Western Digital now shipping 500GB laptop drive: $220
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Sep 12th 2008 8:05AM
posted Sep 12th 2008 8:05AM
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Will this work with PS3?
Ha! Beat me to it.
http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/206951/how-to-supercharge-your-ps3/
Probably. The Samsung M6 500GB is cheaper though.
Of course it will! PlayTV here I come.
the question isn't will it WORK......
but will it FIT.....
if So I'll be upgrading my 320GB HDD to this within the next few months.
the question isn't will it WORK......
but will it FIT.....
if So I'll be upgrading my 320GB HDD to this within the next few months.
Primero !!! Pew...pew...pew..
Will this fit in a 15" MacBook Pro though?
Its a standard height 2.5" SATA, so yes, it will fit in the Macbook Pro. However, the MBP requires a lot of work to replace the HDD.
it's really not hard to do a DIY HDD replacement on a MBP, just remember to take everything slowly -- especially when you remove the top case/keyboard -- I thought I had ripped the ribbon cable's contact from the mobo when I lifted mine too quickly, but luckily they're the "quick disconnect" type ribbon connectors.
FYI, visit ifixit to see some intricate teardown instructions and photos.
I actually found this great site with guides and even instructional videos on taking the top-case off and replacing the MacBook Pro HD. Doesn't look all that hard after watching them. Just need to get a Torx T6 screwdriver.
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/15-Inch-Macbook-Pro-Repair-Guide-Video-p-42.html
Marvelous - I'm looking to upgrade my 17" MBP later this year since 160GB didn't go as far as I thought it would.
As a matter of interest, how does a DIY upgrade affect the warranty? Mine is outside the 1-year warranty but still under the 3-year AppleCare cover.
Be prepared to put the original drive back in if you need to take it in for service.
You should be fine if you don't wreck your laptop or lose a bunch of screws during installation/reinstallation.
Will it fit into a PS3?
I'm not sure what the max height is.
It should fit perfectly into the PS3 since it's 9.5mm in height.
I really want to get this for my Macbook. My itunes and iphoto libraries are killing my puny 120gb drive
Why does everyone on here think that someone cares about what they're going to do to their Macbook?
^
^
Yes this will work and fit perfectly on the PS3.
I think it can support up-to 4GB of Hard Disk because of Fat32. But hey, I can't prove this because 500GB is the maximum capacity of 2.5'' HDs right now. :)
And this can fit on ALL LAPTOPS that uses a 2.5" SATA hard disk, I don't see why this is being asked. -_-
dont you mean 4tb?
I believe some laptops have maximum heights of the drives they can accept and that those with more platters will be too thick. Not all 2.5" drives will fit in a 15" MBP and I suspect that it is not the only laptop with this limitation.
Oh yeah 4TB.
hehe..
The max volume size is 2TB; the max size of any single file is 4GB minus 1 byte.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Allocation_Table
Will it last more that a year or two?
Sorry, I'm the guy who's had troubles with WD in the past.
Just like everyone else who has had troubles with every other brand.
Here's a good one, I'm also the guy who has had great runs with MAXTOR drives of all things, and older pre-Seagate ones too!
Crazy, ain't it?
Mechanical hard drives are a dead end. I dont know why all manufacturers arent putting all their resources into developing SSD's.
Sure its nice to have 500gb's in a notebook, but when it will only last a year or 2 whats the point. In a year or 2 we will have SSD's going beyond 500gb. They just need to work on the price.
@Adderz
Personally, I'm waiting a few years to find out how reliable SSDs are before investing in them. Damned if I'm entrusting my data to a technology that I don't consider proven. Magnetic drives might not be cool but they are a proven technology that's mature. The plus side to this is that when SSDs are proven to be reliable then they should be cheap enough to be affordable. If they aren't proven to be reliable then I can wear my smug "told you so" expression, right up to the time that I mysteriously develop a black eye...
Being in need of a new hard drive for my ailing Sony Vaio S4XP, I was wondering if this would work with it? I have no real idea about compatibility issues, having never upgraded my laptop before. The damned thing can't fit any of my music on it anymore, and it's getting pretty tedious plugging in an external hard drive just to listen to a song...
Thanks for any responses.
Being in need of a new hard drive for my ailing Sony Vaio S4XP, I was wondering if this would work with it? I have no real idea about compatibility issues, having never upgraded my laptop before. The damned thing can't fit any of my music on it anymore, and it's getting pretty tedious plugging in an external hard drive just to listen to a song...
Thanks for any responses.
Any word on power consumption or battery life hit? The M6 is supposedly very power hungry.
Found this at Microcenter: They're selling WD 500 gb cavaiar 2.5 SATA-300 drives with 16mb cache at 7200 rpm for $79.99 Why would I ever spend $220.00
Here's the link: ttp://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0237870
that's a WD Caviar, the Desktop version.
the extra price is to get it small enough to fit into a laptop
I'm hoping you know the difference between a laptop hard drive and a desktop hard drive.
So how long till these get bumped up to the Black 7200rpm editions? Granted on the 320GB 5400rpm to 7200rpm didn't make a night and day differance, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.
I agree. There difference is noticeable, especially when going from 7200 to 5400 after getting used to it.
The 250gb model is awesome though and is less than $100.
http://www.jr.com/western-digital/pe/WD_WD2500BEVERT/
Personally, I would buy 2 of those, and just use an encasing and voila, I have a portable external drive, like the passport.
I hate to be the spoil sport to ask the really hard question.
Where can I buy it? Western Digital can ship all the 500 gig 2.5" laptop drives they want, but if I cant buy it then it is for naught.
A little info on where to pick it up is a lot more news to me than the fact that they are shipping. Shipping where?
Article says WD is shipping in volume, which means the places you would buy from don't have it in stock quite yet.
Wait a week and then check NewEgg, Amazon, etc.
Whats the largest 7200rpm drive for a notebook available?
Seagate, WD and Hitachi are all shipping 7200rpm 2.5" laptop SATA drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150380 1035507776 1309733643&name=320GB
Prices range from $129 to $179 at newegg.
I think someone at WD is bad at math.
$220 / 500GB = 44c per GB
$190 / 400GB = 47.5c per GB
Usually you charge the premium on the top end device, not the one right below it!
And before I get swarmed with HD Techies replying, I KNOW the insides of the 400GB and 500GB are identical which means it costs them the same to produce. But if they are going to put out a 400GB model, they should have done it at $175 or less.
Uh, it's always been the more you buy, the less you pay... at least in Canada.
the answer to the ps3 questions is..
YES; its the same size as normal laptop harddrives and in turn will/should fit.
i may be ordering one up next week. :) my 320gb is already down to a mere 70gb of freespace.
btw, Pachter if your wondering how you can fill an 80gb ps3's harddrive; its called MP4 movies, duh!
damn analysts..
Let me makes things a little easier.
I'll beat that with the power of google. google products found me a Samsung Spinpoint M6 500gb hard drive for $195.00. The site I was directed to was Lagoom.com (it had great customer reviews and google checkout support)
alil easier now...
it does work with the PS3, i bought it 2 weeks ago and am still using it right now(which is great cuz i was starting to delete game installs).
even easier.
http://www.lagoom.com/Samsung_SpinPoint_M6_HM500LI_500GB/HM500LI/partinfo-id-583621.html
the catch?
it seems that there are 17 left now. so your welcome to the next few that jump on that.
damn engadget... step your bargain game up
I've been considering getting a large 2.5" drive and usb enclosure for portable storage. My main concern is if I will be able to power the drive from a single usb port. A lot of you are recommending the samsung m6 drive. On the spec sheet, though, it says that the spin-up power requirement is 1000mA while my MBP (and most other laptops I believe) provides only 500mA to each USB port. This means that I'd have to use a power adapter or give up both my usb ports to provide the extra power (neither of which I want to do). The WD scorpio, on the other hand, appears to use "Reduced Power Spinup" technology to allow it work over usb bus power. I can't find an exact spin-up power requirement for the drive, however, so maybe someone with experience could confirm this. My MBP also has FW800, so maybe this spec could power a 500gb drive?
Ask not what your MacBook can do for you; ask what you can do for your MacBook. - Steve Jobs
MacBooks never break, they just don't feel like working.
i will buy one for my ps3 but i bet i will show up as a 500 gb hdd in the ps3
Ima buy one to but let me kno if it works or ill let you kno wen i try it.