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5400 RPM vs. 7200 RPM...help me choose!

J

johnbro23

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 12, 2004
770
0
Pittsburgh, PA
I'm going for the Mac Book Pro 2.0 GHz. I'm getting everything standard, except I can't figure out if I should upgrade the hard drive speed.

The upgrade is $90, and it also means I don't get instant gratification (because I can't just go pick it up at an Apple Store).

So what should I do? What is improved with the speedier HD? If start up time is reduced significantly with the higher HD speed, I might go for the upgrade because I plan on using Boot Camp here and there.
 
The Hard disk is the slowest bit of memory in the machine so the fastest you can get it the better. So if you can afford it get it. You'd notice the difference I'm sure.
 
captainbeefheat said:
The Hard disk is the slowest bit of memory in the machine so the fastest you can get it the better. So if you can afford it get it. You'd notice the difference I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. Anyone else have any suggestions? I'd like a second opinion before I make the purchase.
 
does the 7200RPM affect the battery life? That might be something to consider if it indeed does, (which I don't know, I'm just posing the question). If it doesn't affect it or it isn't drastic, i'd say the 7200RPM HD is better, even if you'll have to wait. It will be peppier performance in the long run for your computer.
 
From what I remember (I researched this a while ago), battery life shouldn't be affected. I would go with the faster drive, I know if I didn't and it was only $90 more I would regret it later on.
 
"pretty big difference?"


I dont know about pretty big. You will definately notice difference but it wont be mind blowing.

On my PC I have a bunch of 5400 and 7400,1 4800 HDD, and 1 10kRPM that I swap in and out of my system. Unless you are always and plan to swap very large files, access very large files, etc you wont notice very much. For booting up, you might see it being a second or two faster.

So if you have the extra cash to throw out, it definately wont hurt. However if you are looking to improve performance you might want to upgrade your RAM as well or even just the RAM itself. You can have a blistering fast HDD but if you dont have enough memory to go along with it, it makes it entirely useless and a huge waste of money.
 
joecool85 said:
From what I remember (I researched this a while ago), battery life shouldn't be affected. I would go with the faster drive, I know if I didn't and it was only $90 more I would regret it later on.
Click to expand...
then i'd definitely go with the HD upgrade. Let's face it, for the money you want an amazing machine. And for that much more with the longevity benefits I'd most certainly spend the money and wait the short time to get that baby.

Whichever model you choose, mazel tov ;)
 
wako said:
"pretty big difference?"


I dont know about pretty big. You will definately notice difference but it wont be mind blowing.
Click to expand...

Well, I put in a 7200 in my Powerbook Ti, and it sure felt like a big difference to me! Of course, a five year old computer is bound to benefit from even small speed increases like that, but on the whole I would say yeah, it's a "pretty big difference". :)
 
I am truly amazed at the difference in my powerbook 550mhz titanium, as well. It is running faster with a 7200 Travelstar than my 1.5ghz powerbook 12" with a Toshiba 5400rpm drive. And the Toshiba has a 16mb cache.

Just bought a 100gig 7200rpm travelstar for the one of the machines, not sure yet which one! THe larger drive is even faster than the 60gig 7200rpm drive.

Oh, and for that price, the upgrade is totally worth it.
 
Go for it, it'll make your system feel faster, you can always add more storage for back-ups etc, but the HD is a big part of how fast your system will feel for a lot of tasks, however much memory you put in it. I agree with wako that RAM is the priority if you only have that cash to spend on something, but if you can stretch to both then go for it.

I've used a 2.16Ghz Macbook Pro with 2GB RAM and a 7200rpm drive. I want one.
 
dferrara said:
Isn't reliability a factor? The 12-inch PowerBook doesn't have a 7200 rpm option.
Click to expand...

It has the option if you have Cert Apple Tech put it in for you.

Not sure what you mean about reliability?
 
I had the impression that a faster drive is more susceptible to failure or movement, jarring, etc.
 
dferrara said:
I had the impression that a faster drive is more susceptible to failure or movement, jarring, etc.
Click to expand...

If you've got motion sensor in last revison of ibooks/powerbooks, shouldn't be a problem. I actually traded up my ibooks/powerbooks for this exact reason -- I wanted more hd protection
 
7200 rpm vs 5400rpm

Get the upgrade, $90 is cheaper now then later, and your machine will be noticably faster. Can't wait for a Raptor 10,000 rpm laptop drive!

Mike
 
how come the upgrade is only $90US? in the uk apple store it's an extra £140.
 
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