Mac Pro - SATA disk question

[stunsworth]

Ok, so I'm about to buy either an iMac or a Mac Pro. The Mac pro appeals, even though I'd have to use my existing, not so great, monitors in the short term.

But I have a question about the SATA disks used in the Mac Pro. Is there anything 'special' about them? I only ask because a 1TB diskfrom Apple is about three times the cost of a similarly sized disk from an online retailer. I realise that Apple will be buying in the disks, anyone know from who?

Do I gain anything by spending the extra and buying the Apple?

[sdai]

These hard drives all come from Western Digital or Seagate ... when buying a Mac, you should always minimize your configuration first, once you get the machine then add on stuff by yourself, such as hard drives, memory chips, etc. They can be had at much cheaper prices at wholesale outlets.

[stevelap]

I have the 500gb/7200rpm in my new Mac Pro, I've just taken a look in the 'about this mac' system profiler but it doesn't list the manufacturer's name (the model number begins with an 'S', so I suppose it could be Seagate).
I've also installed the 160gb/5400rpm hard drive from my old machine into this one and it's listed as a 'Maxtor'.
If I get time to open it up tomorrow I'll take a look at the actual drive to see what's written on it.

If you do buy an extra drive from elsewhere, installing it will be easy. It's just open up, slide in and push to seat. No cables and nothing in the way of the spare bays.

[stunsworth]

Originally Posted by sdai

...when buying a Mac, you should always minimize your configuration first, once you get the machine then add on stuff by yourself, such as hard drives, memory chips, etc. They can be had at much cheaper prices at wholesale outlets.

Thanks for the responses. I'd already worked out the above for myself <grin>

Steve, no need to take your Mac to bits - I was only looking for confirmation that it contained standard parts. Thanks for the help.

[spylaw4]

You probably know already to max out the RAM? Crucial do have good prices and quality.

[stunsworth]

Originally Posted by spylaw4

You probably know already to max out the RAM? Crucial do have good prices and quality.

Brian, yes, even though I may have to run it with 2 gig for a month or two, when I do upgrade I won't be buying from Apple <grin>.

[lx1jon]

Do be aware though when buying your bare drives that any one manufacturer of them probably has a range of apparently similar spec drives with different levels of warranty & predicted performance. I've just this afternoon put a Seagate 1TB drive in the fourth and last slot in my MacPro; mine allegedly has a 5-year warranty. Of course warranty = money rather than your memories after it fails, but I have to hope that a model with better warranty, MTBF etc is a worthwhile proposition.

It was at least cheaper than the same-make, same-class 750GB I bought from the same supplier (Cancom UK) 18 months ago for the third slot...

Jonathan

[stevelap]

Good point.

[stephengilbert]

I bought my Mac Pro with a single drive, and 2GB of memory. I bought additional drives and memory from Other World Computing: Find the latest Performance Upgrades, Firewire and USB Hard Drives, SATA, Memory, Laptop Battery, and more at OWC

Very good prices, very knowledgeable people, and they have helpful installation videos. I've read nothing but good comments about OWC.

Steve

[usayit]

Another thumbs up from me for macsales.com (also known as Other World Computing). The entire website is geared towards equipment specifically for Apple. I also picked up a BlacX SATA->USB unit for additional offsite backup. thermaltakeusa.com

[netexpress]

Use the Hitachi Deskstar 1TB drives. We just did a study of failure rates for 2008 models of 1TB SATA disks and the 1TB Hitachi Deskstar is by far the leader in longevity. The Seagates AS models which used to be the previous champions are now failing like crazy. Our study involved thousands of drives under constant I/O.

I would also second the recommendation to buy third party memory.

Enjoy the new MacPro!

[stunsworth]

Thanks everyone. In the end I bought a 24" iMac - holiday pending and the car needs a service, I'm sure you know the sort of thing. Anyhow, the iMac is working fine and I'm writing this message on it.

I'm sure I'll get a Mac Pro in a couple of years time, so thanks for all the advice.