7200 rpm Hard Drive in a MacBook

[jne381]

I am planning on purchasing a new MacBook in the next couple of weeks, and I wanted to ask if there would be a problem with putting a 7200rpm hard drive in the machine.

I understand that the power consumption will be greater, but will there be any major issues with heat? I am assuming there would not be an issue with regards to the size of the Drive, but am I wrong?

Finally, I have been looking at the 100GB Hitachi

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146052

or the Seagate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146228

are there any recommendations as to which product is more reliable?

Thanks

 

[iGary]

I am planning on purchasing a new MacBook in the next couple of weeks, and I wanted to ask if there would be a problem with putting a 7200rpm hard drive in the machine.

I understand that the power consumption will be greater, but will there be any major issues with heat? I am assuming there would not be an issue with regards to the size of the Drive, but am I wrong?

Finally, I have been looking at the 100GB Hitachi

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146052

or the Seagate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146228

are there any recommendations as to which product is more reliable?

Thanks

The Hitachi isn't labeled as Serial ATA, and I'd always go with a Seagate, personally.

You will void your warranty.

Do you use the laptop more on battery or plugged in?

 

[grapes911]

1. I always go with Seagate. They make very good hard drives and have the best warranty on the market.

2. You won't see much loss in battery life. Tests of PC laptops show a loss of about 15 minutes when upgrading to 7200 RPM. I doubt you'd lose any more than that.

3. I have no idea how the MB will handle the heat. It's still too new of a computer for anyone to have tested it yet. I'm sure people have already put 7200 RPM hard drives in MBs, but no one knows if the computer's life span will be considerable cut short. Now after that little warning is over with, I would guess that a MB will be fine with a 7200 RPM hard drive.

 

[jne381]

Do you use the laptop more on battery or plugged in?

I use the laptop with the battery more often than plugged in.

 

[jne381]

The Hitachi isn't labeled as Serial ATA

Thanks for the observation.

 

[netdog]

As Apple have posted instructions regarding how to change your hard drive at APPLE.COM, I don't think that you will void your warranty unless you break something on the way in or way out.

 

[iHeartTheApple]

As Apple have posted instructions regarding how to change your hard drive at APPLE.COM, I don't think that you will void your warranty unless you break something on the way in or way out.

Agreed. I found the official Apple document (now I can't remember where I found it ) detailing how to replace your hdd and warning you:

"Follow the instructions in this document carefully. Failure to follow these instructions could damage your equipment and void your warranty."

One of the Apple Store salesmen told me it would void my warranty anyway, but I don't much trust them anymore...each one seems to have a different thing to say.

 

[Abulia]

Here's the Hitachi you want:

Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 100GB (HTS721010G9SA00)
http://techreport.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=14073295

It gets slightly better reviews than the Seagate in head to head tests. Both are fine drives, though.

Power consumption and heat differences from the stock 5400 and a 7200 are negligible.

 

[~Shard~]

Another vote for Segate, although that Hitachi drive Abulia referenced looks pretty sweet as well.

I wouldn't worry about the added power consumption either, for the most part it's unnoticeable.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Go with the Seagate.

 

[iGary]

Agreed. I found the official Apple document (now I can't remember where I found it ) detailing how to replace your hdd and warning you:

"Follow the instructions in this document carefully. Failure to follow these instructions could damage your equipment and void your warranty."

One of the Apple Store salesmen told me it would void my warranty anyway, but I don't much trust them anymore...each one seems to have a different thing to say.

As someone who has done battle with Apple Care on a monumentous level, I'd recommend not giving them any reason to say something - anything - is not covered.

 

[Abulia]

From the X-bit labs review:

But what device is the winner of our tests? In fact, there are two drives that are worthy of one another – Seagate Momentus 7200.1 100GB ATA (ST910021A) and Hitachi 7K100 100GB (HTS721010G9SA00). These devices have achieved the highest results in most of the tests. The SATA-interfaced Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 100GB has won more tests in total, so it can be considered as the best among the presented devices.

The Seagate has a 5 year warranty, the Hitachi 3 years, if that's important to you.

Hitachi draws slightly less power at idle and has a shorter avg seek time (only .5 ms better). Other than that they're pretty much identical, spec wise.

There's another review at The Tech Report. They do have sound and power draw results, though. The prefer the Seagate.

Tech specs

 

[jne381]

You have all been very helpful, Thanks.