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i5/i7 what brand/type are the 1TB and 2TB HD

MH01

MH01

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Original poster
Feb 11, 2008
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9,297
Hi Guys,

About to order either a i5 or an i7, though not sure if I should go with the 2TB HD. I think i read that the 1TB models were WD Black, can someone confirm this. Also what brand/type is the 2TB drive on the i5/i7 models. In one thread someone said they got a Hitachi drive, although that was a core duo, though probably the same drive as in the quad cores.

If they were the 2TB WD blacks I would consider the 2TB upgrade to be good value.

One, more thing, if the 1TB is the WD Black, what is the noise level? any ticking noises?

Thanks.
 
well I can only really comment on the i5/i7 issue. I am on somewhat of a budget, and picked having 8gb over having a i7. From what I am reading, i7 is for SERIOUS computing/gaming. I visited my local apple store, and the guy there said if I am just using it for video editing, movies, music, web surfing, just normal everyday type of stuff, that the 8gb would be more important then getting the i7. I was not about to spend $200 for a very minimal gain with the i7.
 
how could $250 for a 2 TB drive be a "good value"?

and now you are stuck with ordering from apple = base price + $250 + add tax?

a new bare 2TB Hitachi drive is $145
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...378&acd=10549103-552179-1061467-1-0-ARTICLE-0

The WD and the Hitachi were almost identical in speed tests: http://www.barefeats.com/hard125.html

Order an i5 for $1850 w/1TB, add $100 for 4 more gigs of ram, $145 for a 2 TB Hitachi and drop it in either a FW 400 case ($50) or if you think you really need it, a FW 800 case ($90) = i5 w/3TB of storage and 8 gigs ram for $2100

http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=10682076

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MEFW934FWU2K/

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MEFW924AL1KS/
 
I forgot to mention I am in the Uk, I get a work discount so if the 2TB drive were to be a WD Black model then the upgrade is good value taking into account having to pop open the iMac . If it is the hatachi And the 1TB is the WD black model i will go that.
 
Interesting. Unfortunately (for me), 1 TB drives are not only WD Caviar Black ones.

Please everybody with a new i5 / i7, post your HD model or simply its producer. I'd really like to know ;)
 
Seagate? Uggg..

Last time I bought one of those I replaced it because of the constant noise it was making when I even opened a new browser window. I really hope the noise production of whatever brand they put in is low, like really low, since it's basically right in front of your head.
 
why does it matter?

OddHead said:
Interesting. Unfortunately (for me), 1 TB drives are not only WD Caviar Black ones.

Please everybody with a new i5 / i7, post your HD model or simply its producer. I'd really like to know ;)
Click to expand...

Why does it matter what kind of drive they have?

If it came with a Hitachi instead of a WD, would you not buy it?
 
The Caviar Black is a particularly nice hard drive that tends to be a little more pricy than the other brands but also tends to perform better. The average Caviar Black 2TB drive on Google Shopping is $300-$315. The average Hitachi 2TB deskstar is ~$150. On the benchmarks listed above the Caviar Black is about the same in terms of sustained read, but outperforms all of the other drives by quite a large margin on the small/random reads and writes that make boot drives happy.

I too would be interested in hearing what 1TB and 2TB drives the i7 models are coming with as I would greatly prefer having a caviar black to anything else (but an SSD :p) and if I can maneuver my order to end up with one from Apple rather than having to open the machine up I would prefer that.
 
zaphoyd said:
The average Hitachi 2TB deskstar is ~$150. On the benchmarks listed above the Caviar Black is about the same in terms of sustained read, but outperforms all of the other drives by quite a large margin on the small/random reads and writes that make boot drives happy.
Click to expand...

So how would the Hitachi 2TB deskstar work as an external hard drive to store media files like music, pics, movies, MS office files....etc. and to back up too? Seems like a good deal for 2TB of space.
 
googdot said:
Apple has changed the thermal sensor system inside the new iMac. You can now only replace the HD with another model from the same manufacturer!

Proprietary cable can put the brakes on upgrading Late ‘09 iMacs

This sucks, of course.

And one thing to note, the newest iMac's seem to be coming with the Hitachi 2TB drive which isn't mentioned in the article above.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, this is really interesting for people wanting to upgrade themselves. I think someone put in a SSD in thier Imac, i might have a search and see how they got around the heat sensor.

I did not even realise that the imac came with seagates, seems like it might be a lottery :(
 
Badger^2 said:
Why does it matter what kind of drive they have?

If it came with a Hitachi instead of a WD, would you not buy it?
Click to expand...

Uhm, I'd buy it (need of a new Mac), but sure I wouldn't like it. As you can read from other posts (and other threads) WD Caviar Black are pretty good drives, sometimes surpassing others in both performance and noise levels... That's my own opinion, but I would like a WD more than a Seagate or Hitachi drive. Since price and capacity are the same...

And the news about new internal thermal sensor are so bad. :(
 
Well good news is that if you install a SSD you can short the sensor connector

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/808178/

This is fine for a SSD as they do not generate heat.

It looks like if you install a HD other then the one you got Apple you may have to buy the proper connector. I would assume that the connection to the MB is standard and only varies between the HD manufacturers.
 
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