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Whats the Biggest HD I can put in my MacBook?

Joe2000

Joe2000

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2005
85
0
London, UK.
Whats the Biggest HD I can put in my MacBook? I've currently got an 80GB Installed but its not enough for my future plans. I will be using iMovie and iDVD extensively so 7200RPM would be nice, but i could get by on 5400RPM (what i've currently got). I really need over 100GB but any suggestions are appreciated.

I don't know what physical size the drive is, so i cant google it myself without the technical info required.

I know its a "user serviceable" part btw so i'll be fitting it my self.

Thanks, Joe. :)
 
well there are places to get a 160GB 5400 rpm 2.5" SATA drive, i thought i remember seeing a 200.. but that could have been non SATA.
 
twoodcc said:
hopefully they'll release bigger drives soon though.....like over 200 GB
Click to expand...

You got to remember that the only reason why 120-160gb drives are out on the market right now is because PMR (Perpendicular Magnetic Recording). It is just barely a proven technology atm, so as it get's refined bigger drives will ensue. We might could see a 200gb PMR 2.5" drive before the end of the year, but anything bigger will almost definatly be Q1-Q2 2007.

Joe2000 said:
will be using iMovie and iDVD extensively so 7200RPM would be nice, but i could get by on 5400RPM (what i've currently got). I really need over 100GB but any suggestions are appreciated.
Click to expand...

If you are going to be doing alot of video editing, i'd suggest an external drive. It may seem like a cruddy thing to have to do with a laptop, but if you want massive storage, and performance, external is gonna be the way to go. For something inexpensive but worthwhile, i'd go with a Simpletech USB/Firewire Drive. $140 for a 7200RPM Western Digital 250gb drive in an external case is a steal in my book. Just check out Mwave.com or NewEgg and find something that will fit in your budget. You will see improved rendering times with an external drive as well.... give it a go....
 
shecky said:
id like to find something larger than a 7200 / 100GB drive; but i need the drive speed and looks like 100GB is what they are topping out at right now.
Click to expand...


Well i'll reiterate. While a huge fast internal drive would be all fine and dandy, an external drive is actually going to be faster to read/write to when doing video editing. If you think about it, what ever scratch disk space is needed during video editing, by default it's gonna be the main HDD. If you are trying to render edited video to the same drive where not only your OS but your scratch resides, it's gonna be tons slower. Doesn't matter if you could slap a 15,000 RPM SATAII drive in the thing, it's still going to be slower than rendering to an external disk of the same speed.

To be perfectly honest, the absolute best setup is two extra drives. One drive is where your source material gets captured to, and the second is where it gets rendered to. That is the way to get absolute performance out of any video editing rig, Mac *or* PC.

But also realize the thermal implications of putting a 7200rpm drive in there and then thrashing the hell out of it while video editing. I'd personally rather keep all that heat out of the laptop it self. Heat = more errors at the proc level = slower performance.
 
gothicx00 said:
Well i'll reiterate.
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please don't. i got it the first time, and i prefered it without the attitude.

in case you were not aware of it, and external drive has one problem... its external. try using an external drive in coach on a full 6 hour flight across the country. of course a separate external is faster but an internal is dramatically more convenient.
 
shecky said:
please don't. i got it the first time, and i prefered it without the attitude.

in case you were not aware of it, and external drive has one problem... its external. try using an external drive in coach on a full 6 hour flight across the country. of course a separate external is faster but an internal is dramatically more convenient.
Click to expand...

Well who needs access to all their projects on a plane trip? I mean seriously, no one who manages their time well will need to work on heavy duty projects while riding in a cramped seat on a plane. May as well back up all your projects to an external and put the ones you need on the internal drive so you can work on it if needed. Last time I checked 80 gigs is more than enough room for that purpose.

Or maybe Im way off on this but I have a feeling I'm not
 
dukebound85 said:
Well who needs access to all their projects on a plane trip? I mean seriously, no one who manages their time well will need to work on heavy duty projects while riding in a cramped seat on a plane. May as well back up all your projects to an external and put the ones you need on the internal drive so you can work on it if needed. Last time I checked 80 gigs is more than enough room for that purpose.

Or maybe Im way off on this but I have a feeling I'm not
Click to expand...

yes, you are way off. 80 gigs is more than enough if you are a web designer. 80 gb is nothing if you edit HD video. i am in between and i can assure you i fill up an 80GB very quickly and i never go to a client without everything i have done for that client; thats often more than 80 gb worth of stuff.

so yeah...i guess i do. and since you do not know me, do not presume you have any clue about what i do or do not need.

edit: i should mention that i ususally end up with at least one external drive full of client data when i take these trips. trying to use it on a plane sucks. unfortunately clients love to make things happen last minute, hence more than one cram session on the plane.
 
10.000 rpm. 2.5": Dunno how far they go up.
7.200 rpm. 2.5": Up to 100 GB.
5.400 rpm. 2.5": Up to 160 GB.
4.200 rpm. 2.5": I'm serious about seeing a 200 GB drive like this. Dunno where. Dunno if it was SATA, SCSI, IDE or...:confused:
 
Josias said:
10.000 rpm. 2.5": Dunno how far they go up.
7.200 rpm. 2.5": Up to 100 GB.
5.400 rpm. 2.5": Up to 160 GB.
4.200 rpm. 2.5": I'm serious about seeing a 200 GB drive like this. Dunno where. Dunno if it was SATA, SCSI, IDE or...:confused:
Click to expand...

There isn't anything over 160 GB at the moment in 2.5 inch drives. By the end of the year, there should be a 200 and a 250, though.

Since the new perpendicular recording method packs data more closely, rotational speed is not quite as important and 5400 rpm drives should perform quite well. I think everyone has seen newer, higher capacity drives turn out with much better access speeds than in years past and the advantage of 7200 rpm over 5400 rpm diminish.
 
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