Will the new Hitachi 500GB work in MacBook Pro?

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I recently purchased my first Mac. It's an upgraded original MBP 15 inch with 250 GB, 2GB RAM, and 2.1GHz Intel Core Duo. This machine was built in March 2006.

I design websites and also work with film clips and music files. I need all the space I can get. I have searched and found a 500GB drive by Hitachi.

I need someone who knows what to look for to please tell me if this drive will work. I need to know if it will fit in my machine and will it operate properly.

http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.f5f6a619d01b27127d807c90eac4f0a0/

Thanks for your help.
 
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According to the technical specs, it should work in your MBP no problem. I didn't think these drives were available yet...
 
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I did read the specs and thought it should work. I needed a second opinion. Thank you for your reply.

I just left Frys and they have not received a shipment. The guy said he hopes they will soon have it. I guess I have to order it online.

How difficult is it to install? If I get an authorized Apple technician to install how much will the technician charge?
 

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I did read the specs and thought it should work. I needed a second opinion. Thank you for your reply.

I just left Frys and they have not received a shipment. The guy said he hopes they will soon have it. I guess I have to order it online.

How difficult is it to install? If I get an authorized Apple technician to install how much will the technician charge?

I suggest you have it done by a tech as the MBP hard drive is not as easily accessible as it is in the MB. However, if you wish to tackle the job yourself and save some $$$, go to this website and follow their step by step instructions:

http://www.ifixit.com/

As for the cost of having a tech do the job, why not give an authorized shop a call and ask?

Regards.
 
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One more thing. The drive I currently have installed is a WDC WD2500BEVS-11UST0 according to the system profiler. I just looked it up and its height is 9.5mm. The Hitachi's height is 12.5mm. I don't mean to keep asking questions but I want to be sure before I order this. Does the difference in height matter?
 
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Sorry, ignore this post, The previous replies didnt show up before I posted :)
 
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One more thing. The drive I currently have installed is a WDC WD2500BEVS-11UST0 according to the system profiler. I just looked it up and its height is 9.5mm. The Hitachi's height is 12.5mm. I don't mean to keep asking questions but I want to be sure before I order this. Does the difference in height matter?

Since it's such a thin laptop, a 3mm height difference is a pretty big deal. Did a search and found that the 12.5mm drives will only fit in the 17" model. For the 15" model you absolutely need a 9.5mm drive.

Further research has shown that 9.5mm 500GB drives should be out really soon. Samsung announced a 9.5mm 500GB drive a while ago and reports show that it was "released" in late March, but evidently has yet to show up in stores. I'm sure if you wait around a little longer you'll be able to get your hands on a 9.5mm 500GB drive.
 
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Thank You!!! I will wait and keep my eye open for the Samsung.
 
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That's the same hard drive. As stated earlier, it will only work in the 17" Macbook Pro, not the 15"
 
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I would like to point out that MacBook Pro (as well as all other Apple Notebooks) hard drives have Sudden Motion Sensors built in. Upgrading to an aftermarket drive generally doesn't allow this feature to be used anymore unless the drive supports it.

The larger capacity drives that are coming out now do not have it. As far as I know the largest 5400 RPM drive is 250 GB and the largest 7200 RPM drive is 200 GB (which are the maximum sizes currently available from Apple).

Not that the drive wouldn't work without the Sudden Motion sensor, it's just a good feature to have, and it may make the difference between losing and keeping data should your Mac fall.
 
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Is the WD Velociraptor compatible with the MacBook Pro 15"? Has anyone done the upgrade? It is wicked fast, but I would be worried about battery life reduction, what with a 10K RPM rotational speed.

I was not aware that I could take my MBP into an Apple store and have them upgrade it for me. Has anyone here actually done that? Any idea what they charge for the work, assuming I provide the hard drive?
 
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the wd velociraptor is a 2.5" drive in a 3.5" casing. The casing is designed to help cool the hd. i am not sure if the hd can removed from the 3.5" casing. although it would be nice to have that kind of hd speed
 
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Ah, OK. I guess that leaves me with the option of Seagate's Momentus 7200.3, which is still so new as to be scarce. However, it is a pretty fast drive too - not in the same camp as the Velociraptor, but very fast for a notebook disk.

I am starting to think of upgrading my MacBook Pro to this larger drive and an additional 2 GB of RAM - should give it nice performance boost.

However, having seen the on line tutorials for upgrading a MBP disk, I think I would want an Apple tech to do it... looks pretty complicated and potentially error prone. I have built and enhanced many desktop machines, but I have never messed around in the innards of a notebook before. I am not sure that an MBP is the right place to start!
 

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