer, run silent, launch apps instantly, boot in seconds, and allow you to get more work done at the same time by letting you open as many apps as you want at the same time, less chance of breaking, doesn't get affected by movement or shocking movements as in a drop so to speak. If you like all of the above, get a SSD.

If you want your MBP to be noisy, have a possible chance of breaking( HD which is a mechnical drive, and moving parts break), boot slower, wait for apps to launch, and limited by how many apps you have open at once, hence limiting what and how much you can do at the same time, run hotter, get a HD.

Buying a HD is like investing in a floppy drive, it isn't warranted and is the worst investment you can make for your computer or laptop. It is a DOA device in this day and age for a main drive. Extra space yes, use it, main drive not on your life.

You want 500GB of space, buy a 256 SSD and use your existing HD as a external or opitibay and there goes your 500GB of space. 250GB SSD + 250 GB of HD space equals 500GB of usable space avail to you.

The cost is minimal compared to the benefits. A $109 dollar difference is not allot. Save a little longer and believe me you will thank yourself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148599

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

First of all let me thank you for the info.
Now back to the basics.

I wasnt looking for an HD with ssd specs/status, untill someone started talking about the XT.
Overall the MacBook is powerfull and fast monster if I compare it to my quad core Windows pc.

Im looking for an HD because of the additional space. If i can compare that with 8GB of flash why not?
An Ssd at 512GB Will cost me à fortune that Im not willing to spend.

I agree The 256GB isn't that expensive, butt Im not looking for an external HD nor removing my dvd drive.
Maybe à year from now when ssd's drop when à 512gb is affordable and I decide to leave dvd's I might consider an optibay.

I apreciate your help, dont get me wrong.
But my pockets dont run that deep at this moment.
256GB costs -/+ €200 while a 512GB Goes up to €350-€400.

As an graphic designer, photographer, usenet user; I prefer space.

----------

Didn't read all replies, but I noticed alot of people were saying to go with the seagate momentus XT hybrid drive. I AGREE totally I put the 750GB version with the 8gb cache/ssd in my 200 unibody macbook 13 inch and it made a massive difference. That upgrade combined with 8gb ram made the machine a beast DON'T buy the older less reliable 500GB version. It is slower and has had numerous problems in the past with not being reliable

Thanks for your input.
So you're à happy xt user?

 

[iamthedudeman]

First of all let me thank you for the info.
Now back to the basics.

I wasnt looking for an HD with ssd specs/status, untill someone started talking about the XT.
Overall the MacBook is powerfull and fast monster if I compare it to my quad core Windows pc.

Im looking for an HD because of the additional space. If i can compare that with 8GB of flash why not?
An Ssd at 512GB Will cost me à fortune that Im not willing to spend.

I agree The 256GB isn't that expensive, butt Im not looking for an external HD nor removing my dvd drive.
Maybe à year from now when ssd's drop when à 512gb is affordable and I decide to leave dvd's I might consider an optibay.

I apreciate your help, dont get me wrong.
But my pockets dont run that deep at this moment.
256GB costs -/+ €200 while a 512GB Goes up to €350-€400.

As an graphic designer, photographer, usenet user; I prefer space.

----------



Thanks for your input.
So you're à happy xt user?

No problem.

As an graphic designer, photographer, usenet user; I prefer space.

I own and operate a marketing business, and use probably the some of the same programs you do. I do this professionally so I probably use some that you don't but the reasons will be the same. My guess is that you are young. That is fine and maybe the things you do are not that important to your livelihood or your work doesn't depend on them. That is fine also. But if they did , a SSD would be a must. You will see later on down the road.

Trust me, space isn't your most pressing concern, performance is. As most of the programs you use would benefit from a SSD. I can see your apprehension, but 109 US dollars is a small price to pay for the benefits. You just don't know it yet.

And if you are still using DVD's, well..................

To each their own I guess.

Like I said a Momentus XT is a waste of money. The small 8GB of SSD space will not give you the benefits a full SSD would. I also need space, that is why they call them external drives. A SSD external drive is ounces, not pounds. I carry one with me all the time.

Most of my usage is not on the 15 small screen of a laptop, only on the go do I use such screen space. My guess is that you don't use the small 13 space either and hook up to a external display, hence the point of you needing space is a moot one. If you are serious in what you do, a external display is a must. I know that and so do you, so what would a external HD harm you in any way? Or hinder you in your work?

Do what you want. When you finally use a SSD you will wonder why you did not use one sooner. If my post doesn't convince you, try one at a Apple store on the Retina display. A 256 SSD and 109 dollars would give you what you want. 500gb of space and the performance you want.

A momentus XT in any flavor will not give you what you want. How could you know what you want when you don't know the differences between the two? More space yes but not more performance. I HD is a waste of money. And there is not guarantee SSD's will drop in price any time soon.

To each their own. Good luck.

 

[cube]

The XT is not a waste of money. It is the best bang for the buck for most people.

 

[Sairo]

No problem.

As an graphic designer, photographer, usenet user; I prefer space.

I own and operate a marketing business, and use probably the some of the same programs you do. I do this professionally so I probably use some that you don't but the reasons will be the same. My guess is that you are young. That is fine and maybe the things you do are not that important to your livelihood or your work doesn't depend on them. That is fine also. But if they did , a SSD would be a must. You will see later on down the road.

Trust me, space isn't your most pressing concern, performance is. As most of the programs you use would benefit from a SSD. I can see your apprehension, but 109 US dollars is a small price to pay for the benefits. You just don't know it yet.

And if you are still using DVD's, well..................

To each their own I guess.

Like I said a Momentus XT is a waste of money. The small 8GB of SSD space will not give you the benefits a full SSD would. I also need space, that is why they call them external drives. A SSD external drive is ounces, not pounds. I carry one with me all the time.

Most of my usage is not on the 15 small screen of a laptop, only on the go do I use such screen space. My guess is that you don't use the small 13 space either and hook up to a external display, hence the point of you needing space is a moot one. If you are serious in what you do, a external display is a must. I know that and so do you, so what would a external HD harm you in any way? Or hinder you in your work?

Do what you want. When you finally use a SSD you will wonder why you did not use one sooner. If my post doesn't convince you, try one at a Apple store on the Retina display. A 256 SSD and 109 dollars would give you what you want. 500gb of space and the performance you want.

A momentus XT in any flavor will not give you what you want. How could you know what you want when you don't know the differences between the two? More space yes but not more performance. I HD is a waste of money. And there is not guarantee SSD's will drop in price any time soon.

To each their own. Good luck.

Been wondering around, looking at SSD's.
Whats your opinion on the Samsung 830 series?

----------

The XT is not a waste of money. It is the best bang for the buck for most people.

Are you an experienced user? If so, how does the flash handle the programs you acces most often?
For example; I quit using photoshop and start using illustrator for a while. What happens to photoshop quick boot data? Doesnt it stay filled up and makes me have less space for other programs?

 

[magbarn]

I had the 750xt in my asus gaming notebook. Let's just say I paid the 15% restocking fee to return it. I got it to cheap out from getting another ssd. IMHO, for photo and video editing it is not a substitute for a ssd. After editing several gb of data, the ssd would overwrite the cache and my next boot time would be slow again. Yes it's faster than a hd, but only if all you do is surf the web and light work. Also, many of us here got a very fast and reliable crucial m4 512gb for $400 us dollars a week ago. I predict it to be $300 by years end.

 

[whitedragon101]

I think things are getting a might complicated here. A summary is in order.

The fastest 2.5" HD is the Seagate Momentus XT 750GB it costs £115. Its worst case performance is that of a fast HD, its best case performance is near SSD speed (3 second photoshop launch vs 1.9 for SSD vs 16 for HD).

An SSD is faster but if you can't afford it then don't worry about it. An SSD is an incredible upgrade but you are looking at an order of magnitude more money. If you don't have £300+ to spend get the XT 750gb and when you upgrade next you can enjoy the speed bump of an SSD.

 

[Sairo]

I had the 750xt in my asus gaming notebook. Let's just say I paid the 15% restocking fee to return it. I got it to cheap out from getting another ssd. IMHO, for photo and video editing it is not a substitute for a ssd. After editing several gb of data, the ssd would overwrite the cache and my next boot time would be slow again. Yes it's faster than a hd, but only if all you do is surf the web and light work. Also, many of us here got a very fast and reliable crucial m4 512gb for $400 us dollars a week ago. I predict it to be $300 by years end.

Doesnt The cache reset after à while? Or à possibility to do it yourself?

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I think things are getting a might complicated here. A summary is in order.

The fastest 2.5" HD is the Seagate Momentus XT 750GB it costs £115. Its worst case performance is that of a fast HD, its best case performance is near SSD speed (3 second photoshop launch vs 1.9 for SSD vs 16 for HD).

An SSD is faster but if you can't afford it then don't worry about it. An SSD is an incredible upgrade but you are looking at an order of magnitude more money. If you don't have £300+ to spend get the XT 750gb and when you upgrade next you can enjoy the speed bump of an SSD.

Exactly. Makes me have à goal for next year if I get an SSD!

 

[magbarn]

Doesnt The cache reset after à while? Or à possibility to do it yourself?

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Exactly. Makes me have à goal for next year if I get an SSD!

There's no way on controlling the cache. It does it what it does based on it's algorithms. I've had some experience with Intel's implementation (that for now is only supported in Windows), of using a SSD cache for a mechanical HDD. It has the same limitations, but it is better as you can dedicate up to a 64gb SSD for the task. Anyways, caching hybrid drives to me are only a boon, if your usage falls under the more typical 'consumer' use. i.e., typical web browsing, etc... as even gaming already has the cache flushing out, for example, an old game like world of warcraft easily flushed out my cache and slowed down my boot times if I traveled to too many places or raided too many different dungeons.

 

[Sairo]

There's no way on controlling the cache. It does it what it does based on it's algorithms. I've had some experience with Intel's implementation (that for now is only supported in Windows), of using a SSD cache for a mechanical HDD. It has the same limitations, but it is better as you can dedicate up to a 64gb SSD for the task. Anyways, caching hybrid drives to me are only a boon, if your usage falls under the more typical 'consumer' use. i.e., typical web browsing, etc... as even gaming already has the cache flushing out, for example, an old game like world of warcraft easily flushed out my cache and slowed down my boot times if I traveled to too many places or raided too many different dungeons.

I wont be playing à lot of games so Im not worried about that. Maybe starcraft but otherwise ill use my ps3 or Xbox lol.
But how do you reset The cache on The hybrid? Or does wow leeps on owning it.