Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Skypat · Apr 3, 2006, 01:52 PM

Hi,

My 12" Powerbook died yesterday and I need to change its HD. There are many brands of HD, any advice on how to choose a good, durable, silent one ? (5400 rpm)

Thanks !

mduell · Apr 3, 2006, 02:04 PM

What capacity are you looking for?
Why 5400RPM instead of 7200RPM?

OreoCookie · Apr 3, 2006, 02:15 PM

My new 7.2k drive is more silent as the Fujitsu drive@5.4k 80 gig drive I had before. The additional rpms don't seem to make a difference.

amazing · Apr 3, 2006, 02:15 PM

The 2 main brands are Hitachi and Seagate. You can go to tomshardware.com for more testing but it may just come down to which brand has a better price.

BareFeats has an interesting article on 5400 vs 7200 rpm drives in the MBP. If you're dealing with large audio or video files, the 7200 rpm has the advantage. Otherwise, no clear reason to choose 7200 over 5400 rpm

http://www.barefeats.com/5472.html

Skypat · Apr 3, 2006, 03:14 PM

Thanks for the links. Actually I am looking for a 5400 rpm because 7200 might consume too much power and get too hot. And I don't need a very fast HD, 5400 is enough.

But I would like it to be silent and fast (in the 5400rpm models)

f1000 · Apr 3, 2006, 03:35 PM

Seagate

Dr.Michael · 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by Skypat

Thanks for the links. Actually I am looking for a 5400 rpm because 7200 might consume too much power and get too hot. And I don't need a very fast HD, 5400 is enough.

But I would like it to be silent and fast (in the 5400rpm models)

Thats right indeed. I replaced a 60GB/4200 rpm Toshiba in my TiBook with a Seagate 120GB/5400 rpm momentus drive. The battery life has increased from 3.5 to 4 hours. And the seagate drive is deadly quiet.

I recommed the 120 GB drive, because it is noticibly faster than the 100 GB drive. I discussed this before I bought my drive in this thread: http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?t=282146). You find some links there to Toms hardware guide with detailed speed and noise measurements.

If you have the money, consider also the 160GB Seagate drive. It will be even faster because of higher data density (and doesn't consume more power than the 120 GB drive).

mduell · Apr 3, 2006, 08:05 PM

Originally Posted by Skypat

Thanks for the links. Actually I am looking for a 5400 rpm because 7200 might consume too much power and get too hot. And I don't need a very fast HD, 5400 is enough.

But I would like it to be silent and fast (in the 5400rpm models)

The difference between 5400 and 7200RPM drives in terms of power consumption and heat output is fractions of a watt. As others have mentioned, the difference in noise is also minimal; according to the acoustic ratings from the manufacturers, the difference in noise is below the threshold of human perception (<3dB).

5400RPM drives may be able to match the speed of 7200RPM drives for bulk transfers, but for general usage 7200RPM has been noticably faster for me.

You still haven't mentioned what capacity or price you're looking for, so I can't make any specific recommendations, but look up the drive in StorageReview.com's Drive Reliability Database before buying.

Dr.Michael · 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by mduell

The difference between 5400 and 7200RPM drives in terms of power consumption and heat output is fractions of a watt.

look closer!

120GB/5400rpm power consumption (seagate in Watts):
2.0, 1.8, 0.8, 0.26 (seek, read/write,idle, standby)

100GB/7200rpm (seagate in Watts):
2.6, 2.4, 0.95, 0.28

You are right, the differences are only some tenth of a Watt: But the 7200 rpm drive consumes more in percent:
30, 33, 19, 8.

So the 7200rpm drive consumes between 8 and 30% more power. This is not significant? Maybe it is not for battery lifetime (only 10-20 minutes), but for heat!

Skypat · Apr 4, 2006, 08:23 AM

Thank you ! I was looking for a 80GB around 150 € (about $200) but I brang my PowerBook to a store this morning and I've been told (to my surprise) that it was not possible to choose a HD, Apple would choose it for me according to my machine specifications. Isn't that weird.

Dr.Michael · Apr 4, 2006, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by Skypat

Thank you ! I was looking for a 80GB around 150 € (about $200) but I brang my PowerBook to a store this morning and I've been told (to my surprise) that it was not possible to choose a HD, Apple would choose it for me according to my machine specifications. Isn't that weird.

For 150 € you should get 120GB, or for 80 GB the price is not more than 110€ (without work).
Hm, if you don't want to void your warranty, you have to do what apple says. But aren't there authorized dealers in belgium who insert a disk of your choice without voiding apple care?

Skypat · Apr 4, 2006, 03:27 PM

Yes there is. And my powerbook is more than 2 years old so it is not covered by warranty anymore.

mduell · Apr 4, 2006, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by Dr.Michael

look closer!

120GB/5400rpm power consumption (seagate in Watts):
2.0, 1.8, 0.8, 0.26 (seek, read/write,idle, standby)

100GB/7200rpm (seagate in Watts):
2.6, 2.4, 0.95, 0.28

You are right, the differences are only some tenth of a Watt: But the 7200 rpm drive consumes more in percent:
30, 33, 19, 8.

So the 7200rpm drive consumes between 8 and 30% more power. This is not significant? Maybe it is not for battery lifetime (only 10-20 minutes), but for heat!

No, it's not significant for heat; it's still fractions of a watt on a drive that is ~6 in^2.

Dr.Michael · Apr 5, 2006, 06:17 AM

Originally Posted by Skypat

Yes there is. And my powerbook is more than 2 years old so it is not covered by warranty anymore.

Uh, just a dumb question: can't you then disassemble the powerbook yourself? There are very good manuals (like these ones http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/).

Skypat · Apr 5, 2006, 07:16 AM

Yes but the guy told me the problem could also come from the logic board, so they needed to test it. Do you think it is a valid point ?

Dr.Michael · Apr 5, 2006, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by Skypat

Yes but the guy told me the problem could also come from the logic board, so they needed to test it. Do you think it is a valid point ?

Ah, ok. I thought you were sure the problem came from the hd.
I cannot say without knowing the exact symptoms. But I would trust the tech guys in this case.
Good luck

amazing · Apr 5, 2006, 11:03 PM

Well, if you're good with tools and organizing small screws, why not try it? It's out of warranty in any case, so you can always fall back on having the board replaced later.

I'm mainly suggesting this because the price on the board replacement may be prohibitive. You're the one that's going to have to judge if the cost exceeds what you might reasonably expect to pay for a new 12", given that you can sell the old one for parts.