Question module

May 12, 2008 8:59 AM

Question about laptop hard drives: "Plug-in module"?

I'm looking to double the HD capacity on my Macbook, from 80 GB to 160. Looking at the Western Digital Scorpio 160GB SATA drives on Buy.com, I see that there are two versions. One goes for $115 while the other, which is branded as a "plug-in module," goes for $80. Obviously, I'd like the cheaper one. What does "plug-in module" mean, both theoretically (what's the difference, if any) and practically (can I install it in my Macbook or not)?

Thanks!

posted by dondiego87 to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Best answer: You're looking at two of the exact same hard-drive: one is retail (noted by the WD1600BEVSRTL), and the other is not (WD1600BEVS) which means it must be OEM. They are both technically plug-in modules, but that is not the important connection you need to consider: it is the SATA (Serial ATA) that you need to look at.

And yes, you can upgrade using this harddrive.
posted by tybeet at 9:20 AM on May 12, 2008

Just to clarify: OEM can mean different things to different manufacturers. In my experience OEM usually means it comes in a brown box (not a retail box), that it may not come with a manual, and that it may have a limited warranty (though this last point is highly-dependent on the vendor). You save money, and there's no difference in the actual hardware that you will receive.
posted by tybeet at 9:23 AM on May 12, 2008

My experience has been that OEM drives don't have all of the nice cables and screws that come with the Retail versions.

I buy OEM drives for the price savings as much as I can. But I've never owned a Mac, so I don't know what connector issues you might hit.
posted by krisak at 1:51 PM on May 12, 2008

Response by poster: Okay, sweet. I'm not too worried about missing parts, since I planned to have it installed at the Apple Store. Thanks for your help!
posted by dondiego87 at 6:45 AM on May 13, 2008

Response by poster: Wow, what a coincidence! Via TechDeals.net, I just found the retail version at NewEgg for $70. Thanks anyway! :-D
posted by dondiego87 at 6:56 AM on May 13, 2008