5400 RPM vs 7200 RPM

Is there any noticable speed difference between getting the $2200 MacBook Pro 15 inch with a 750 GB 5400 RPM hard drive vs500 GB 7200 RPM?

Yes, there's a difference in speed. But only if you pay close attention.

Is there any difference in battery life, temperature, lifespan ect? I would like increased performance, but I don't want it to die.

I haven't noticed any difference in battery life or anything else. A bit quicker but not a huge amount. Only really notice the speed increase when editing video.

I usually only convert video into different formats (I'm sure there's a better term than that though) from DVD's---would the time gains for converting a 2 hour movie be noticable?

No, it's not going to make a noticeable difference.

Definite performance difference, negligible decrease in battery life or increase in heat.

It just "feels" snappier with a 7200RPM drive. It's one of those things worth doing if you can afford to do it. ...IMO.

My desktop has a 72000RPM drive and it boots super quick. Also, your apps will open a tad faster with the 7200RO drive.

- Kyle

72,000?!

gotta get me one of those...

duncanbrodie1 said:

72,000?!

gotta get me one of those...

Click to expand...

Yeah, but boy, stand back when they baby fails!

Kash said:

Definite performance difference, negligible decrease in battery life or increase in heat.

Click to expand...

I really don't think he's going to see a performance difference with what he's doing. The conversion of a video format is less dependent on the drive speed and more dependent on processor speed.

7200 rpm drive is good to have. It's a little faster than the 5400, just as quiet, doesn't take up a lot of power from your battery, and pretty inexpensive. Although I would not pay more for pre-installed, but rather install myself and save money.

Not a big difference in speed, but definitely louder. I ordered my late 2010 MacBook Pro with 7200 RPM and I kind of regret it because I can hear it spinning all the time, it's the loudest part in my MacBook.

I got a new MBP not long ago, kept it at the standard 500gb 5400rpm then swapped it out a couple of days later with a 500gb momentus XT which is a 7200rpm hybrid drive (tiny bit of flash memory). It made a massive difference and only cost $130AUD. Now i just need to get an enclosure for the spare 500gb drive which i'll turn into a time machine

I installed a 7200rpm drive to replace my 5400rpm... I definitely noticed a speed bump - although nothing major, it is definitely there...