Comments on: Hitachi hard disk in a Powerbook

Question: Hitachi hard disk in a Powerbook

Dean King — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 07:42:06 -0800

Does anyone have experience using a Hitachi Travelstar 7K60 in a 1.25GHz Aluminum Powerbook? Advice to share about installation, heat issues, battery life?

By: bcwinters

bcwinters — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 09:09:50 -0800

A great resource for drive/CPU/video card swapping for Macs is xlr8yourmac. They have a specific search page for drives. The consensus on the 7K60 seems to be that it makes for a remarkable speedup all around. Now I kind of want one. Shoot.

By: jjg

jjg — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:38:42 -0800

Since your PowerBook probably isn't that old, you should know that opening it up to install a new drive will definitely void your warranty.

By: chrismear

chrismear — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 12:34:43 -0800

That really surprises me... I wouldn't have thought upgrading a component like a hard drive would void the warranty. I don't have any solid evidence to back this up, though.

Certainly, Apple provided instructions for upgrading the old Titanium PowerBook in various ways (Airport card, bottom case, hard drive, keyboard and memory). To me, this implies that such operations aren't warranty-voiding. But the equivalent page for the new Aluminium 15" PowerBook only includes instructions for installing an Airport Extreme card, feet, or memory.

If you're concerned, I would read the fine print of the warranty that came with your PowerBook and make your own conclusion.

By: jjg

jjg — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 15:44:42 -0800

You're right, this is a relatively recent development for PowerBooks (namely, with the advent of the aluminum enclosures). On the other hand, iBooks have never been user-upgradable, at least officially.

You can have an authorized service center perform the PowerBook upgrade, and you'll still be covered. It's only when you open the case yourself that you get into trouble.

By: gen

gen — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 18:26:32 -0800

I own a 1.25 Ghz 15"er and an Athlon XP 2800+ Win32 machine. Neither feels slower than the other.

My concerns would be about heat (the Powerbook is hot!) and noise.