MacBook HHD Confirmation

Mr Jones · 27 Sep 2007 at 17:46

Hi guys, just to confirm

is this drive
Hitachi Travelstar 5K160
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-038-HI&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=896

Going to work on the MacBook? I want to confirm before I purchase. A couple of sites said it's not compatible due to PATA interface?! even tho it says SATA?

Mr Jones · 27 Sep 2007 at 18:01

Justin said:
Yeah it will work, it's 2.5" and SATA, don't see why not.

Because the 3rd search from Google UK for "Hitachi Travelstar 5K160 for macbook" said "not compatible"... I just want to confirm / perhaps someone used it before. For under £40 on OcUK, I think it's a snatch for 120GB...

Mr Jones · 28 Sep 2007 at 01:06

EVH said:
For the extra £10 you could always get a WD.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-128-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=896

I'm not trying to sway you, because it obviously looks like the one you've chosen will work but if in doubt you could always get the one above.

I've always feared Hitachi after the "Deathstar" drives back in the day.

I am tempted for a 160GB drive... or even the 120GB version...

Mr Jones · 28 Sep 2007 at 16:21

Durzel said:
I've seen the instructions on iFixIt and to be honest I'd rather pay the money to preserve the warranty.

My experience of changing the memory was harsh enough - micro-screws which are so easy to round off if you haven't got a microscopic screwdriver

I upgraded my memory a few months back and got a set of micro screws from a local DIY for £1... perfecto~

The HDD, I took it out, out of interest, and refit it back, it's simple - like loading a gameboy cartriage in and out (except with a ribbon)...

Looks like I'll be placing an order for Hitachi's Drive instead of the WD (from Magicboy's comment) - plus it's cheaper.

Anyone else with experiences to these Drives and have an input before I buy it over the weekend?

Mr Jones · 28 Sep 2007 at 16:54

I've been using Maxtor, Samsungs and Seagate too but they're all 3.5... laptop will be my first thus I'm not too sure about reliability.

I'm tempted by the Hitachi's due to pricing compared to Seagate (eventho they're proven to be "faster" overall and "more" reliable in terms of branding...)