MacBook - Hard drive upgrade recommendations please

StevenH · StevenH #1 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 04:03 PM

Hi.

I'm looking to upgrade my Macbook hard drive from 80GB to 120/160 if possible. But I don't know what I should be looking for.

Can anyone recommend me some good hard drives to look at? (Apple Store doesn't seem to stock any hard drive replacements for Macbook). I'm based in UK.

bad.heron · bad.heron #2 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 04:16 PM

What generation Macbook is it (how old)?

bad.heron · bad.heron #3 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 04:16 PM

You might find this article helpful: How to Upgrade Your MacBook's Hard Drive | Macinstruct

StevenH · StevenH #4 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bad.heron

What generation Macbook is it (how old)?

It's 1 year old. Bought Oct 2007. What generation does that make it? And does that guide still apply in my case?

CrimsonRequiem · CrimsonRequiem #5 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 07:12 PM

I would look into any of these three.

StevenH · StevenH #6 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 07:14 PM

Just read that article. Sounds like it almost definitely will still apply.

Next question then:

My current HD speed (research tells me) is 4200-rpm. If I upgrade toa 7200-rpm,

1) will this be noticeably noisier?
2) how much do you think it'll drain my battery life (in terms of hours/minutes)?

CrimsonRequiem · CrimsonRequiem #7 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StevenH

Just read that article. Sounds like it almost definitely will still apply.

Next question then:

My current HD speed (research tells me) is 4200-rpm. If I upgrade toa 7200-rpm,

1) will this be noticeably noisier?
2) how much do you think it'll drain my battery life (in terms of hours/minutes)?

The 7200 RPM Seagate HDD that I have is super quiet. I can hear a pin drop from the other side of the room before I can even hear the drive spinning.

The battery life I'm not sure about because I get 4.5 to 5hrs with the 7200 RPM HDD. I also have low latency RAM so that might be offsetting why I have better or pretty much the same battery life with the old 160GB 5400 RPM HDD.

StevenH · StevenH #8 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrimsonRequiem

The 7200 RPM Seagate HDD that I have is super quiet. I can hear a pin drop from the other side of the room before I can even hear the drive spinning.

The battery life I'm not sure about because I get 4.5 to 5hrs with the 7200 RPM HDD. I also have low latency RAM so that might be offsetting why I have better or pretty much the same battery life with the old 160GB 5400 RPM HDD.

That's fine.

I just didn't want it to get PC like again, you know?

StevenH · StevenH #9 (**permalink**)

10-21-2008, 09:13 PM

Based on a couple reviews (including yours), I'm gonna get the Seagate Momentum 7200.3 250GB HHD. Thanks guys.

AlexS · AlexS #10 (**permalink**)

10-22-2008, 11:44 AM

Hi everyone, im having the same dilemma, qould like to steer clear of seagate if possible so does anyone know if this will be compatible with my macbook (bought in nov '06 black mackbook) i know the drive has to be 9.5mm high, but not sure if this one is...

Western Digital Scorpio Black 250GB 7200RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD2500BEKT))

StevenH · StevenH #11 (**permalink**)

10-22-2008, 12:57 PM

Yes that'll be fine.

Gethin · Gethin #12 (**permalink**)

10-23-2008, 12:36 PM

When you install a new HD, you can do a restore from a Time Machine backup, provided you have a Leopard Install disk - right?

bad.heron #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 15, 2008 Location: England, UK Posts: 285 Mac Specs: 15.4" Macbook Pro, 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3, 128GB SSD Drive, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M+9600M GT	10-21-2008, 04:16 PM What generation Macbook is it (how old)? 15.4" Apple Unibody Macbook Pro Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.4), 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB 1066Mz DDR3 SDRAM (2x2GB), 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD), NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB, SuperDrive 8X - Apple Remote Infrared (IR) - Logitech MX Performance 2.4 GHz Wireless - Apple Keyboard Bluetooth - iPhone 4 32GB, Black
	QUOTE Thanks

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StevenH #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 05, 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Posts: 213 Mac Specs: White Macbook (refurb), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB Memory, 60GB HDD	10-21-2008, 04:03 PM Hi. I'm looking to upgrade my Macbook hard drive from 80GB to 120/160 if possible. But I don't know what I should be looking for. Can anyone recommend me some good hard drives to look at? (Apple Store doesn't seem to stock any hard drive replacements for Macbook). I'm based in UK.
	QUOTE Thanks

CrimsonRequiem #5 (permalink)
Inactive Staff Member Since: Jul 24, 2008 Posts: 5,957 Mac Specs: MBP 2.3 Ghz 4GB RAM 860 GB SSD, iMac 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 32GB RAM, Fusion Drive 1TB	10-21-2008, 07:12 PM I would look into any of these three.
	QUOTE Thanks

StevenH #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 05, 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Posts: 213 Mac Specs: White Macbook (refurb), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB Memory, 60GB HDD	10-21-2008, 07:14 PM Just read that article. Sounds like it almost definitely will still apply. Next question then: My current HD speed (research tells me) is 4200-rpm. If I upgrade toa 7200-rpm, 1) will this be noticeably noisier? 2) how much do you think it'll drain my battery life (in terms of hours/minutes)?
	QUOTE Thanks

StevenH #9 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 05, 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Posts: 213 Mac Specs: White Macbook (refurb), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB Memory, 60GB HDD	10-21-2008, 09:13 PM Based on a couple reviews (including yours), I'm gonna get the Seagate Momentum 7200.3 250GB HHD. Thanks guys.
	QUOTE Thanks

AlexS #10 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 22, 2008 Posts: 1	10-22-2008, 11:44 AM Hi everyone, im having the same dilemma, qould like to steer clear of seagate if possible so does anyone know if this will be compatible with my macbook (bought in nov '06 black mackbook) i know the drive has to be 9.5mm high, but not sure if this one is... Western Digital Scorpio Black 250GB 7200RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD2500BEKT))
	QUOTE Thanks

StevenH #11 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 05, 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Posts: 213 Mac Specs: White Macbook (refurb), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB Memory, 60GB HDD	10-22-2008, 12:57 PM Yes that'll be fine.
	QUOTE Thanks

Gethin #12 (permalink)
Member Since: May 11, 2006 Posts: 38 Mac Specs: iMac G5 1.8GHz 1GB RAM, 60GB iPod Video, 30GB iPod video on loan to the better half :-)	10-23-2008, 12:36 PM When you install a new HD, you can do a restore from a Time Machine backup, provided you have a Leopard Install disk - right?
	QUOTE Thanks

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