Upgrading Macbook pro
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  1. #1
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    Default Upgrading Macbook pro

    hey guys just wondering if anyone has ever upgraded there internal hard drive from 5400rpm to 7200rpm.
    i curently have a 5400rpm 120gb hard drive, and im thinking about upgrading to a 320 or 500gb hard drive.

    i guess what i want to know is will the 72rpm help with loading tracks and searching out songs faster than the 5400 rpm. or should i just save the money and stick with 54rpm. ive experienced lag from time to time.

    also, has anyone ever had a negative experienced using an external hard drive while at a gig.

  2. #2
    Tech Guru Coldfuzion's Avatar
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    I have a stock macbook pro 13' i picked up in October of 2010, i've never had a problem with tracks at all.

    As for external hard drives, the only reason i'd ever bring it to a gig was incase my laptop failed.

    I would suggest just bringing the external hard drive as a back up incase your laptop fails. I would just carry my main playlist / songs I plan on playing on my MacBook Pro, everything else on the external hard drive, and even then i'd transfer / copy the songs I want onto my mac and then play from there.

  3. #3
    Tech Guru josh@firestorm's Avatar
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    if you're going to upgrade... consider one of these http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=130

    haven't done mine (yet) but if i did this is what i'd put in.

  4. #4
    Tech Mentor DennisHuiberts's Avatar
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    Yeah, I've upgraded my HDD from a 160GB 5400rpm disk to a 500GB 7200rpm one. Just be sure that the height of the new HDD isn't bigger than 9.8 mm (= 0.39 inch), or else it won't fit.
    Check out my work!

    Vestax VCM-600 (for sale!) - Allen & Heath Xone:62 - Focusrite Saffire LE - Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 Pro - Traktor Pro 2.1 - Ableton Live 8 - MacBook Pro 15"

  5. #5
    Tech Mentor levvis's Avatar
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    I went from 160 5200 to a 500 7200 and haven't noticed anything really. If you're going to do it upgrade to an ssd, you'll definitely notice that. Although a 160gb is like $700+, plus you'll probably have to cop an external drive on top..

  6. #6
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by josh@firestorm View Post
    if you're going to upgrade... consider one of these http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=130

    haven't done mine (yet) but if i did this is what i'd put in.
    Echo that.
    That drive is my next purchase in a week or so.

    I have replaced around 6 HDs in various Macs. I have always used WD Scorpios and have never had an issue.


    Also, on the 5400/7200 (endless debate) of course a 7200 is faster and loads quicker (to a degree) but if your usage scenario is primarily Traktor you will not notice a difference.

    7200 is nice to have but dont be a slave to it, thats all im saying.

    Cue big rant from someone but the fact is the difference is so negligible that its not worth too much worry or damage to your pocket. especially at 300 & 500gig sizes.

  7. #7
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    As the drive spins at a faster rate the drive will run hotter. If heat is a concern then its something to be aware of.

  8. #8
    DJTT Administrator del Ritmo padi_04's Avatar
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    I upgraded to a WD 500gb 5400rpm the day after I bought mine (original was 160). I was told not to put 7200rpm ones in 13" macs to prevent overheat. Whether that last statement is true or not, HD works like a charm and searching/loading is lightning fast.

  9. #9
    Tech Guru DJZILCH's Avatar
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    also 7200 rpm burns more battery than 5400 rpm, a friend just upgraded to 7200 rpm and noticed a massive decrease in battery life

    im thinking of installing SSD on my macbook pro and using optibay to replace my dvd drive with a sata hard drive, since SSDs are expensive, this combo allows a small SSD on main bay (120gb, not too expensive, for installation and OS) and the optibay can have a Sata 500 GB hard drive for the music, I've seen people do this and it boosts the overall speed significantly due to the OS being installed on the SSD
    Setup:

    Traktor Pro 2 / S2 MK2 / X1 MK2 / Audio6 / Pioneer HDJ2000 / Westone UM3X / rMBP 13 inch 2014 (2.8 GHz) / Focal Alpha 50

  10. #10

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    SSD for the win.

    If you can live without your optical drive (or use an external), using a SSD conversion kit is an awesome way to go. I have had good luck with the products from other world computing.

    I am by no means affiliated with that company, but I do have personal experience with that drive and I was blown away with the performance. Be careful with SSD drives that you don't cheap out as some drives will experience a decline in performance over time due to writing/re-writing. The nicer drives seem to have a mechanism to avoid the decrease in performance.

    I recommend installing your OS and applications on a SSD drive and your songs and other files on a 7200 RPM internal HD. I have had 7200 RPM drives in my current 15" MPB (unibody) and my previous generation 15" MBP without any overheating problems.

    As far as the bays go, I know you can find some really cheap solutions instead of the expensive one listed on the OWC website.

    I can't wait for the price to decrease and the capacity to increase on these SSD drives.
    2xTechnics 1200 m3d. Traktor Pro. Audio 8. Kontrol X1. Akai MPD24 paper weight...

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