[selowitch]

Do the stock hard drives in the iBook G4s spin at 4200rpm? Can they comfortably function with a 5400rpm or 7200rpm replacement drive, or are they likely to get too hot? Would you spend the extra dough to swap out the drive on a brand-new iBook?

[EmmEff]

I am planning on putting a 60GB or 80GB Fujitsu 5400rpm into my nearly new 12" iBook. Probably a month or two (since my iBook is only 3 weeks old now)

[wataru]

Replacing the hard drive will void the warranty, so I wouldn't recommend it unless the machine is already out of warranty anyway.

[drive-thru]

I put an 80GB 5400rpm Hitachi Travelstar (_HTS548080M9AT00) in my iBook 800 a few weeks ago. It doesn't seem to be any hotter, but if the room is silent I can hear the drive spinning (although it is very quiet).

My stock drive was a 30GB 4500rpm Toshiba (MK3018GAS).
The iBook seems a bit more responsive although I haven't done anything yet which is HDD intensive. My main reason for the upgrade was that I was running out of disk space and the extra speed was just a bonus.

My iBook was out of warranty when I replaced the drive. If you're going to be doing it yourself I would think hard about it - voids warranty and unless you feel confident (and have some experience) you can easily mess up your iBook. I believe you can get an Apple Store or an Apple Service Provider to do the upgrade for you and not void your warranty, but I think you have to buy one of their drives and it can be pretty expensive.

[Stinkysteve]

Originally posted by wataru:
Replacing the hard drive will void the warranty, so I wouldn't recommend it unless the machine is already out of warranty anyway.

Is this true if you have it done at an Authorized Service Center?

[techra]

I am needing to replace my iBook hard drive, it is failing. How much does hard drive replacement run these days on the iBook? It's a white dual usb model from a few years back, 500mhz model. I've left it almost unworking for the past several months and if I can afford it I'd love to get it replaced.