80GB $9.99 AR, 160GB external $49.99 AR, 250GB SATA $59.99 AR

[furballi]

Thanks for the review. Like I said, the Seagate was a much better deal. Without adequate packaging and warranty literature, you're taking a big gamble when you purchase this HDD. My data is very important to me.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: furballi
More quiet? Have data to backup your statement? I can't hear my 7200.7 Plus at 0.7 meter! Do you watch movies will one ear next to the HDD? HTPC is also about size. Video files eat up GBs of storage space. I would rather use one large 200 than three 80s (more heat, more noise).

Also note that a HTPC does not usually require rapid read/write seek operations from the HDD. Therefore, the most important noise variable is the idle tone of the HDD. The Seagate Cuda IV is #1 in quiet operation.

Sound pressure level intensity is a log function. Almost any HDD will be audible at 0.1 meter. However, I doubt that you will be able to hear ANY Seagate HDD in full operation at 2 meter. If you have to sit closer than 2 meter in front of the screen, then you need to invest in a larger display panel, instead of worrying about HDD noise.

seagate cuda iv's haven't been made in several years. as such, bringing it up is a strawman at best. but, if you can find a new one with warranty then grab it.

as for the noise

 

[KF]

Originally posted by: furballi
Thanks for the review. Like I said, the Seagate was a much better deal. Without adequate packaging and warranty literature, you're taking a big gamble when you purchase this HDD. My data is very important to me.

Hi furballi. Good comments. I have seen a lot of your interesting comments on Hot Deals this week.

I did not mean to put off anyone from this deal, which is phenominal. Non-techies, however, do not seem to realize that a HD is not a hunk of metal, like a fuel pump. The inards are so delicate and critical that it is a miracle they work at all outside a laboratory environment.

A little sermon first. My first HD was a 60M (not G) Mitsubishi, so you can figure how far back I go. Since I have never had a HD lose data in my life, I find it baffling how some people have managed to have repeated drive failures. I suspect careless handling. A long warrenty cannot substitute for good handling and treatment. Bang the HD around and you risk HD head damage. Especially, bumping the case while the drive is seeking will cause a head crash. Most often this does nothing serious, but it could completely wreck the heads too.

HDs in power-down mode, or after they time-out from a seek and read, lock the heads and are in a relatively safe configuration then. But drop a bare drive a foot onto a desk and it may never work right again. A tiny bit of cushioning will make all the difference.

About that Seagate to Samsung comparison: I don't think it is worthwhile comparing an expired, one-time deal to one you can still get. Both deals are freaks. I don't think you can expect to see a repeat. I don't even try to get deals that people stand in line for anymore. I never get 'em.

I don't believe consumer drives with a longer warranty are better built, or more reliable, drives. The only "warranty" that is really worth anything is the quality of the engineering. IMO, a 1, 3 or 5 year warranty is an insurance policy that you will not lose out on too large a sum of money. Worring about losing $15 on a HD failure is pointless. The real problem is the trouble a HD failure will cause, not the $15, or not however much an 80 or 200G is going to cost to replace in 3 years.

IAC, before I put the 80G Samsung into a useful mode, and considering the packing, I plan to run some R/W diagnostics for eight hours or so. I imagine I can find something generic if Samsung doesn't have a diagostic program on their site.

 

[T8ZBUD]

 

[furballi]

We're talking about the Seagate 200GB 7200.7 Plus on sale at CompUSA last FRIDAY, not the three-platter Seagate 500GB 7200.9! The Seagate 200 7200.7 Plus is just a tad louder than the Cuda IV. Also, the tested Samsung HDDs are superior drives when compared to the drive that's on sale for $10.

It appears that you want to "cheat" to prove your point.

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200504/20050414ST3400832AS_6.html

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200510/ST3500641AS_6.html

According to StorageReview and my personal experience, the noise level of the Seagate 7200.7 is about the same as the Samsung P80, which is a much better HDD than the $10 special at CompUSA. Don't tell me that a difference of 0.3dB is "way more quiet". A difference of 1dB is barely audible for most people.

The Cuda IV is my reference drive for low noise. The 7200.7 Plus drive is much faster than the Cuda IV, with very little sacrifice in noise level at 1 meter. It is clearly a better buy!

Don't confuse facts with fictions.

 

[T8ZBUD]

I found the Connect (Samsung) 80GB quite useful as a RAID backup to the 100GB Seagate in the $199 Compaq 1710nx also from CompUSA same day - for it's intended use as a cheap schoolwork/personal use box for my daughter. Installs easily and works fine. Samsung website has all the info you need - no need for bundled manual/software. Larger PATA HDD's are pretty regularly available on sale/AR for under 25 cents/GB, but if the need is really only for 80GB, not so easy to find, so why put more absolute dollars out than needed? Goleta CA store still has a whole aisle end display of them available and even with CA tax still about 20 cents/GB. This HDD plus a cheap RAM upgrade (I used 9.99 Ultra 512 PC3200 from an old deal at TD, but the current CC Kingston deal is only $15 more - or - expect to find beaucoup Infineon 256's soon on ebay from people who bought the same computer deal and replaced original RAM, and the MSI mobo supports dual channel) makes quite a decent rig that should be good for several years for her. BTW, I've never had an issue with rebates on stuff from CompUSA - maybe just lucky (?) but I do tend to be somewhat anal on following the fine print rules.

 

[furballi]

I use my PC for mission-critical stuffs. Therefore, I would never buy a HDD without adequate packaging to protect the drive from shipping damage. The damage may not show up for several years after purchase. I normally keep the PC for 5 years.

Note the reliability ratings of the Samsung P80 (39%) vs Seagate 7200.7 (85%). Time is $. The cost per GB is the same (about 20 cents/GB after tax) for both drives.

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200511/SP2504C_7.html

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200504/20050414ST3400832AS_7.html

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: furballi
We're talking about the Seagate 200GB 7200.7 Plus on sale at CompUSA last FRIDAY, not the three-platter Seagate 500GB 7200.9! The Seagate 200 7200.7 Plus is just a tad louder than the Cuda IV. Also, the tested Samsung HDDs are superior drives when compared to the drive that's on sale for $10.

It appears that you want to "cheat" to prove your point.

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200504/20050414ST3400832AS_6.html

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200510/ST3500641AS_6.html

According to StorageReview and my personal experience, the noise level of the Seagate 7200.7 is about the same as the Samsung P80, which is a much better HDD than the $10 special at CompUSA. Don't tell me that a difference of 0.3dB is "way more quiet". A difference of 1dB is barely audible for most people.

The Cuda IV is my reference drive for low noise. The 7200.7 Plus drive is much faster than the Cuda IV, with very little sacrifice in noise level at 1 meter. It is clearly a better buy!

Don't confuse facts with fictions.

storagereview's noise measurements are really poor, they're from an unrealisitically close distance: 18mm, not your 1 meter reference (i'm not sure where you're pulling that from). SPCR also probably uses much better equipment for measurement.

if this isn't a samsung P80, what is it? this is samsung's product page

in a head to head between a P80 (with 8 meg cache) and a 7200.7 spcr declared the samsung the hands down winner. now, that was an ear test and not their mic'd tests, but SPCR tests more for sound than anything else, so i'll buy their results over storagereview's.

 

[furballi]

Again, SPL is a log function. If there is only 0.3dB difference in noise level at 0.018 meter between the two drives, then the 1 meter reference test will show even less of a CHANGE! And I never quoted an SPL number at 1 meter. Calling StorageReview's measurements "poor" shows a lack common sense on your part.

I quote from the Silentpcreview article:

The idle acoustics portion of the test was done by turning on Sigma One without either drive plugged in, and then simply taking a free Molex connector and powering each drive up individually and carefully listening to acoustic performance. I wrote down detail, subjective notes on what I heard, both directly facing the drive, and also with my head turned so that my ear faced the drive directly.

This is not exactly scientific, but... while I was performing the idle acoustics tests, I had to hold the drives as I plugged and unplugged the power to the drives. Naturally, I could not help but feel the vibrations of the drives with my hands. My impression is that the heavier Samsung drive emitted much softer, weaker vibrations than the Seagate did.




Hmmm...where's the scientific number? These clowns can't afford a BK SPL meter? Don't you love reviewers with golden bionic ears? Ever heard of DOUBLE BLIND tests? Human hearing is very unreliable. That's why we developed SPL meter to discredit these subjective evaluations. Same BS argument about electronic vs tube amps. Oh yeah, CD vs LP.

As for the transfer graph of my Seagate 200 7200.7 Plus...62.5MB/sec MAX, 34.0MB/sec MIN, and 54.7MB/sec AVERAGE. Definitely faster than the Samsung drive.

If this clown can hear "the seeks of the Seagate anywhere in the room during the test", then he's is full of _ _ _ _. Gotta get me those bionic ears so I can detect the clicking noise in a 10' x 10' room.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: furballi
Again, SPL is a log function. If there is only 0.3dB difference in noise level at 0.018 meter between the two drives, then the 1 meter reference test will show even less of a CHANGE! And I never quoted an SPL number at 1 meter. Calling StorageReview's measurements "poor" shows a lack common sense on your part.

I quote from the Silentpcreview article:

The idle acoustics portion of the test was done by turning on Sigma One without either drive plugged in, and then simply taking a free Molex connector and powering each drive up individually and carefully listening to acoustic performance. I wrote down detail, subjective notes on what I heard, both directly facing the drive, and also with my head turned so that my ear faced the drive directly.

This is not exactly scientific, but... while I was performing the idle acoustics tests, I had to hold the drives as I plugged and unplugged the power to the drives. Naturally, I could not help but feel the vibrations of the drives with my hands. My impression is that the heavier Samsung drive emitted much softer, weaker vibrations than the Seagate did.




Hmmm...where's the scientific number? These clowns can't afford a BK SPL meter? Don't you love reviewers with golden bionic ears? Ever heard of DOUBLE BLIND tests? Human hearing is very unreliable. That's why we developed SPL meter to discredit these subjective evaluations. Same BS argument about electronic vs tube amps. Oh yeah, CD vs LP.

As for the transfer graph of my Seagate 200 7200.7 Plus...62.5MB/sec MAX, 34.0MB/sec MIN, and 54.7MB/sec AVERAGE. Definitely faster than the Samsung drive.

If this clown can hear "the seeks of the Seagate anywhere in the room during the test", then he's is full of _ _ _ _. Gotta get me those bionic ears so I can detect the clicking noise in a 10' x 10' room.

you did claim 'with very little sacrifice in noise level at 1 meter'

at 18 mm the microphone is so close it could be in a node, an antinode, the orientation of the drive to the microphone might matter, etc. all these things are ameliorated with distance. try it yourself, put your ear right up to a drive and move it around and i'll bet you get much less consistent sound than if you're at 3 feet and do the same.

like i said, that was an ear test and not a mic'd test like their newer ones. which show that the newer samsungs are more quiet than the newest seagates.

as for the data performance, i make and have made no comment as to it.

 

[caboob]

snagged a 250. Thanks

 

[OCNewbie]

I just got the 100GB for like $40 AMIR a couple weeks ago, looks like I'll return that one (haden't opened it yet anyway), and pick this one up instead.

Many thanks OP!

 

[Slaimus]

I got a 250 the last time it was $60AR, and it was a Maxline II. Are they still using those or have they switched to the DiamonMax 11? the Maxline may be an older bridged model, but they normally come with a 5 year warranty.

 

[furballi]

Take acoustic 101 and we'll revisit this issue. Another GWB clone!

 

[KF]

I'm not sure why it is important that the Seagate deal is better than the Samung deal.

Originally posted by: furballi
Note the reliability ratings of the Samsung P80 (39%) vs Seagate 7200.7 (85%). Time is $. The cost per GB is the same (about 20 cents/GB after tax) for both drives.

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200511/SP2504C_7.html

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200504/20050414ST3400832AS_7.html

At the links:

the Samsung SpinPoint P80 , is more reliable than 39% of the other drives in the survey that meet a certain minimum floor of participation.

the Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 is more reliable than 11% of ,,,

the Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 's predecessor ( Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ) is more reliable than 85% of ...

Seagate has dropped their quality to 1/8 of what it was? Puzzling. Might they have slipstreamed the drastic quality control disaster into the current 7200.7 production? Could it be a run of enormously lousey drives they are dumping at $30. But in reality, as I'm sure everyone knows, sampling without controls produces data without meaning, and that's what this load of crap is.

Originally posted by: furballi
I use my PC for mission-critical stuffs. Therefore, I would never buy a HDD without adequate packaging to protect the drive from shipping damage. The damage may not show up for several years after purchase. I normally keep the PC for 5 years.

How mission critical could if be if you are scrounging $30 parts? Good luck.

True, damage may not show up for several years, but that's because anythings possible. I think it is just about certain head damage, if any, will show up fast, let's say during a long, continuous R/W diagnostic

I keep my PCs forever. That's why there are 7 operational in the house (from reconfigured parts). I have much older PC pieces. However, past a point there is not much you can do with them. What can you do with a 200M HD? What can you do with a 386SX mobo? I did reuse my retired 700M HD in a pinch for something not long ago. 700M is the equivalent of one 15 cent CD. The 700M cost about $300 new and was just one bump below the maximum HD size at the time. Now people are worried about whether a $15 HD is overpriced?

OK, I've had my say. I don't mean to viscious. I'm sure your Seagate 200G is just fine. I might have got one if I could. And I'll find out how my Samsung is when I run the DOS diagnostic I downloaded from Samsung, although I imagine it will be OK.

 

[furballi]

Put the 7200.7 and 7200.8 side by side. Look at the design of the motor. I deal with facts, not pie-in-the-sky conspiracy theory. This same drive sells for at least $100 at most retailers. Ahhh, but Seagate sent CompUSA a batch of defective drives so they can unload them to naive consumers.

The engineers at WD, Seagate, Hitachi, and Maxtor want their products to stand out on the shelves. That's why they packaged the HDD in the G shock container. Hehehehhh. Enough said!

 

[Matt L]

Am I going to have problems with the rebate? I ordered 2 drives, one for the office and one for home. Different addresses on different cards but same name on them --am I screwed?

 

[OCNewbie]

Picked up the 250GB tonight in Orlando, thanks again OP!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Matt L
Am I going to have problems with the rebate? I ordered 2 drives, one for the office and one for home. Different addresses on different cards but same name on them --am I screwed?

I think you should be okay. Rebates usually say "per household" and not "per name" so you would be screwed if someone else in your household submitted the same rebate. Besides, likely that someone else has your exact name. Heck I once searched for my name on Google and found out that some guy with a .edu email address has my exact name, and I have a "foreign" last name.

 

[jolycu]

Thanks OP! Got the 80GB drive, but couldn't order the 250GB Maxtor, in-store only. The closest CompUSA to me is at least 200 miles away so I can only do mail order.

 

[imported_BS]

Originally posted by: Biggerhammer
Thank you for the info, OP.

The 250 looked good right up until I saw the one-year warrany... if they get a grown-up warranty on it I'll certainly buy one

They are just going by what everyone else warrents everything. I was allways suprised when companies gave out 5 year warrenties. This is a good deal as long as you get the rebate. Never did a compusa rebate before but I have heard of the problems of the past. Now Soyo was the worst one ever, But after alot of hassle and 8 months later I did get my money back from them.

 

[ww4397]

My $5 rebate for the 80GB drive has "disappeared" from the eRebates site!

Also, my $30 rebate form the 200GB Madness sale has also "disappeared" from the site!

So much for CompUSA improving their rebate process...

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: ww4397
My $5 rebate for the 80GB drive has "disappeared" from the eRebates site!

Also, my $30 rebate form the 200GB Madness sale has also "disappeared" from the site!

So much for CompUSA improving their rebate process...

Now that you've posted this at least twice - why not try contacting the rebate people instead? They have the power to fix it, we can do nothing. (In case you didn't notice, Hot Deals has an entire stickied thread devoted to rebates.) Good luck!

 

[ww4397]

Originally posted by: allisolm

Originally posted by: ww4397
My $5 rebate for the 80GB drive has "disappeared" from the eRebates site!

Also, my $30 rebate form the 200GB Madness sale has also "disappeared" from the site!

So much for CompUSA improving their rebate process...

Now that you've posted this at least twice - why not try contacting the rebate people instead? They have the power to fix it, we can do nothing. (In case you didn't notice, Hot Deals has an entire stickied thread devoted to rebates.) Good luck!

Actually, I posted it four times. Twice here at AT (two separate Hot Deals) and twice over on FW (again, two separate Hot Deals). Not excessive IMO. I think people need to know about this problem. I doubt I'm alone.

I'm sorry that you have an issue with my postings.

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: ww4397


Actually, I posted it four times. Twice here at AT (two separate Hot Deals) and twice over on FW (again, two separate Hot Deals). Not excessive IMO. I think people need to know about this problem. I doubt I'm alone.

I'm sorry that you have an issue with my postings.

I'm sorry that you have an issue. Good luck with getting it fixed. One poster at FW said "I bought the 250 SATA Drive in store. Also I bought the 200 GB PATA Hard drive with $60 rebate earlier this month.Today I found out both rebate previously approved MISSING from my status page.But when I called, then assured me they can still see these two $80 and $60 rebates on their end and there is nothing wrong." Maybe there is nothing wrong for you either.

edit: my $5 rebate disappeared while I was looking at the rebate site. I called and was told that they are having a problem with this particular rebate and are attempting to fix it systemwide. If that fails, they will have to do it manually and it will happen as soon as the pending period is over. If we see no change by Apr 14 we should call.