Seagate Momentus XT SSHD 1TB Hybrid - Got one ?
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  1. #1
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Default Seagate Momentus XT SSHD 1TB Hybrid - Got one ?

    Ok so I need to more storage in my gigging MBP and from the off I HAVE to have 1TB. I'm swapping out a 750GB/7200rpm and I need the extra space so an SSD is out of the equation.

    Also putting a second drive in is not an option so no extra SSD advice please. I need my DVD superdrive. I can only have one drive in this particular machine. I will not put another drive in and use and external dvd.

    I was gonna just get a 1TB 7200 drive, probably the Hitachi Travelstar as it has good reviews.
    I'm no speed freak, I don't care if Traktor takes 40 seconds longer to start up but this machine is really only used for Traktor (bare that in mind).

    I have looked at the Seagate SSHD 1TB and it is 5400rpm and although the spin speed has never bothered me before (have a 5400 in my other MBP and it's fine with Traktor, really it is) will I see the benefit from the Hybrid drive over the 7200 HDD ?

    I understand how the SSHD works, it sounds great and as I only use this laptop for regular surfing (this forum and the NI forum) and not much else other than Traktor.
    Will the SSHD be of any real benefit or... and this is my point will it just load Traktor up quicker and nothing else OR will it give me genuinely better performance with Traktor...???

    I don't care about application load time. I just want to know will the 1TB SSHD at 5400 be a better choice than a regular 1TB at 7200 for use with Traktor.

    Impart your wisdom please.

    Wow that was a long winded question

    EDIT: by the way, there is a ton of info on the 750GB Hybrid but barely anything on the 1TB apart from the official Seagate guff and it's impartial user knowledge I'm after not sales speak.
    Last edited by Karlos Santos; 10-28-2013 at 05:17 AM.

  2. #2
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    So I got some advice from Macupgrades.co.uk and the chap said:
    Hi there. For that sort of usage, you are likley better with a 7200RPM non-hybrid. The hybrid will cache 8GB of commonly used files, but if what you are concerned with is access speed for the large amounts of music files (the vast majority of which won't get cached) then the faster spin speed on the Travelstar will win out.
    I guess he's wrong on the 8GB cache as it's actually 16GB on the 1TB but it makes sense to me that there won't be that a great advantage for use with accessing the music.

    BTW-I did tell him that boot time and application load time were of no interest to me. I just want a fast reliable drive for Traktor.

    Thoughts?

  3. #3
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    Any form of SSD will not make Traktor run any better, but everything else about the computer will of course be faster.

    I have an older Macbook (HDD) and a new Air (SSD) and the only difference in Traktor is the analysis time due to the difference in CPU.
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    Über Tech Guru Ed Paris's Avatar
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    i upgraded my macbook with the 1tb sshd just about 2 months ago. it´s faster, more quiet and bigger than the one that was in there before. i´m really really lucky with it and can only just recommend it to you.
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    Do it Karlos,

    I currently run a MBP with a 240 SSD as my main drive, The same drive you are looking at for my secondary, and have a firewire enclosure where I installed my DVD super drive. Because I don't use the super drive that often, I opted to carry it as an external device.

    Obviously everyones requirements are different. You will be fine with that drive and will notice small improvements in speeds.
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  6. #6
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Hmm, conflicting opinion. I'm torn

    Quote Originally Posted by makar1 View Post
    Any form of SSD will not make Traktor run any better, but everything else about the computer will of course be faster.

    I have an older Macbook (HDD) and a new Air (SSD) and the only difference in Traktor is the analysis time due to the difference in CPU.
    This makes me think that the Hitachi is the better option. I am ONLY concerned with Traktor performance.
    Speeding up the time it takes this forum to load or creating a Word document is simply speed for speeds sake.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Paris View Post
    i upgraded my macbook with the 1tb sshd just about 2 months ago. it´s faster, more quiet and bigger than the one that was in there before. i´m really really lucky with it and can only just recommend it to you.
    I always trust Ed's view, quieter is nice but, it's not like any of my Macs sound like vacuum cleaners. Just how quiet do I need it?

    Quote Originally Posted by quality control View Post
    Do it Karlos,

    I currently run a MBP with a 240 SSD as my main drive, The same drive you are looking at for my secondary, and have a firewire enclosure where I installed my DVD super drive. Because I don't use the super drive that often, I opted to carry it as an external device.

    Obviously everyones requirements are different. You will be fine with that drive and will notice small improvements in speeds.
    Again, a good recommendation but as say, the Superdrive really isn't an option for me on this machine. I have swapped the superdrive out of my other MBP and I need the ability to easily and quickly burn CD's. I really don't want another addition drive, I have way to many as it is.

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    I had the Momentus XT 750GB on my Alienware laptop (I swapped it in), and the drive did indeed make a big difference in SOME things. It caches stuff off to the SSD based on how much it's accessed, so the things you use the most run faster. So things like boot-up, opening commonly used apps, etc were much quicker.

    But because of the nature of Traktor, there isn't going to be any performance increase in the actual USE of Traktor. Once it's open, you're going to be running the same as you're used to. I was happy with mine, but I wanted an overall performance boost.

    If you're looking for a 1TB solution, have you considered going full SSD? I just put this drive into my 2011 MBP and I'm VERY happy with the result.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ8RGL6/

    It's a beast, super fast, and the price is amazing. This drive has been the single biggest performance upgrade I've ever purchased. I highly recommend it.

  8. #8
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nem0nic View Post
    But because of the nature of Traktor, there isn't going to be any performance increase in the actual USE of Traktor. Once it's open, you're going to be running the same as you're used to. I was happy with mine, but I wanted an overall performance boost.
    Yeah this totally confirms my initial concerns. I need more storage, performance isn't an issue. I was more concerned with a dip in performance by going with a 5400 rpm drive, especially with a 1TB.


    Quote Originally Posted by nem0nic View Post
    If you're looking for a 1TB solution, have you considered going full SSD? I just put this drive into my 2011 MBP and I'm VERY happy with the result.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ8RGL6/

    It's a beast, super fast, and the price is amazing. This drive has been the single biggest performance upgrade I've ever purchased. I highly recommend it.
    That is undoubtedly a good price for a 1TB SSD but at this moment it isn't in my price range. It's 6 times the cost of a 1TB HDD and as this is only a Traktor machine I cannot justify it.

    I think a large format SSD will probably a year away for me when prices dip under £300.

    With the saving I can make on the Hitachi I can buy myself a Crane Stand

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    Yeah, the only reason I was able to justify the SSD was because I also sold my Alienware. I can tell you that my experience with the XT was super positive.

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