hard drive question for 17'' MBP

I am deciding between the 5400rpm, 7200rpm and SSD. It's for office use so reliability is important. I heard the improvement of 7200rpm over the 5400 is not much, can anyone comment? Also anyone with SSD notice any reliability issue yet? Thx!

 

Without more to go on can't really say which one is best for you. If you asking in terms of speed hands down SSD if you asking for reliability and of the Sata 2 SSDs will be fine they will be just as reliable if not more than your traditional HDD and faster. Now the newer and faster Sata 3 SSD may have reliability issues depending on which one you decide to get. The improvements of the 7200 over 5400 usually is noticeable but not as noticeable as going from a HDD to a SDD. I would recommend looking into the Seagate Momentus Hybrid Drive.

 

Sorry for not explaining this better, this is for a friend of mine, so swapping HD is not really an option. So if I just go with the options I can get from Apple Store Online, which would be a better one?

On side note, what are the sata 3 SSDs? like the OCZ 3 and Intel 510? Which of the faster SSDs have the best reliability.

 

In terms of ordering from Apple, the most I would go with is a 7200RPM drive simply because Apple charges way, way, way, way too much for their SSD options (and they are using older SSDs). Even then I doubt they would notice a difference between a 5400RPM drive and 7200RPM one. OS X still boots up in about the same time on both speeds, programs load about the same, and overall performance is about the same. The difference between SSD and hard drive is much, much better. That is when OS X takes 10 seconds (or less) to boot instead of the traditional 40-45 seconds, programs will load in 2-5 seconds, etc.

Of course, you could always swap the HDD out yourself. It is a pretty painless procedure and literally takes all of 3 minutes. There are also plenty of high definition YouTube videos online detailing the whole process. All you would have to do is then pop the Snow Leopard (or Lion if they end up waiting) disc in, boot from it, install, and go from there. They could even buy a USB 2.0 or Firewire 800 enclosure so that they can still use the hard drive included with the MBP.

 

Don't you need a special tool driver to open the HDD case? I know the regular philips screwdriver that one uses to open the bottom case wouldn't work.

 

I think you need a smaller phillips screwdriver, it has a specific number and is easy to find. Most of the YouTube videos out there (done by pros) list the specific tools required for whatever procedure they are going to perform. The screwdriver itself is only going to cost a few dollars especially if it is purchased from Amazon. I picked up 8GB of RAM and the appropriate screwdriver for $85 on Amazon while Apple charges $200 for that upgrade. Additionally, I can buy a new 128GB SSD for $150 (throw in $5 for the screwdriver) while Apple wants $200 for that option in the 13" i7 model (didn't look at the 17" edition).

All-in-all, it is still much less expensive to go the DIY route than go with the extras that Apple has. The case holds true for most systems out there anyway. I think there was one time when I saw HP (or maybe Dell) selling an 8GB RAM upgrade for $80. It was a special promotion, that has been about the only time that buying the upgrade from the manufacturer was worth it.

 

Well to open the bottom case of the macboook pro you need a Phillips 00 ScrewDriver and for the harddrive mounting screws you need Torx T6 screws all of which are readily available at any electronics store or hardware store. Or you can go to iFixit.com and buy their toolkit for $14 which has all the necessary tools you will need for any laptop, iphone ipad repair.

 

Ok, so I ordered and received the 26 piece bit driver kit.

26 Piece Bit Driver Kit - iFixit


Now, I have four screws out but the rest won't come out with any bits from the set (flat or four sided ones). Now, I was able to pull one screw out but I am wondering if it was because of the effort I put in with the old & bad philips driver.

Are apple screws that tight in the bottom that they need some special technique to pry them loose? I pushed down hard and tried to hard and tried to turn normally but screws aren't budging.

 

Some of the screws are a PITA to get out. I had two screws the longer ones that just would not come out. But after 15 minutes they eventually did, although I ended up using a drill Some screws have some nasty green glueish gunk for the screws and add to the fact that some are tighter than "input imagination" it can be hard but take your time and do it slowly, you do not want to strip the screw.

 

I guess you need a special drill for it?

 

Any old power drill with a phillips 00 screw bit will work. To be honest you dont even need a drill you could just use a screw driver its just that be prepared to spend some time on it