I upgraded to the 320GB Scorpio Black from the original 160GB in my late Nov MacBook alum.

There is a noticeable improvement in terms of application launching and general responsiveness. Firefox and iTunes now at fresh launch takes half the time it use to take. When quickly skipping songs in iTunes, there is no delay like it used to. Startup was 34 seconds, now 27 seconds. As for noise and vibrations, noise-wise the increase isn't much but the vibrations is much more noticeable compared to the stock drive.

If you rest your palms on the laptop a lot, you might want to think twice before upgrading. I'm gonna use it for a few days to see if I can adapt to the vibrations. By the way, if you are wondering, I did a Carbon Copy Clone of my default drive prior to installation.

This post has been edited by kwekeugene: Jul 13 2009, 01:14 AM

Yup, can be replaced by any standard sized 2.5" HDD/SSD. What you should be worried about is the removal and installation process as it's not as straightforward compared to MacBooks.

I believe your MBP uses a SATA connector which is pretty much what SSDs use. You might want to do a fair bit of research before jumping into SSD, as some have issues.

A good SSD would the the Intel X25M or the OCZ Vertex Series.

Few things could lead to a slow system.

1. How full is your HDD? If you are nearing full capacity, you might want to consider getting a bigger drive. Full drives are slow.

2. What files are you playing with Real Player? HD content? Take a look at Activity Monitor.

3. Are any of the applications that you use stable? Recall if the slowdown was after installing any specific new apps. It could be that particular app using an abnormal amount of RAM.

4. A good way to tell if you have enough RAM is through Activity Monitor. Go under the Memory tab and look for the "Page Out" figure. If you get a high amount of page outs then by all means you need more RAM.

As for 4GB, it you multitask frequently, then I don't see why you shouldn't go ahead with the purchase. Just got to make sure the slowdown isn't due to RAM...

If you buy from Machines, they'll do it for you. Even if you don't, ask them nicely if they will help you.

Is your HDD more than 80% full? Have you recently installed any new apps? RAM working fine?

If none of the above, it could indicate a faulty HDD.

Seems fine because it does add up to 4GB. There's more info on this here...

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1342?viewlocale=en_us