The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Recomend me a new hard drive

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Colton, Oct 13, 2010.

  1. Colton

    Colton Also Proudly American

    Reputations:
    1,253
    Messages:
    2,086
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Hi guys it's been a while,

    I'm looking for a 500GB 7200rpm HDD for my Unibody Macbook. Can someone recommend me a good brand to go with and why? Also which ones to stay away from? I will be ordering from newegg.com when the time comes. Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Muscle Master

    Muscle Master Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    74
    Messages:
    289
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Seagate Momentus XT !!! hands down

    $114.99
     
  3. Colton

    Colton Also Proudly American

    Reputations:
    1,253
    Messages:
    2,086
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Thanks Muscle Master.

    Any reason why that one is twice as much as this one? Is it worth it? Thanks again.
     
  4. Colton

    Colton Also Proudly American

    Reputations:
    1,253
    Messages:
    2,086
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Bump for opinions
     
  5. Muscle Master

    Muscle Master Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    74
    Messages:
    289
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    It's a Hybrid HDD/SDD it has 4GB of SSD

    So without getting too technical.. yeah it's worth it
     
  6. iRis9091

    iRis9091 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    7
    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    its got the performance of a SSD and still hold lots of HD space
     
  7. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

    Reputations:
    565
    Messages:
    2,530
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    56
    The performance of the Momentus XT really shines after it learns which files you access most frequently. A huge bonus with the drive is that once it "figures you out", it'll start saving more battery life.
     
  8. ren3g7ade

    ren3g7ade Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    140
    Messages:
    464
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    31
    +1 for the Momentus XT. Running it in the MBP in my sig. Very quick and still plenty of space. Not as fast as pure SSD but not $1+/MB either... Definitely worth it.
     
  9. ClearSkies

    ClearSkies Well no, I'm still here..

    Reputations:
    1,059
    Messages:
    2,633
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    No, it really doesn't.

    The XT performance tops out at 110-120MB/s transfer rate, which is better than the stock Momentus 7200, but is half or less compared to the current SSD crop performance rates.

    It's a good drive, performing better than any rotary HDD on the market, but it's not at the SSD level :)
     
  10. theseadragon

    theseadragon Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    239
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
  11. hvale2k5

    hvale2k5 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    116
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Momentus XT! they're on sale for 104$ free shipping with promo code right now
     
  12. Colton

    Colton Also Proudly American

    Reputations:
    1,253
    Messages:
    2,086
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Thanks for the help everybody.

    Would it be worth it to get the Momentus XT now, and then purchase an SSD (250GB) later on when they get much cheaper, or just get a 500GB 7200rpm drive and wait for SSD prices to go down?

    Thanks again folks.
     
  13. Muscle Master

    Muscle Master Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    74
    Messages:
    289
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    'Why not have both...
     
  14. Phil

    Phil Retired

    Reputations:
    4,415
    Messages:
    17,036
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    455
    Samsung HM640JJ is good if you want a conventional hard drive.

    Seagate XT is a lot faster though. It boots and opens applications at near SSD speed.

    I do not recommend the WD3200BEKT anymore, better get the WD5000BEKT or Samsung HM640JJ.