Brand New MBP 17" but want the faster HDD..

[Zedic]

Hey all!

First, I hope I've put this thread in the right spot. I am the proud owner of a new MBP 17" as of a couple days ago. I had been longing for one with the faster processor and 7200 RPM HDD but when I went into the Apple store I was told that they only had Mac's with the slower 5400 RPM drives. Not to be denied I pulled the trigger on it anyway and so far I've been pretty happy with it (it's my first Mac).

I'm primarily a gamer though, and I can't get this nagging idea out of my head that the faster drive would be better...

Am I wrong? If not, I don't suppose Apple would upgrade the drive would they? Or is it possible for me to upgrade it myself?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Lounge Deluxe]

This forum is full of questions and answers about upgrading the hard drive of Apple notebooks, just perform a search.

And please read the manual that came with your MBP, it provides valuable info on how to open up the MBP etc.

 

[vant]

Sounds like you need a SSD.

SSDs improve loading times greatly in games. Some cases, frames per second improve too.

 

[iGary]

Hey all!

First, I hope I've put this thread in the right spot. I am the proud owner of a new MBP 17" as of a couple days ago. I had been longing for one with the faster processor and 7200 RPM HDD but when I went into the Apple store I was told that they only had Mac's with the slower 5400 RPM drives. Not to be denied I pulled the trigger on it anyway and so far I've been pretty happy with it (it's my first Mac).

I'm primarily a gamer though, and I can't get this nagging idea out of my head that the faster drive would be better...

Am I wrong? If not, I don't suppose Apple would upgrade the drive would they? Or is it possible for me to upgrade it myself?

Thanks for any advice!

Apple won't upgrade the drive. Luckily, if you have the right tools, it's easy enough to do yourself.

The difference with the faster drive is kind of negligible, IMHO.

 

[sascha h-k]

even with two "left" hands you will upgrade your hdd in 10 min.

(take care to put the screws around your mbp (this on a towel) to return them in the right position and fix them gently)

 

[clyde2801]

Apple won't upgrade the drive. Luckily, if you have the right tools, it's easy enough to do yourself.

The difference with the faster drive is kind of negligible, IMHO.

I have noticed a difference in faster boot times, cold application launches and disk intensive operations like installing programs, software updates, etc. Not a night and day difference, mind you. A friend or two of mine have ssd's, and their machines do have a 'wow' factor. Too dang bad the prices are so high and the capacities are so low on those drives.

 

[Zedic]

Heh, cool!

I guess because it's so new it's still my pressciouss LOL I've built PC desktops and upgraded a desktop replacement laptop before (Sager). Can't blame a new convert for being squeamish eh?

I suppose I just need to find a compatible 7200 rpm drive.

I'd love a SSD - but those things are ridiculously expensive imo. I've also considering maxing out the Ram too, just couldn't see paying that much for them to build it for me.

 

[clyde2801]

Heh, cool!

I guess because it's so new it's still my pressciouss LOL I've built PC desktops and upgraded a desktop replacement laptop before (Sager). Can't blame a new convert for being squeamish eh?

I suppose I just need to find a compatible 7200 rpm drive.

I'd love a SSD - but those things are ridiculously expensive imo. I've also considering maxing out the Ram too, just couldn't see paying that much for them to build it for me.

The 500 gig wd scorpio blue is a perennial favorite on the boards. It's been tested to have a comparable speed to the latest 7200's but is free of noise and vibration issues that some have reported with the faster drives.

 

[Zedic]

Just did some reading here about that drive, thanks for the suggestion clyde. I still feel like I'll go for a 7200 rpm drive since I won't be bothered by any noice. When I'm playing Eve Online, I keep my fans cranked up to max with SMC.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Just did some reading here about that drive, thanks for the suggestion clyde. I still feel like I'll go for a 7200 rpm drive since I won't be bothered by any noice. When I'm playing Eve Online, I keep my fans cranked up to max with SMC.

Go for a WD Scorpio Black then. You'll be hard pressed to find a faster 2.5" HDD.

 

[clyde2801]

You may not be bothered by noise, but I've experienced vibration on both the seagate and wd 7200's on unibody mbps.

Tom's hardware compared the wd scorpio black and the seagate 500 gig 7200.4 drives. WD was faster in random seeks and writes (said by many to be indicative of everyday computer use) while Seagate held the edge in sustained drive usage. The seagate comes in the newest 500 gig capacity, while the wd tops out at 320 gigs.