Anybody rocking a 500 GB internal laptop drive?

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blakbeltjonez
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Post by blakbeltjonez » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:58 am

drush wrote:the only, imo, 2.5" drive manu you should consider: seagate. this one is the seagate momentus. 5400rpm, 8mb cache, 500gb.
that's funny, because that's the one series of drive i couldn't recommend - my OEM Momentus 5400 that came in my Macbook suddenly developed The Click Of Death. after i pulled the gun out of my mouth and calmed down, i wound up getting a WD Scorpio Black 7200RPM 320GB, 16 MB cache. a lot bigger, and noticably faster than the old drive, especially on startup.

the old Seagate was just barely within warranty, took it to the Apple Store and they swapped with a new Fujitsu 120 GB (which went in a 2.5" external SATA case).

i would love a 500MB, though..

beats me
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Post by beats me » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:16 am

blakbeltjonez wrote:
drush wrote:the only, imo, 2.5" drive manu you should consider: seagate. this one is the seagate momentus. 5400rpm, 8mb cache, 500gb.
that's funny, because that's the one series of drive i couldn't recommend - my OEM Momentus 5400 that came in my Macbook suddenly developed The Click Of Death. after i pulled the gun out of my mouth and calmed down, i wound up getting a WD Scorpio Black 7200RPM 320GB, 16 MB cache. a lot bigger, and noticably faster than the old drive, especially on startup.

the old Seagate was just barely within warranty, took it to the Apple Store and they swapped with a new Fujitsu 120 GB (which went in a 2.5" external SATA case).

i would love a 500MB, though..
I's using the same WD drive in my MBP now and haven't had any issues. The only problem is how quickly I filled up a 320 drive. I'm down to about 30 gigs. 8O

knotkranky
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Post by knotkranky » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:18 am

Yeah, I don't remember what make it was ( big name drive maker) but I put a 300gb 7,200 in my MPB and it burnt out in about 8 months. The bigger, faster and badder, the more risk there is stuffing it into a little space like a book. imho.

beats me
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Post by beats me » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:25 am

It looks like the current 500 drives are only 5400 rpm but that's what I had before my current drive so its not a deal breaker. I wonder if that cut in speed might also make it a little more durable as far as wear and tear goes.

emptypond
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Post by emptypond » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:56 am

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Seagate/ST9500420AS/
if you don't mind waiting a month, the 7200rpm 500GB drives will be out and they fit in 15" mbp since they're 9.5mm height
Last edited by emptypond on Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

CR78
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Post by CR78 » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:58 am

For those living here in the U.S. that are worried about voiding your Applecare by doing the hard drive replacement yourself(earlier MPB's), take it to your local Best Buy and let them do it(they are Geek Squad people who are certified Apple Techs).
Cost=$50. Well worth it IMO.

Your Applecare will stiil be fine; the only thing that won't be covered is the new hard drive they installed. Really a no brainer in the long run.

emptypond
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Post by emptypond » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:21 am

or save the $50 and do it yourself following one of the very easy guides from http://www.ifixit.com , just be sure to put the original hdd back in before sending it off for any other type of servicing from apple

drush
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Post by drush » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:03 pm

beats me wrote:It looks like the current 500 drives are only 5400 rpm but that's what I had before my current drive so its not a deal breaker. I wonder if that cut in speed might also make it a little more durable as far as wear and tear goes.
since the cpus went intel the 5400 is really no problem. at all.

beats me
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Post by beats me » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:12 pm

drush wrote:
beats me wrote:It looks like the current 500 drives are only 5400 rpm but that's what I had before my current drive so its not a deal breaker. I wonder if that cut in speed might also make it a little more durable as far as wear and tear goes.
since the cpus went intel the 5400 is really no problem. at all.
Cool deal.

Does anybody know that since Apple supposedly made it easier to swap the drives in the MBP, if you do it yourself then it won't void the warranty or apple care? I'm going to be really mad if I have to pay Chad at the genius bar to do something I could do myself in 3 minutes.

drush
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Post by drush » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:26 pm

beats me wrote:
drush wrote:
beats me wrote:It looks like the current 500 drives are only 5400 rpm but that's what I had before my current drive so its not a deal breaker. I wonder if that cut in speed might also make it a little more durable as far as wear and tear goes.
since the cpus went intel the 5400 is really no problem. at all.
Cool deal.

Does anybody know that since Apple supposedly made it easier to swap the drives in the MBP, if you do it yourself then it won't void the warranty or apple care? I'm going to be really mad if I have to pay Chad at the genius bar to do something I could do myself in 3 minutes.
i don't know if it will void the warranty or not but if it supposedly does, they're idiots. i guarantee you that you can do it yourself in about 2 minutes and they'll never know. you could do it in your sleep.

however: i think the 4 little hold-the-drive-in-place posts are torx screws, so you will need a t6 torx screwdriver in addition to a tiny phillips.. for the one other screw you have to deal with.

beats me
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Post by beats me » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:06 pm

I swapped the drive in my current MBP and that was like minor brain surgery and I have the tools. On the new MBPs they make sound like you remove 1 plate and whomp there it is.

drush
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Post by drush » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:13 pm

that's all it is. take off the back cover and the drive is right there, next to the battery. it couldn't be more simple.

steved
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Post by steved » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:33 pm

Just installed a 400GB Western Digital Passport drive in my MB - very straightforward , and no problems so far. Getting the casing off the passport was a bit awkward - but as long as you follow on-line instructions you get there in the end.

Also ended up with a 160 GB external . OK - it might be slow in theory ( not really noticeable in general use ) - but I'm certainly appreciating the quietness.
Nocturn early adopter ....

beats me
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Post by beats me » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:53 pm

Casing? So you took the drive out of a factory made and sealed external drive instead of buying an internal drive?

Also, dunno if you guys realize I'm talking about a new Macbook PRO and not a regular Macbook.

drush
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Post by drush » Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:07 pm

the Passport is an external, in an enclosure. he means he took the drive out of the enclosure and put it in his computer.

re the new mb/mbp.. as long as it's the unibody model, the ease of getting to the drive is as i described. same for both models.

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