Dual Drive MacBook Pro?

LGarden gnome on 16/08/2014 - 19:22
Last edited 16/08/2014 - 19:26

Hey everyone just after some advice on Hard Drives.

I want to upgrade my early 2011 MacBook Pro with a 1TB HDD and a 256GB SSD. My plan is to install the SSD in the main hard drive bay, and install a 1TB HDD in the optical bay slot using a data doubler. I am a student, with my typical usage being watch videos (already have an external HDD), sending emails and the occasionally dabble in file format conversions and use of Handbrake. I also plan on converting my old optical drive to an external one.

I've been doing some research on this topic and have a few questions

  1. Is there a noticeable speed and/or power usage difference between a 5400rpm and a 7200rpm drive?
  2. Has anyone tried this set-up before? Any issue with it?
  3. I am tossing up between a Hitachi Travelstar and a Western Digital Blue, thoughts? (I've had bad experiences with Seagate in the past so not an option for me.)
  4. On a whole, is a Desktop internal drive is 3.5 inches and a Laptop internal hard drive is 2.5 inches?
  5. Why is having a larger cache e.g 32mb better than 16mb?

Thanks guys

Computing

Comments

  • Wokstar on 16/08/2014 - 19:57
    +1

    Never knew you could dual boot HDDs in the MBPs however…

    Answering some of your questions:

    1. Most 5,400rpm hard drives are a little slower if not just as quick as 7,200rpm hdds. As you could imagine spinning at a lower speed has its advantages of lower power consumption and more reliability as there are less demands on the spinning platter.
    2. Sorry, I can't answer that. Google is your friend.
    3. Hiatachi is owned by WD. WD isn't bad and it's the same as Seagate. Either way, you're buying a WD hdd.
    4. Yes, the laptop hdd is a 2.5"
    5. Having a larger cache is better for performance and power consumption benefits.

    Also, buy yourself a quality SSD. Do some research into it like read/write speeds, IOPs, controllers. A quality SSD will last you longer (well most of the time its luck of the draw)

    Good luck with the upgrade.

    • Garden gnome on 16/08/2014 - 20:34

      Thanks Wokstar, I was thinking of using the SSD for OSX and my programs, and using the 1TB HD for all my other files. I haven't decided on the SSD yet either but am leaning towards the Samsung Evo 840, a Crucial SSD or a Sandisk SSD.
      I am looking at this HDD:
      http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Travelstar-2-5-Inch-7200RPM-Mobil…)
      The price difference is $0.01 between the 7200rpm and 5400rpm 1TB models.

      The new Retina MacBook Pro's can't use two hard drives, as they have no optical bay and the SSD flash memory is in chip form, not in the shape of a hard drive (please excuse my lack of correct terminology). The memory is replaceable but i'm not sure how the warranty is affected by that. this is what I mean.
      http://9to5toys.com/2014/04/25/put-up-to-960gb-in-your-macbo…

      The non-Retina MacBook Pro's can use two drives as long as everything is compatible and it has space for it (an optical bay with a data doubler and a hard drive bay).

  • [Deactivated] on 16/08/2014 - 21:02
    +1

    Cousins both run the ssd + hdd set up in their mac book procs. SSD as main drive makes a huge difference. They have no issues, would recommend.

    I would strip out my optic as its busted and swap it to an ssd but just to lazy. Nothing wrong with the set up, if you have time and can be bothered to do it, its worth it.

  • Whodis on 16/08/2014 - 22:57

    I've had trouble installing windows on my dual drive MBP. Just doesnt work and gave up.

    • [Deactivated] on 18/08/2014 - 11:07

      There is a trick to that, iirc you have to install the OS to the main drive with the second drive disconnected other wise it has trouble installing.

      Could be wrong on the trick though.

  • timmypete on 17/08/2014 - 12:53

    I did this in ~2010 to a mid-2009 MBP, using an adapter like this. I don't recall the full details but I might have had to file an edge down or remove a plastic tab to get it to fit, but otherwise all I needed to do was unclip the optical drive's custom SATA cable and attach it to the adaptor. This was before specific doubler adapters were available, and was a fair bit cheaper than the devices specifically marketed for MBPs.

    Regardless of the method you use, I can't emphasise enough how much you need to put the HD in the current spot your SSD sits not in the optical bay. The reason for this is that the HDD/SSD slot has vibration protection mounts and a HDD is way more susceptible to damage than the SSD is. Take the few minutes of extra effort and the HDD is significantly less likely to have problems.

    On a whole, is a Desktop internal drive is 3.5 inches and a Laptop internal hard drive is 2.5 inches?

    Yes, but you also need to know that 2.5" HDDs can come in 9.5mm height or 12mm height options. Generally laptops use 9.5mm drives (the 2009 MBP is definitely the case) so you'll want to check that it'll definitely fit. 12mm drives are generally only in the highest capacity options (eg ~4tb, more than I'd be putting in a laptop that could get lost/stolen) or used in external drives, but check all the same.

    From a power perspective, 7500rpm drives use more power for a marginal increase in performance. Given you're installing an SSD for your boot drive, I think you should steer clear of the 7,200. The appreciable difference in speed on the non-boot volume will be negligible and the power drain noticable. Don't forget also that you'll be having a slight hit on battery anyway, as your optical isn't generally being used 100% of the time when powered on. With an SSD & HDD going at the same time, your new setup will chew through more juice than you're currently using.

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