Hi all, welcome to my part 2 of my new hard drive I am installing.
Since my last post about the OCZ Vertex 2 SSD 120gb drive, I have upgraded my MacBook Pro to the new core i5 model (13 inch still). And man, what a change! I dislike however they will supply the Intel HD 3000 integrated chip, but it suffices perfectly. I have already tried Photoshop CS5/Aperture and also Starcraft 2. Overall, hardly any lag on the gpu, cpu and even the new Seagate Momentus 7200rpm drive makes a heck of a difference! Very solid MacBook Pro and definitely worth the $1199.99.


So now getting back on track, let's see what we have in store for the hard drive. I went to a local Best Buy and picked myself up a Seagate Momentus 500gb 7200rpm hard drive. Yes, I know not the "hybrid HD/SSD" they have out called the Momentus XT. I am actually installing a new hard drive because well, I have experienced a crash finally on the SSD. The controller you find in the OCZ's have a very short lifespan according to ex-owners including myself. I have had the drive now since October 2010. So really, it's kind of a shame that I got such a short life span, I was super happy with the drive, but one day (today) it decided to go belly up. Because of this issue, I am steering away from the SSD market for now and focusing back onto standard HDs. Reason why I say this, is because even though your HDs spin, it actually is a great thing. The probable failure rates according to respected sites say it is proven technology to the T about life span and reliability, yet SSDs don't have a proven life span because of the testing environments. According to testers, they have yet to have an official life span that is 100% confirmed, they have speculated but it's nothing to be sure about. Some SSDs have proven 10+ years back in beta testing, but some can't even make it a year. Kind of sad to hear, but this is real life and it's great to see a technology making it's way to be a good one. Like with all technology, SSDs are sort of new to the computer world compared to most HDs, so make sure you keep an eye on new SSD models to hit shelves before to long. Now, I can already see some of the members on Teamspeed telling me to use the warranty that come with these and get a replacement, and to be honest at this point, I do not want an SSD, not because of my issue, but to be honest they just aren't appealing to me anymore. I love the tech they have and how such a fast drive they are, but I feel it's not a proven technology for me to waste my time with. Maybe it's different for other folks, but it's not my fancy anymore. In turn, that's why I chose your standard hard drive, I know it's proven to 101% and I know how they are.

For a review standpoint, I absolutely love this Seagate Momentus hard drive, with 500gb to spare (which, SSD prices are ridiculous after 120gb it's almost not worth it) and it has 16MB cache which is plenty, and can do 3Gb/s (same as the XT hybrid). In turn, you get a very fast reliable product, which at the price of $79.99 on sale, you can not beat it. Especially with 500gb, come on, that is a deal!

Thank you for reading this post, and hope you all can appreciate my side of the story, and as always, please please leave feedback! Have a great night/day! Cheers

 

Neither.

I run a 500gb/7200rpm drive for media/storage, and then run an E/C34 128gb (I think) SSD as my boot drive. Works great, with no problems after a year.