Small upgrades to MBP

Hi,

I have an early 2010 MacBook Pro 13". The previous owner removed one of the 1GB sticks and replaced it with a 2GB module taking the memory to 3GB. Not sure why, as this will remove the dual channel functionality so I've ordered 4GB (2x2GB) from Crucial to replace this.

Next one is the HDD. This little laptop will serve as a desktop replacement for me, but the 160GB HDD is letting it down. The drive is a simple replacement and at a budget of about £40 I'm going to try for a 500GB/640GB replacement. Are any drives worth staying away from? Will a 7,200RPM drive cause heat issues?

Everything else I'm happy with, going to get the HDD this week and install it along with Lion when it is released.

Thanks, Chris.

Hey Chris.

I recalled this post I stumbled across earlier. I think it answers your question.

"Installed a 7200 Seagate Momentus 500 GB in my 15" unibody MBP. The machine vibrated too much, and when on a hard surface, felt like a tuning fork. I had a 7200 drive in my old MBP (pre-unibody) with no vibration issues. I've since put a larger 5400 drive (Hitachi) and it's working great.

If you have a 13" unibody, I would think the 7200 will make that thing shake.

Seagate
Hitachi
Western Digital

These are the big three. I've used Seagate with no problems, Western Digital many problems (external drives) and now Hitachi (love it)." - Furi0us.Bee's post.

NickCage said:

Hey Chris.

I recalled this post I stumbled across earlier. I think it answers your question.

"Installed a 7200 Seagate Momentus 500 GB in my 15" unibody MBP. The machine vibrated too much, and when on a hard surface, felt like a tuning fork. I had a 7200 drive in my old MBP (pre-unibody) with no vibration issues. I've since put a larger 5400 drive (Hitachi) and it's working great.

If you have a 13" unibody, I would think the 7200 will make that thing shake.

Seagate
Hitachi
Western Digital

These are the big three. I've used Seagate with no problems, Western Digital many problems (external drives) and now Hitachi (love it)." - Furi0us.Bee's post.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure why that would be. I have a 7200rpm drive STOCK in my 15" mbp and there are no vibrations. Nor heat issues.

Dysfunction said:

I'm not sure why that would be. I have a 7200rpm drive STOCK in my 15" mbp and there are no vibrations. Nor heat issues.

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Perhaps the fact that its a stock model explains why there are no vibrations.

I'm thinking when assembled, the stock 7200 rpm drive is securely fitted in the factory. Where as if you were to install a non-stock model it wouldn't be a factory secure fitting.

Thats my take on it anyway.

Not all 7200 RPM drives are the same quality. You really need to read up on the reviews for each one. Some of them have more problems than others.

I've never had vibration, heat, or noise issues after installing 7200rpm HDs.
A vast number of members here have had only the same experience as me.

6string said:

I've never had vibration, heat, or noise issues after installing 7200rpm HDs.
A vast number of members here have had only the same experience as me.

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I've never had problems either but I have read reports of others having problems so it couldn't hurt to read up on the reviews of the drives before buying.

Thanks for the replies all.

To be safe, I'll stick with the 5,400RPM drive. I've found a Samsung 640GB for £42 ($66) with free delivery that has a lot of positive reviews - I think I'll go with this one.

Chris_B said:

To be safe, I'll stick with the 5,400RPM drive.

Click to expand...

The choice is yours but as mentioned above many people have no problems with a 7200 RPM drive.

NickCage said:

Perhaps the fact that its a stock model explains why there are no vibrations.

I'm thinking when assembled, the stock 7200 rpm drive is securely fitted in the factory. Where as if you were to install a non-stock model it wouldn't be a factory secure fitting.

Thats my take on it anyway.

Click to expand...

Then it's an installation problem. Not a problem with the drive speed. There could be quality issues with particular drives, this is always a possibility.