Hard drive swap questions...

1. I still have 4 months warranty. If I put the OEM hd on a shelf, can I swap it back in for warranty work should something like the screen die or something non-HD related. ie, can Apple tell I've been swapping drives? This is such a stupid thing for Apple to do with the voiding warranty for a simple HD swap.

2. 200GB 7200rpm for $190 or 250GB 5400rpm for $160. I gather that these new higher density perpendicular 5400rpm drives are solid performers. I do graphics, open a lot of files and so forth, so I think I'd appreciate the 7200rpm, but if the 5400rpm is 80% as capable, I could use the extra storage and cheaper price.

I dual boot Vista and just the OS alone is such a storage hog. Anyhow, I've outgrowm my 120GB drive, even with external Firewire storage.

 

Buy 200GB 7200Rpm HDD.

 

I think the 7200RPM would be a lot better for graphics and other intensive apps. I've worked with one of those and faced the same problem, but I'm glad to say that I'd rather have more speed than storage.

 

My vote goes to the 7200 drive. For 30 bucks more, you'll appreciate the extra speed.

 

Well, reports are that the 7200 one are blazing hot. As in it will burn you in an aluminum enclosure. But, I'm not sure how much hotter it is than the 250gb. Normally there isn't a huge difference, but I've heard this one is VERY hot. And considering the thin nature of the MBP and where the HDD is, I'd worry about it running too hot.
Then again, reports could be over exaggerating the heat.

They're both fast, much faster than what our current drives are. I myself actually need that extra space. Can't wait to put this 100 gig in an external case