Macbook: Upgrade to 7200RPM HD?

[ee99ee]

I have a PowerMac G5 2GHz w/ 1.5GB of RAM. I just ordered a Macboook 13" off eBay primarily so I can have a small laptop to take notes on in class this fall. I have a 23" Apple Cinema display and I'm going to get the DVI adapter for this laptop off a friend of mine.

I'm not too sure how snappy this thing is going to be, but if it turns out to handle my work load pretty well I may sell my PowerMac and just use the macbook with my big monitor.

If I did that, I'd want to upgrade the drive to a 7200RPM drive for added speed. Have any of you done this? I know they probably take more power, can the Macbook handle it? I'm sure it would drain the battery faster, but I have an extra battery so that's okay. Space isn't an issue with me either, I have a large file server here at home I use as my primary storage.

-Chris

 

[Sun Baked]

Most would say look at HD size, cache size, and warranty before RPMs.

Since the drive spins faster, but may really be really close to the other drives in performance -- aka, likely within 5MB/sec of sustained transfer speed.

And in day-to-day operations, maxing out RAM may garner a bigger performance boost in the end.

 

[squeeks]

its easy to replace, and im sure it would work fine, macbooks are sata right?

 

[Jaffa Cake]

One thing to bear in mind is temperature – I remember from when I upgraded my MacBook's hard drive reading somewhere that the 7200rpm drives run hotter than their 5200rpm counterparts, and as such weren't best suited to the MacBook. It may well work fine, but it might be something to consider.

 

[ee99ee]

Most would say look at HD size, cache size, and warranty before RPMs.

Since the drive spins faster, but may really be really close to the other drives in performance -- aka, likely within 5MB/sec of sustained transfer speed.

And in day-to-day operations, maxing out RAM may garner a bigger performance boost in the end.

Indeed, that is why I would get the largest cache I could get when I do this upgrade.

As for RAM, I'm at 2GB which is already the max...

 

[ee99ee]

One thing to bear in mind is temperature – I remember from when I upgraded my MacBook's hard drive reading somewhere that the 7200rpm drives run hotter than their 5200rpm counterparts, and as such weren't best suited to the MacBook. It may well work fine, but it might be something to consider.

Good point -- you could pretty much cook eggs*IBM Thinkpad with it's 7200RPM drive...

 

[ezekielrage_99]

RAM and HDD is user servicable in a Macbook however I do tend to agree with the other posts that a 7200rpm HDD might be a little hot for a Macbook.

You might have to get the tech specs of the HDD before install specifically the optimal operating temperature for the device. I have a MacBook with 3GB of RAM and a 120GB HDD and it is plenty of speed for me, if you need anything faster than a Macbook you should look into a Macbook Pro instead.

 

[cruelmemory]

Older MacBook upgrading

I'm looking to upgrade my macbook HDD as well. I have one of the June 2006 models and it came with an 80GB hdd (not that great storage wise w/ World of Worcraft installed and 20 GB set aside for Windows XP). I plan on using an external usb to HDD cable that I have at work and a copy of Carbon Copy Cloner to make the backup. Does it copy the partitions as well or is this going to be a nightmare?

Just wondering if I should get a Seagate, Toshiba, or Hitachi replacement. (macsales.com brands)

Any suggestions?