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Will a 7200rpm Hard Drive cause too much vibration/noise in 13" uMBP?

L

Liqwid

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 28, 2009
23
0
I am contemplating upgrading my stock 250GB drive in my 13" uMBP(June 2009) with a 320GB 7200rpm WD Scorpio Black:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280

I was reading and some users have experienced unbearable vibration and increased noise, while some have not. I would live to be able to increase my HD speed, and am too poor for an SSD at the moment.

What are some experiences people have had with putting a 7200rpm in a 13" uMBP and would you recommend the upgrade?

Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
 
Liqwid said:
I am contemplating upgrading my stock 250GB drive in my 13" uMBP(June 2009) with a 320GB 7200rpm WD Scorpio Black:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280

I was reading and some users have experienced unbearable vibration and increased noise, while some have not. I would live to be able to increase my HD speed, and am too poor for an SSD at the moment.

What are some experiences people have had with putting a 7200rpm in a 13" uMBP and would you recommend the upgrade?

Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would not recommend getting that drive. If you have the money, I would go for the seagate Momentus XT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148591&Tpk=momentus xt . If you want a 7200rpm drive, this drive would be perfect for you. Not only is it a 7200rpm drive, but it also has 4gb of flash storage onboard, to help make things nearly as fast as an SSD. This drive is about double the cost of the WD drive, but you also get 500gb's of storage. For about 15$-20$ less, you can get a 320gb Momentus XT.

This SeaGate drive may vibrate more than the stock 5400rpm drive, but the massive speed increase would be worth it. It is SSD speed at slightly inflated hard drive prices
 
The hard drive you selected is the exact one I just installed in 2 Black MacBooks,and a 15" aluminum MBP, from the very same supplier.
All have been in use 6 months,with no vibration issues.
I installed each in an empty OWC Mercury On The Go hard drive kit,then transferred everything to it using Super Duper,went flawlessly.
Installed each into the Computers, and booted without issues .
the difference between this and OEM is day and night.
I mean really Apple, how much would it cost to put in a 7200 RPM drive vs a
5400 RPM one?:rolleyes:
Believe me you can do this. I have had issues with Seagate in the past,which is why I chose WD.
I hope this helps,btw $59.00 +.99 cent shipping,what's not to like
 
Cheffy Dave said:
The hard drive you selected is the exact one I just installed in 2 Black MacBooks,and a 15" aluminum MBP, from the very same supplier.
All have been in use 6 months,with no vibration issues.
I installed each in an empty OWC Mercury On The Go hard drive kit,then transferred everything to it using Super Duper,went flawlessly.
Installed each into the Computers, and booted without issues .
the difference between this and OEM is day and night.
I mean really Apple, how much would it cost to put in a 7200 RPM drive vs a
5400 RPM one?:rolleyes:
Believe me you can do this. I have had issues with Seagate in the past,which is why I chose WD.
I hope this helps,btw $59.00 +.99 cent shipping,what's not to like
Click to expand...

That does help a lot Dave. Thanks!

This is half the price of the SSD Hybrid, and it doesn't seem like everyone is too convinced about how much 4gb will really help performance.
 
The Hitachi 7K500 can be found for a very reasonable price online and from my experience vibrates no more, and is no noisier than most 5400 RPM drives. That would be my pick. I would shy away from any Seagate model as there has been an innumerable number of reports from users complaining of noise and vibrations, the two things you are trying to avoid.
 
Another recommendation for the Hitachi 7k500. It's a fantastic drive, bigger (500 vs. 320), silent, and is on sale at Fry's right now for $69.99. Can't beat that.
 
Queen of Spades said:
Another recommendation for the Hitachi 7k500. It's a fantastic drive, bigger (500 vs. 320), silent, and is on sale at Fry's right now for $69.99. Can't beat that.
Click to expand...
Wow that's really tempting. I wish I felt a greater need to upgrade myself. I had that drive in my previous MBP.
 
Will it massage your hands? No, I don't even know how you can notice the vibration between too, it's not like a washer on spin cycle or anything
 
Bill Gates said:
Wow that's really tempting. I wish I felt a greater need to upgrade myself. I had that drive in my previous MBP.
Click to expand...

I was going to buy the WD Scorpio Blue 500GB, because I've had it before and liked it a lot, but I couldn't pass up the $69.99 sale for the Hitachi 7k500. I'm super happy with the drive and especially with the price tag.
 
Queen of Spades said:
Another recommendation for the Hitachi 7k500. It's a fantastic drive, bigger (500 vs. 320), silent, and is on sale at Fry's right now for $69.99. Can't beat that.
Click to expand...

1+ here for the Hitachi. Have it mounted in the optibay of my 15". No vibration and typical HD noise.

cheers
JohnG
 
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