Macbook - 5200 or 7200 HDD?

taseal · taseal #1 (**permalink**)

07-25-2006, 11:58 AM

I cant decide what I want to go for....

I can either go for size and get a bigass 160gb HDD with slower RPMs or I can get a 100gig HD with more RPMs for better performance...

is the performance diff really that big? will I notice it? (I do run demanding apps such as PS, or some games like COD2)

I would really like the extra space of a 160gb (I probably could never fill it up but its nice to have) 100gb would be big enough for me honestly... but if there isnt much of a perforamnce increase, i'd like to go for the biggest I can get

surfwax95 · surfwax95 #2 (**permalink**)

07-25-2006, 12:15 PM

I can notice a pretty big difference.

I've got a 250gb 5400rpm drive and a 160gb 7200rpm drive in my G5. There's a folder of 150 high-res images that I can contact sheet using Finder's slideshow.

Uncached, the 5400rpm drive takes about 20 seconds to thumbnail every image, but the 7200rpm drive takes about 12 seconds.

Cached, the 5400rpm drive takes about 8 seconds and the 7200 takes about 3 seconds.

I'd go for the faster drive and get a slower external for storage later on.

taseal · taseal #3 (**permalink**)

07-25-2006, 04:12 PM

wow, thats a big diff... def going for 7200 then

Mathiau · Mathiau #4 (**permalink**)

07-25-2006, 04:54 PM

7200 RPM in theroy is to be %33 faster then a 5400RPM drive

i went froma 5400to a 7200 60g in my dell laptop and i did notice it certainly.

the power requirements are failry similar to a 5400RPM drive so you do not need to worry about extra power much.

The new seagate drives 7200.10 with perpendicular technology will battle against 7200 RPM drives as i think they are coming in 5400 flavours first...

unplugged · unplugged #5 (**permalink**)

07-25-2006, 07:03 PM

yeah, between added memory - at least 1gig and a 7200 rpm drive - you will notice a big improvement over factory spec.

taseal · taseal #6 (**permalink**)

07-25-2006, 08:55 PM

i'm gunna get this

http://www.provantage.com/seagate-st...s~7SEGH00L.htm

according to this, it is a very quiet drive...

http://www.wiredbynature.org/comp/mac/macbook/mods.php

unplugged · unplugged #7 (**permalink**)

07-25-2006, 09:04 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822146230 159 i think

steven11 · steven11 #8 (**permalink**)

11-15-2006, 07:48 PM

Does anyone have any experience with the true difference between the 5400 and the 7200. There is some good info here but I'm looking for some first hand, "I had a 54 and swapped out for a 72 and oh my god it's worth the extra cash..." type feedback from yous. I'm treating myself the Xmas and am fixin on maxing out my MB!!

alucard · alucard #9 (**permalink**)

11-15-2006, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven11

Does anyone have any experience with the true difference between the 5400 and the 7200. There is some good info here but I'm looking for some first hand, "I had a 54 and swapped out for a 72 and oh my god it's worth the extra cash..." type feedback from yous. I'm treating myself the Xmas and am fixin on maxing out my MB!!

I swapped my wifes original 5400RPM drive with a 100GB 7200RPM drive in her Macbook and she said she noticed more of a difference when i upped the RAM from 512 to 2GB. Keep in mind that she isn't doing any major processing other than internet, a few games and copying pics from our digital cam to the Mac and then sending them to family and friends.

Mathiau · Mathiau #10 (**permalink**)

11-26-2006, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfwax95

I can notice a pretty big difference.

I've got a 250gb 5400rpm drive and a 160gb 7200rpm drive in my G5. There's a folder of 150 high-res images that I can contact sheet using Finder's slideshow.

Uncached, the 5400rpm drive takes about 20 seconds to thumbnail every image, but the 7200rpm drive takes about 12 seconds.

Cached, the 5400rpm drive takes about 8 seconds and the 7200 takes about 3 seconds.

I'd go for the faster drive and get a slower external for storage later on.

i will 2nd the performance, i grabbed a 60g 7200 as i came from a 60g 5400, and just over all everything was noticebly faster!

and the power consumption increase is minimal.

appleXcore · appleXcore #11 (**permalink**)

11-26-2006, 04:17 PM

Simpletech 40 Gig external hard drive is like $40. That what i bought , if your worried about space.

djlee12 · djlee12 #12 (**permalink**)

11-26-2006, 04:45 PM

Just be careful here....you said that you're getting a macbook. A 7200 RPM HD will drain the battery much faster than a 5400 RPM drive. Just keep that in mind.

caribiner23 · caribiner23 #13 (**permalink**)

11-26-2006, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djlee12

Just be careful here....you said that you're getting a macbook. A 7200 RPM HD will drain the battery much faster than a 5400 RPM drive. Just keep that in mind.

And that's one of the reasons I chose a 5400 RPM drive when I upgraded my MacBook.

steven11 · steven11 #14 (**permalink**)

11-26-2006, 09:52 PM

Does doing upgrades like HD or ram Void anything in regards to the applecare?

Dark · Dark #15 (**permalink**)

11-27-2006, 08:00 PM

I went from a 120gig 5400 to a 100gig 7200 and I couldnt be happier.
Also I have not noticed a decrease in battery performance, if there was any it was minimal.

taseal #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 21, 2006 Posts: 286	07-25-2006, 11:58 AM I cant decide what I want to go for.... I can either go for size and get a bigass 160gb HDD with slower RPMs or I can get a 100gig HD with more RPMs for better performance... is the performance diff really that big? will I notice it? (I do run demanding apps such as PS, or some games like COD2) I would really like the extra space of a 160gb (I probably could never fill it up but its nice to have) 100gb would be big enough for me honestly... but if there isnt much of a perforamnce increase, i'd like to go for the biggest I can get MacBook White [2Ghz] [2Gb RAM] [60Gb HDD] [Super Duper Drive] People that keep telling others to search = a**holes, instead be positive, and help, if you have nothing to say, leave the thread alone
	QUOTE Thanks

surfwax95 #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 27, 2005 Location: Fayetteville, AR Posts: 2,410 Mac Specs: 15" Powerbook G4 • 24" iMac • iPhone 3Gs	07-25-2006, 12:15 PM I can notice a pretty big difference. I've got a 250gb 5400rpm drive and a 160gb 7200rpm drive in my G5. There's a folder of 150 high-res images that I can contact sheet using Finder's slideshow. Uncached, the 5400rpm drive takes about 20 seconds to thumbnail every image, but the 7200rpm drive takes about 12 seconds. Cached, the 5400rpm drive takes about 8 seconds and the 7200 takes about 3 seconds. I'd go for the faster drive and get a slower external for storage later on. I try to Command+Shift+/ when I can. They're - Their - There \| Two - Too - To \| You're - Your \| MAC - Mac I was on the M-F honor roll for October, 2006.
	QUOTE Thanks

unplugged #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 14, 2006 Posts: 140	07-25-2006, 07:03 PM yeah, between added memory - at least 1gig and a 7200 rpm drive - you will notice a big improvement over factory spec. MacBook Pro - 2.33Ghz, 2GB, SuperDrive, OS X 10.4.10 http://web.mac.com/mhadjar/
	QUOTE Thanks

taseal #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 21, 2006 Posts: 286	07-25-2006, 08:55 PM i'm gunna get this http://www.provantage.com/seagate-st...s~7SEGH00L.htm according to this, it is a very quiet drive... http://www.wiredbynature.org/comp/mac/macbook/mods.php MacBook White [2Ghz] [2Gb RAM] [60Gb HDD] [Super Duper Drive] People that keep telling others to search = a**holes, instead be positive, and help, if you have nothing to say, leave the thread alone
	QUOTE Thanks

unplugged #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 14, 2006 Posts: 140	07-25-2006, 09:04 PM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822146230 159 i think MacBook Pro - 2.33Ghz, 2GB, SuperDrive, OS X 10.4.10 http://web.mac.com/mhadjar/
	QUOTE Thanks

Macbook - 5200 or 7200 HDD?

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Mathiau #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 25, 2006 Location: Costa Rica Posts: 354 Mac Specs: MacBook Black 2ghz / 2g / 160g72k \| Ipod nano black 4G	07-25-2006, 04:54 PM 7200 RPM in theroy is to be %33 faster then a 5400RPM drive i went froma 5400to a 7200 60g in my dell laptop and i did notice it certainly. the power requirements are failry similar to a 5400RPM drive so you do not need to worry about extra power much. The new seagate drives 7200.10 with perpendicular technology will battle against 7200 RPM drives as i think they are coming in 5400 flavours first...
	QUOTE Thanks

steven11 #8 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 04, 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 709 Mac Specs: MacBook 2.4Ghz 4Gig Ram 250Gig HD	11-15-2006, 07:48 PM Does anyone have any experience with the true difference between the 5400 and the 7200. There is some good info here but I'm looking for some first hand, "I had a 54 and swapped out for a 72 and oh my god it's worth the extra cash..." type feedback from yous. I'm treating myself the Xmas and am fixin on maxing out my MB!!
	QUOTE Thanks

appleXcore #11 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 16, 2006 Posts: 321	11-26-2006, 04:17 PM Simpletech 40 Gig external hard drive is like $40. That what i bought , if your worried about space. OS X 10.6.4 2GB RAM 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo
	QUOTE Thanks

djlee12 #12 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 18, 2004 Posts: 542	11-26-2006, 04:45 PM Just be careful here....you said that you're getting a macbook. A 7200 RPM HD will drain the battery much faster than a 5400 RPM drive. Just keep that in mind. DJ Lee Watts Up Productions www.wattsupproductions.com
	QUOTE Thanks

steven11 #14 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 04, 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 709 Mac Specs: MacBook 2.4Ghz 4Gig Ram 250Gig HD	11-26-2006, 09:52 PM Does doing upgrades like HD or ram Void anything in regards to the applecare?
	QUOTE Thanks

Dark #15 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 17, 2006 Location: Northern, VA Posts: 63 Mac Specs: Black macbook, Black 5G 60gig IPOD	11-27-2006, 08:00 PM I went from a 120gig 5400 to a 100gig 7200 and I couldnt be happier. Also I have not noticed a decrease in battery performance, if there was any it was minimal. Black MacBook Intel C2D 2gig DDR2-667 100gig 7200rpm HDD
	QUOTE Thanks

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