Hard drive recommendations

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Greetings

I recently purchased a 15" MacBook Pro (non Retina) with a 500GB harddrive. It was a display model and I wanted one that still had the optical drive. With a % off the price I couldn't pass it up. Anyway, Before I load everything up, I'm considering upgrading the hard drive to a 1 or 2TB.

Anyone have any suggestions on a brand or type? I'd like to go with a 7200rpm vs a 5400 but I'm willing to compromise based on price, size, and reliability.

Thanks.
 

pigoo3

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We sort of get this question a lot. And although some folks have their favorite brand (for various reasons)...I usually say:

- first shop for the capacity and rotational speed you want (5400rpm, 7200rpm, etc.)
- then shop for best price

When you ask a question like this...you're bound to get these answers:

- I like Western Digital
- I like Seagate
- I like Toshiba
- I like Samsung
- etc.

After you get recommendations for almost every brand possible...this doesn't leave you with a clear cut decision on what brand to purchase.;)

So I say...just shop for the size and speed you want...then look for the best price.:) If you always have your data/apps backed up...then you have no reliability concerns.:)

- Nick
 

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snip...
When you ask a question like this...you're bound to get these answers:

- I like Western Digital
snip...

;)
Yep, I'll pop in and recommend the WD Black for your OS drive for reliability and speed. I still like these drives.

So I say...just shop for the size and speed you want...then look for the best price.:) If you always have your data/apps backed up...then you have no reliability concerns.:)

- Nick

Agreed!!

(I should ask WD to start giving me a kick back every time I recommend them.)
 
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;)
Yep, I'll pop in and recommend the WD Black for your OS drive for reliability and speed. I still like these drives.



Agreed!!

(I should ask WD to start giving me a kick back every time I recommend them.)

I will agree WD has been the most reliable drives I have purchased over the years along with Crucials M500 SSD's.
 
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And also look out for the best warranty. Seagate's were being offered with three years some months ago.
 
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And also look out for the best warranty. Seagate's were being offered with three years some months ago.

1. be sure to get mfr warrnty.. and do a google lookup on their site with the drive serial# when you get it.. many sellers will sell off old stock to save a buck or three... OR sell grey market drives. you can look up most mfr warranty online....

2 i'm a bit partial to SSHD (solid state hybrid), due to the speed bump/cost comparison.. it's 2-4x's faster than a conventional 7200rpm drive. and in my experience there is no reliability drop on it...

all that said, more importantly than what you spend on the drive, what is your backup/timemachine setup??
 

pigoo3

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(I should ask WD to start giving me a kick back every time I recommend them.)

Yes you should!:) I feel the same way each time I recommend OWC!;)

- Nick
 
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Thanks for the replies. I currently back up to 2 different externals, both Seagate.

So the hybrid is both standard and SSD combined?

I've looked at OWC and nothing over 1 TB at 7200. I was hoping to get a 2TB. Apple's website I believe has a 2TB for $249.

Any 2.5 SATA should work right? It doesn't have to be MAC specific. You just format it upon install?
 

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Another vote for WD Black. Excellent drives.

For SSD I right now have no idea.
 
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Seagate have just announced a Samsung 2TB 9.5mm 5400 rpm 2.5" hard drive. As the announcement was only made on the 6th of this month I suspect they will be in short supply, plus the largest drives may initially command premium prices. Seagate no longer manufacture 7200 rpm 2.5" drives, their SSHD drives are intended to fill that market sector.

Toshiba now make 2.5" SSHD drives, but they are their first SSHD product. Seagate have more experience, having previously made 7200 rpm SSHD drives, now their new models are 5400rpm but still fast. I'm just about to try one in my late 2009 15" MBP.

The WD Black 1TB 7200 2.5" HD drive is a reliable efficient drive with a good warranty, 5 years in the UK.
 
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I first look and see which have the best warranties. If it is less than 3 years then I won't get it. After that I think most hard drives are more or less the same and I look and price and reviews (must me 7200 RPM as well). Another suggestion is to remove your optical drive and place an SSD in the primary and move your current drive to the optical bay. I recently did this to my 5 year old pro and it runs almost as fast as my 2 year old air. I never used the optical drive and I don't miss it. Check Other World Computing for SSDs.
 
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I didn't know you could swap the optical for an additional drive. That's something I may consider...Thanks for that idea.

As far as the WD Black, I can't seem to find any at 1TB. The Blacks go to 750gb, but the Blue is 1TB.
 
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As far as the WD Black, I can't seem to find any at 1TB. The Blacks go to 750gb, but the Blue is 1TB.

You are correct, the biggest 2.5" WD Black you can get is 750gb. My Drobo is full of WD Black drives and I have never had an issue. It also has the 5 year warranty.
 
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May just have to compromise for a 1TB for 5400.

So I was just looking at the Drobo....please tell me more. NAS is something else I've been looking at, running a RAID 1. How has Drobo worked for you John. Any experience with any other NAS multi bay hardware?
 
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May just have to compromise for a 1TB for 5400.

So I was just looking at the Drobo....please tell me more. NAS is something else I've been looking at, running a RAID 1. How has Drobo worked for you John. Any experience with any other NAS multi bay hardware?

I have the Drobo mini packed with 4 WD Black 750GB drives, and also have the mSATA SSD for hot cache installed. I keep all of my iTunes library data on there and run over the Thunderbolt interface. I have not had one issue with it ever, it has been flawless from day 1.

I also have a Synology device that holds the backup of the Drobo. The Synology has tons of features that the Drobo does not, but I don't find myself using many of them. It has an iTunes server, Plex, web server, etc. It really is a full featured device and maybe someday I will take advantage of it more.

IMO, you cannot go wrong with Drobo (newest models) and Synology products. For me, both have been great choices.
 

bobtomay

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Agree with John related to Drobo and Synology making some good devices.

With the Drobo, need to make sure whatever is on it is backed up somewhere else.
Since it uses a proprietary RAID, if your Drobo dies, your data is unrecoverable without buying another Drobo. One thing that has kept me from going that route. Of course, if it's data is backed up to another location, that's not really a big problem.
 
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So if the whole Drobo fails, then the data on the drives is lost too? Can you elaborate please? Is this not in a RAID 1 type setup?
 

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