[jaquarat]

this would have to be done by an apple-certified dealer, right?

i'm trying to figure out the cost difference betweeen ordering a stock powerbook with the 4200rpm drive and then upgrading to 7200rpm later, or ordering a BTO powerbook with the 5400rpm drive.

[iREZ]

Order it with the 5400RPM (only $50) drive and leave it at that. There are hardly any differences between the 5400 and 7200 (according to barefeats). Usually here in Los Angeles the going price for drive installation runs up to around $100-$125 from a certified Apple tech, just add $100 to the cost of a 7200HD to get an aftermarket/installed price.

[madmacgames]

Originally posted by iREZ:
There are hardly any differences between the 5400 and 7200 (according to barefeats).

I would say that depends on what you are going to do. If you're going to be doing something like multitrack audio recording for example, then there are significant differences between the two in terms of the number of tracks you'll be able to do, for example.

Of coarse, normal use there probably is no noticeable difference.

[jaquarat]

i will indeed be using it for multitrack audio recording and/or video editing. so it will be about $200-$250 then?

[jstein]

Originally posted by jaquarat:
i will indeed be using it for multitrack audio recording and/or video editing. so it will be about $200-$250 then?

Hmm, Jaquarat why not go with a 7200 rpm external HD which will negate the risk of voiding your warranty?

[iREZ]

jstein gots a good point, and you wont be limited to only 60g and will probably be able to get a more cache, unless ofcourse you plan on recording/editing away from your desk.

[Gig103]

I'm not familiar with them, but aren't the external drives slower, negating some of the benefit of the 7200rpm?

[bcaslis]

Yes, I've tried the internal 7200 and didn't see enough useable difference with the 80GB 5400. Add an external 7200 rpm 3.5" drive with firewire 800 and there's no comparison. The external drive smokes any of the internals available for a PowerBook.

[bstone]

If you are looking to get a 7200rpm HD for your powerbook I would suggest this:

https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produ...uctCode=100519

I just ordered one for the Pismo to replace the 10gb 4200rpm. The IBM one is 7200rpm 8mb buffer 60gb. It cost $180 and I got free 2nd day shipping.

I am hoping to notice a big difference between the 4200 and 7200!

[wuzup101]

For $225 you can get yourself a nice WD 250gb usb2/firewire 400 drive @ 7200rpm. Newegg has them for this price; however, you did just miss the mail in rebate which put them down to like $195 a couple of days ago... I missed it too! These are the ones with the nice clear cases and the purple/black light leds in them and all... very nice drives... 8mb buffers too!

[buffalolee]

Here is what you do....

1. Install the 7200 rpm hard drive.
2. If anything breaks, put back the 4200 rpm and send it in for warranty.

[iBorg]

Originally posted by wuzup101:
For $225 you can get yourself a nice WD 250gb usb2/firewire 400 drive @ 7200rpm. Newegg has them for this price; however, you did just miss the mail in rebate which put them down to like $195 a couple of days ago... I missed it too! These are the ones with the nice clear cases and the purple/black light leds in them and all... very nice drives... 8mb buffers too!

I found a great deal at Tiger Direct - a Western Digital 200 GB 7200rpm drive for $89 (after $40 rebate), and bought one of their external cases for $50 with USB2/FW400 - a nice deal for $139 total.



iBorg

[olePigeon]

Get an external SCSI/FireWire 800 enclosure, then stick a 15,000RPM 72GB Seagate in it.

[Mobile Mod]

Just remember that the notebook will get significantly hotter and your battery life will basically be shot with the 7200rpm drive. Also, I am a apple authorized tech and I dont know if even we can open a powerbook, replace a warranty part with a nonwarranty part, and then give it back without voiding the warranty. And if anything ever happened and you had the 7200rpm drive in there apple wouldnt even look at it so you would have to pay someone to take it out and then put it back in. Too much of a hassle if you ask me... Just get a external and you'll be a ton happier.

Justin

--Update-- Just wanted to add that since everything is so close together and heat dissapation is not the best in my PB I think by adding a 7200rpm drive you might make it so hot that it could damgae other components. I was looking through my service contract/guide and it confirmed that adding a non-apple certified part will void any warranty unless it's a user installable part... It does say however that if the user gets it installed by a authorized tech and something ever happens Apple will fix the powerbook/ibook only if all the original hardware is in the notebook when it is sent in.

[bcaslis]

I have to completely disagree with your reasons, but I do agree with your conclusion.

I tried a 7200rpm in a 17" for about a week. I could see no measurable difference in heat, and no real difference in battery life (maybe 1% or 2% less).

However, I found only tiny benefits over the Apple 5400rpm drive, about 2% in some tasks, and no measurable difference in ordinary usage.

So my conclusion is it's absolutely not worth the cost and risk compared to getting the optional 5400rpm drive, but not because of heat or battery life.

Originally posted by Mobile Mod:
Just remember that the notebook will get significantly hotter and your battery life will basically be shot with the 7200rpm drive. Also, I am a apple authorized tech and I dont know if even we can open a powerbook, replace a warranty part with a nonwarranty part, and then give it back without voiding the warranty. And if anything ever happened and you had the 7200rpm drive in there apple wouldnt even look at it so you would have to pay someone to take it out and then put it back in. Too much of a hassle if you ask me... Just get a external and you'll be a ton happier.

Justin

--Update-- Just wanted to add that since everything is so close together and heat dissapation is not the best in my PB I think by adding a 7200rpm drive you might make it so hot that it could damgae other components. I was looking through my service contract/guide and it confirmed that adding a non-apple certified part will void any warranty unless it's a user installable part... It does say however that if the user gets it installed by a authorized tech and something ever happens Apple will fix the powerbook/ibook only if all the original hardware is in the notebook when it is sent in.

[jaquarat]

thanks for all replies! i think the consensus is that the external drive is best, and if i absolutely need an internal drive, the apple 5400 is the way to go.

[-Q-]

Isn't the hard drive a user replaceable part? It's so more easily reachable in the PowerBook than the iBook that I'd think you could install one w/out voiding a warranty...

[Mobile Mod]

Originally posted by -Q-:
Isn't the hard drive a user replaceable part? It's so more easily reachable in the PowerBook than the iBook that I'd think you could install one w/out voiding a warranty...

Not ikn the Al series... In the Ti series it was but in the Al line it takes a lot to get to the hard drive so it is not a user installable part.

Justin

[amazing]

barefeats.com did tests comparing the internal HD in the 1.25 Ghz AlPB to external fw-800 drives (using 2.5" HD.) It's very revealing:

http://www.barefeats.com/hard34.html

Basically, only under very special circumstances where you didn't want to carry extra equipment would you go with the expense and problems of having an ASP install an internal HD.

[shatten22]

Heat is ALWAYS an issue. I killed three 48gb IBM Travelstars and a Samsung? 60gb drive in my powerbook 550 because of heat issues.

I think the 5400 drive would be good enough in the pbook. If you are doing disk intensive work (video/audio stuff) then you should always have and work from an external drive. They can take more of beating and the capacity can't be touched. They are also pretty cheap.

-g