[Podolsky]

I have 17" PB 1.33 and it was beginning to feel a bit pokey. Than, my 5400RPM HD failed and I took the replacement that Apple sent me under AppleCare and put it an external exclosure and put a 100GB 7200RPM in the PB. And WOW, it really did noticably speed up my PB! This was an excellent upgrade and I strongly recommend it to anyone whose 60 or 80GB drivie is filling up or fails. Launch time for all applications, including OSX, is twice as fast and anytime I write files, move, copy, just about everything, is faster. Of course processing time in Photoshop and elsewhere is unaffected. This new-lease-on-life will allow me to wait till the fall or later to upgrade to the MBP. At that time, I will swap out the 100 giger and put back in the 80 and sell the PB as is.

[Velocity211]

What would be better a 160GB 5400RPM or 100GB 7200RPM. I was thinking about getting a new HD for my Lombard. Would the 7200RPM be really worth it?

[romeoarts]

Velocity211 definatelly get the 7200rpm hard drive. It makes a huge difference.

I wish that when I bought my MacBook Pro that I got the 7200rpm drive option. Does anyone know if I take it to the Genius Bar if they will install it for me?

[Velocity211]

Ok... I gonna trust you on this one. But I'm waiting til the 120GB version comes out because I need a lot of space.

[romeoarts]

You could always do the 100gb 7200rpm internal and then get an external laptop hard drive.

[buddy1065]

Yeah, externals are great for backups anyway.

[tillin]

I was going to do that with my 17" powerbook, get the 100gb 7200rpm drive.

i carry a 40GB lacie firewire drive with me, when i got it, it was just right because i needed a go between when i shot in the studio to take my files home with me.

now i kind of wish i got the 100GB instead

my lacie 250GB hard drive is already almost full at home! lol

[Dog Like Nature]

If anyone's wondering about battery life, the 7200rpm drive I put in my PB actually uses less power than the 5400 it replaced. That's progress for ya!

[tillin]

Dog -

how's the overall performance gain? my laptop would be exactly the same spec as yours ( save for the fact its the 17" model ) and i'd like to do this sometime soon.

[jamil5454]

In general, 5400 rpm drives are slower than 7200 rpm ones, but the 160 gb 5400 rpm (Seagate's "Perpendicular Recording" drive) is a tad faster than most 5400 rpms, and the density is only going to get greater as they perfect the process. As we all know, greater density = faster speeds.

Now if Seagate came out with a super-dense 200gb 7200 rpm SATA laptop drive, I'd buy that thing in a bee's flap.

[kcmac]

Would this drive fit in a 12 inch powerbook? I have a rev A that I am going to keep until a couple of versions later on the MB or MBP.

[Dog Like Nature]

Originally Posted by AGoglanian

Dog -

how's the overall performance gain? my laptop would be exactly the same spec as yours ( save for the fact its the 17" model ) and i'd like to do this sometime soon.

It's actually surprisingly noticable. The most obvious improvement is the handling of large files (duh!) such as GarageBand / Photoshop and others.

[tillin]

hmm very tempting. Now i need to deicde if i want to upgrade the powerbook or get a second
Hitachi 400GB 7200rpm drive for my G5 ( mmm RAID ) because i clearly need a good scratch disk lol.

and i need money. lots and lots of money.

[Podolsky]

Originally Posted by Velocity211

Ok... I gonna trust you on this one. But I'm waiting til the 120GB version comes out because I need a lot of space.

I started out waiting for the 120GB, 7200RPM but after two weeks I got itchy and went for the 100. My 80 was giving me problems, hadn't entirely failed just reported bad blocks that wouldn't disappear even after reformating. So, I just got the 100 even though I wanted 120. If you need the space now get the 100 as no one knows for sure when they will get 120 running at 7200RPM. The 100 is considerable faster than the 160GB running at 5400RPM. I think BareFeet has some benchmarks.

[RevEvs]

I upgraded from a 4200 to a 5400, and that made a huge difference. a 7200rpm drive os definately a great upgrade.

Although, I have a tight budget and have decided on the faster MBP with 256MB on the Graphics card instead of the faster HD - being as the HD is upgradeable, cpu and gfx card are not....

[slffl]

I have a 17" 1ghz. Can this PB be upgraded to a 7200 drive? Is it possible to do it myself? And which drive is the best?

[romeoarts]

On the MBP the hard drive is not user upgradable. You basically have to take the entire laptop apart to replace the hard drive.

On the MacBook the hard drive is user upgradable.

[Bryanmc]

Originally Posted by t-rent

On the MBP the hard drive is not user upgradable. You basically have to take the entire laptop apart to replace the hard drive.

It is, however, a much easier upgrade than PowerBooks.

[slffl]

So are you saying it's very involved to upgrade a 17" PB?

[Bryanmc]

Originally Posted by slffl

So are you saying it's very involved to upgrade a 17" PB?

It's a pretty big hassle to get a PowerBook open. There are all kinds of clasps that are hidden. It's easier than an iBook though, and it can be done, but it isn't a walk in the park.

OWC probably has a tutorial on how to open it.

[Velocity211]

Originally Posted by Bryanmc

It's a pretty big hassle to get a PowerBook open. There are all kinds of clasps that are hidden. It's easier than an iBook though, and it can be done, but it isn't a walk in the park.

OWC probably has a tutorial on how to open it.

iFixit.com has the best tutorials. If you want to open your notebook, go there.

[Bryanmc]

Originally Posted by Velocity211

iFixit.com has the best tutorials. If you want to open your notebook, go there.

Thanks for the tip!