Re: Current HD costs update
A couple of weeks ago we were talking about upgrade SATA drives and that the many drives have hit the 10 cents/GB (US) point. Now that the Seagate 1.5TB 7200.11 SATA has hit $150 (latest deal includes a 4GB usb stick and free shipping), I thought I would warn people that Seagate is having an issue with the 1.5TB drives. From a site called the Techreport.com: http://tinyurl.com/67fcpz We shot off an e-mail to Seagate last week to inquire about these problems. We've now received a response from company spokesman Mike Hall, who's written the following: Seagate is investigating an issue where a small number of Barracuda 7200.11 (1.5TB SATA) hard drives randomly pause or hang for up to several seconds during certain write operations. This does not result in data loss nor does it impact the reliability of the drive but is an inconvenience to the user that we are working to resolve with an upgradeable firmware. Since most people who use these drives will be using them for media servers and such (Bruce's supported faculty being an exception), that several second pause could be a deal killer on these drives. So anyone tempted by 1.5TB for $150 may want to think twice before buying the current Seagate until this is worked out. And, no, I am not a Seagate hater. They are my first choice when it comes to primary drives. Len --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Current HD costs update
At 9:24 AM -0500 11/12/2008, Len Gerstel wrote: A couple of weeks ago we were talking about upgrade SATA drives and that the many drives have hit the 10 cents/GB (US) point. Seagate is investigating an issue where a small number of Barracuda 7200.11 (1.5TB SATA) hard drives randomly pause or hang for up to several seconds during certain write operations. This does not result in data loss nor does it impact the reliability of the drive but is an inconvenience to the user that we are working to resolve with an upgradeable firmware. Thx for the heads-up, Len! Hopefully Seagate will get a firmware fix out quickly. On another note... There are a lot of 1 TB drives going for $99 or less right now. Careful, folx! Many of them are LP size (normal 3.5 drives) but then they're 5400rpm instead of 7200 rpm! So they cannot keep up with their fast SATA or USB 2 or FW interfaces! IOW, they're cheap because they're s l o o o o o w. - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Current HD costs update
At 9:24 AM -0500 11/12/2008, Len Gerstel wrote: A couple of weeks ago we were talking about upgrade SATA drives and that the many drives have hit the 10 cents/GB (US) point. Seagate is investigating an issue where a small number of Barracuda 7200.11 (1.5TB SATA) hard drives randomly pause or hang for up to several seconds during certain write operations. This does not result in data loss nor does it impact the reliability of the drive but is an inconvenience to the user that we are working to resolve with an upgradeable firmware. Thx for the heads-up, Len! Hopefully Seagate will get a firmware fix out quickly. On another note... There are a lot of 1 TB drives going for $99 or less right now. Careful, folx! Many of them are LP size (normal 3.5 drives) but then they're 5400rpm instead of 7200 rpm! So they cannot keep up with their fast SATA or USB 2 or FW interfaces! IOW, they're cheap because they're s l o o o o o w. which means they'd make a great back up drive ;) -sam --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Current HD costs update
On Nov 12, 2008, at 11:58 AM, Dan wrote: On another note... There are a lot of 1 TB drives going for $99 or less right now. Careful, folx! Many of them are LP size (normal 3.5 drives) but then they're 5400rpm instead of 7200 rpm! So they cannot keep up with their fast SATA or USB 2 or FW interfaces! IOW, they're cheap because they're s l o o o o o w. Just remember, slow is a relative term. They won't saturate a FW or SATA channel at full throughput, but may max out a usb 2 interface. Also, remember that even a slow drive by todays standards will be faster than HDs of 2-3 years ago. While they are only 5400 rpm, the density is going up so that the same number of bits is flowing under the head per second as an older 320GB 7200 rpm drive. Where they will be measurably slower will be compared to the same size drive running at 7200 rpm. Streaming music, storing jpegs, they are faster than needed for one user. Streaming video for HD real time FinalCut Pro editing projects and you will probably want something faster. Len --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Current HD costs update
On Nov 12, 2008, at 11:58 AM, Dan wrote: On another note... There are a lot of 1 TB drives going for $99 or less right now. Careful, folx! Many of them are LP size (normal 3.5 drives) but then they're 5400rpm instead of 7200 rpm! So they cannot keep up with their fast SATA or USB 2 or FW interfaces! IOW, they're cheap because they're s l o o o o o w. Just about any recent 3.5 drive can completely saturate a USB 2 or Firewire interface. The 5400 RPM 1TB drives are fine for FW or USB interfaces, with an average speed of 68MB/sec. The average USB interface might reach 25MB/sec, FW is 35-37MB/sec (out of 40), and FW800 has a theoretical max of 80MB/sec, which is never achieved since Apple used a poor FW800 chipset. No drive on the market has been able to completely saturate a SATA interface. The 1.5TB drives barely reach 140MB/sec, mine are usually 110-125MB/sec. To say that a 5400 RPM drive is slow isn't exactly accurate. They're slower than other comparable sized drives, but they are still considerably faster than any drive 400GB or less. If you're still running your system off an original 80/160/250GB HD, a new 1TB 5400 RPM drive will will be a remarkable improvement. You're also missing the intended use for the drive. Their ideal purpose is to be put into places with limited needs where their slightly slower performance won't be an issue and their significantly reduced power draw can be appreciated. Places such as media devices (Tivo, and other video boxes), media storage, external FW/USB HDs, and most home/office computers which don't need lightning-fast disk access. If you're editing multiple video streams or recording 20+ audio tracks, you probably need a 7200RPM drive. But most people don't and won't even notice a difference. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/terabyte-samsung-spinpoint,2026-6.html -Donald Hall --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: Current HD costs update
At 12:44 PM -0500 11/12/2008, Len Gerstel wrote: On Nov 12, 2008, at 11:58 AM, Dan wrote: On another note... There are a lot of 1 TB drives going for $99 or less right now. Careful, folx! Many of them are LP size (normal 3.5 drives) but then they're 5400rpm instead of 7200 rpm! So they cannot keep up with their fast SATA or USB 2 or FW interfaces! IOW, they're cheap because they're s l o o o o o w. Just remember, slow is a relative term. They won't saturate a FW or SATA channel at full throughput, but may max out a usb 2 interface. Real interfaces vs the USB-Joke. ROFLable but I'm too tired. sigh. :) Also, remember that even a slow drive by todays standards will be faster than HDs of 2-3 years ago. Yea, IF you keep your i/o smaller than the drive's buffer. Adding a bigger buffer while slowing the drive down is the equiv of putting a sleek runner's outfit on a fat pig. Areal density notwithstanding, these drives still have the long latencies and seek times. - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed Low End Mac's G3-5 List, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list?hl=en Low End Mac RSS feed at feed://lowendmac.com/feed.xml -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
