LAte 2011 MAcbook Pro HDD Replacement. Suggestions?

[Theo Void]

What up everyone?
I am looking to upgrade the HDD in my late 2011, 15 inch Macbook Pro. The stock 500 gb. one is getting full and it's starting to affect performance.

I've been researching the crap out of this subject and w/ so much information, I haven't really came to a conclusion. I'm highly considering the new(ish) Seagate SSHD 1 TB. laptop drive. It seems to provide a pretty decent speed boost but reviews are varied(as always.)
It's basically a HDD w/ 8 GB. of solid state storage to cache your most frequently used stuff. It's 5400 RPM which is fine for me.

Anyway, that's the one I'm thinking about getting. If anyone has any experience w/ this or any other replacement hard drive for a 15 inch late 2011 MBP please share. I'm just looking for some un-biased, honest reviews from people who do the same kinda stuff I do. Live, Traktor, Maschine, VST's, etc.

Thanx

[hacktheplanet]

I've been through a bunch (like 5 or 6 drives) of different manufacturers/models over the last few years, and I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter since within two years it is likely you will either:
1. Replace the drive because you ran out of space
2. Replace the drive because it failed (laptops take abuse)

You'll notice a speed difference with the hybrid drive for sure. However, you won't notice much of a difference between normal 5400 vs. 7200 drives. Most drives these days come from the same factory, just with different branding.

I will recommend these guys though: http://www.macsales.com/
Buy one of their kits that includes a new drive and an external USB enclosure for your old drive.

[TYLRbass]

I will recommend these guys though: http://www.macsales.com/
Buy one of their kits that includes a new drive and an external USB enclosure for your old drive.

Those enclosures are awesome. Plug it in and clone your current drive to the new drive while it is still in the enclosure then swap them.. From there you can wipe the old one and use it as external storage or keep it as a backup.

[Anubis]

I recommend this one, that's what they put in there anyways.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =S203-8001

[Theo Void]

I recommend this one, that's what they put in there anyways.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =S203-8001

I would definitely LOVE to go the SSD route but I don't got $$$ to get what I want or need in that arena. 250 GB. just won't cut it.

[Theo Void]

Thanx for the OWC link. Somehow I've never heard of them but it's looking like the route I'll go.
I'll probably still get the hybrid 5400 RPM -1 TB. Seagate but w/ the external enclosure for the old drive.

Other than that one particular drive I can't really find anything much better. I believe Macbooks are configured for 5400 RPM drives, though. I had a friend who put a 7200 in his Macbook and it was really loud and really HOT!

So, I think I'll try the hybrid out.

[fishmonkey]

Thanx for the OWC link. Somehow I've never heard of them but it's looking like the route I'll go.
I'll probably still get the hybrid 5400 RPM -1 TB. Seagate but w/ the external enclosure for the old drive.

Other than that one particular drive I can't really find anything much better. I believe Macbooks are configured for 5400 RPM drives, though. I had a friend who put a 7200 in his Macbook and it was really loud and really HOT!

So, I think I'll try the hybrid out.

choosing between the Seagate Momentus XTs, i would go for the 750 GB 7200 RPM drive:

http://www.seagate.com/au/en/internal-h ... rid-drive/

there are also the newer Seagate SSHD drives (hybrid drives like the Momentus XTs) to consider:

http://www.storagereview.com/seagate_ss ... st500lm000

which one to go for depends a lot on what your usage patterns are like. do you use a lot of sample libraries? do you record much audio?

a decent 7200 RPM is not significantly louder or hotter than a 5400 RPM drive. for example, the 1TB Momentus XT uses more power than the 750GB Momentus XT when seeking, presumably because it has more platters and heads to move.

[Theo Void]

Thanx for the OWC link. Somehow I've never heard of them but it's looking like the route I'll go.
I'll probably still get the hybrid 5400 RPM -1 TB. Seagate but w/ the external enclosure for the old drive.

Other than that one particular drive I can't really find anything much better. I believe Macbooks are configured for 5400 RPM drives, though. I had a friend who put a 7200 in his Macbook and it was really loud and really HOT!

So, I think I'll try the hybrid out.

choosing between the Seagate Momentus XTs, i would go for the 750 GB 7200 RPM drive:

http://www.seagate.com/au/en/internal-h ... rid-drive/

there are also the newer Seagate SSHD drives (hybrid drives like the Momentus XTs) to consider:

http://www.storagereview.com/seagate_ss ... st500lm000

which one to go for depends a lot on what your usage patterns are like. do you use a lot of sample libraries? do you record much audio?

a decent 7200 RPM is not significantly louder or hotter than a 5400 RPM drive. for example, the 1TB Momentus XT uses more power than the 750GB Momentus XT when seeking, presumably because it has more platters and heads to move.

Those Seagate's that you linked me to are the exact one's that I'm looking at. I was really leaning toward the 1TB. because I figure it will last a lot longer than the 750gb.
I already have a 500 gb. HDD in my MBP and it's pretty much full and really slowing down my system. It is kinda shitty that they made the 1TB. model 5400 RPM. What's the deal w/ that?
Is there any specific reason why you would recommend the 750 over the 1tb. ?
My workflow does consist of a lot of sample usage. Not in the sense of massive multi-sampled instruments but more like chopping and re-arranging small samples, just a LOT of them. I use Live 9 and all the included packs plus MAschine, Traktor. I also record a little. Just the occasional vocal or guitar and pretty much always one at a time. So I'm not using a soundcard w/ 20 inputs or mic'ing drums or anything.

Obviously I'm looking for the fastest possible drive w/ the most available space but I also don't want it to get too hot or be too loud. Pretty standard, ya know?

[fishmonkey]

they probably made the 1TB drive 5400RPM to lower power consumption and heat, since it has more platters to spin and heads to fly.

the 750 GB Momentus XT is faster than the 1 TB model for random access, so will have better performance when working with lots of small files. it uses less power too.

personally i would also ditch the optical drive from your MBP, and replace it with a second drive.

[Theo Void]

they probably made the 1TB drive 5400RPM to lower power consumption and heat, since it has more platters to spin and heads to fly.

the 750 GB Momentus XT is faster than the 1 TB model for random access, so will have better performance when working with lots of small files. it uses less power too.

personally i would also ditch the optical drive from your MBP, and replace it with a second drive.

Yes, I was actually planniing on doing that too. I had that in mind when I bought it. I've been waiting for sad prices to go down a bit but they dont seem to be budging much.

I NEVER use the optical drive. So in your opinion, what would be a good combination for that set-up.

Maybe the Momentus as main drive and a small ssd in optical bay.
Not sure if I could even spring for that. Maybe just add another drive to my exosting one?

Is it better to have the programs and OS on the faster drive or the samples and other things that are being accessed?

[swishniak]

3 months ago i replaced my internal with a big SSD. it was (!) super fast / quiet / cooler -- great to work with.

just the other day i was working - literally - on the plane to a gig when it decided to die. took it to the apple store in munich and they did all the tests and found out that it was the drive.

luckily i had a time machine backup and the old HD in a enclosure which i popped in (after buying more tiny screwdrivers).

who knows why these things happen - sometimes drives just die randomly - but the lady at the genius bar said they see this happen alot with SSDs... who knows how true that is...