Which drive should go in my optical bay?

[Pngwyn]

So I have a stock (hitachi, I believe) 500GB 7200RPM drive in my 2011 MBP, and just purchased a Scorpio Black 750GB WD HD as well as an Optibay to replace the superdrive.

I am just wondering which HD I should put in which port? I read the optibay is only SATA2 while the HD bay is SATA3 (?), but I'm not completely sure what that means.

The scorpio read/write is faster than the hitachi, and I believe I read somewhere that you want to put the fastest drive in the main slot, however the extra 250GB space the WD drive has would work nicely as my scratch drive for video editing if the speed difference isn't going to be noticeable.

Any input would be appreciated!

 

[six.four]

There is no speed increase/decrease from SATA 2/3 for a standard platter drive. Different story if you had an SSD.

 

[legreve]

Bah, too late to edit, but I just noticed..

If I decide to swap in the Black, I'll void my warranty on my Macbook Pro? If that's the case I'm better off sticking with the stock drive in the computer and the Black in the optibay..

Might as well put the Black in the optibay since it has build in SMS and the stock drive doesnt, it depends on the main bay sms...

 

[Pngwyn]

Might as well put the Black in the optibay since it has build in SMS and the stock drive doesnt, it depends on the main bay sms...

Can you please explain? What does SMS have to do with being in the main bay vs optibay?

Is it because the Black having SMS in the main bay will interfere with the macbook's built in SMS? I was under the impression that this could be disabled with no negative impacts.

 

[Mal]

Can you please explain? What does SMS have to do with being in the main bay vs optibay?

Is it because the Black having SMS in the main bay will interfere with the macbook's built in SMS? I was under the impression that this could be disabled with no negative impacts.

The opposite, in fact: there is no SMS in the OptiBay, so a drive that doesn't have SMS will be in danger every time the computer is moved while turned on.

jW

 

[Pngwyn]

Is SMS really something to be concerned about? I am not 100% sure whether or not the Hitachi stock drive has SMS or other shock protection or not.

Exactly how much "danger" is involved with a drive with no SMS? Is the entire HD at risk for breaking with a small bump?

 

[NZed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_Motion_Sensor

Yes its better to have one

With a triaxial accelerometer, the system detects sudden acceleration, such as when the computer is dropped, and prepares the relatively fragile hard disk drive mechanism for impact. The system disengages the disk drive heads from the hard disk platters, preventing data loss and drive damage from a disk head crash. When the computer is stable, the drive operates normally again.

So if you accidentally drop your MBP, the drive in the optibay will have a higher chance of breaking.

 

[dmarch]

According to Western Digital website the 750GB Scorpio Black does not have a free fall sensor. Keep it in the stock hard drive position and place the SSD in the optical bay.

 

[LightSpeed1]

This thread was very informative.

 

[terzinator]

According to Western Digital website the 750GB Scorpio Black does not have a free fall sensor. Keep it in the stock hard drive position and place the SSD in the optical bay.

So the Free-Fall Sensor capabilities are in the bay? Meaning the WD Black will react to a free fall in the stock bay?

Not sparring, just don't know the answer.

 

[johnnyturbouk]

So the Free-Fall Sensor capabilities are in the bay? Meaning the WD Black will react to a free fall in the stock bay?

Not sparring, just don't know the answer.

double protection i guess - lol

 

[NZed]

OH and be careful! If you buy a Hard Drive that comes with its own SMS, and you put the drive in the original hard drive location, you have to disable the SMS in the mac or if you move your computer, it will cause a kernel panic!