PSA: Seagate 7200.9 series finally available

[Elcs]

I wonder if the 7200.9's can displace the Spinpoints as quietest drives.

I certainly like Seagates warranty, Western Digitals performance but I think Id rather have Samsung Spinpoint quietness or better

 

[biostud]

Native SATA interface at 3Gbs transfer rates also supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ) to get the most performance from PC technology, such as Intel Hyper-Threading.

So does this imply that NCQ is more beneficial on dualcore systems. Not that I expect stellar increase, but it would be nice to see it benched.

 

[SGtheArtist]

Did I miss something I thought that the next generation would have platter densities of only 133GB but the op said that the 160GB is on 1 platter. Where did you find this?

If thats the case then Seagate platter density skipped 133GB and is at 166GB/platter. They could release a 664GB HDD on 4 platters & a 500GB HDD on just 3.

Currently the Hitachi runs 5x 100GB platters.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Mojoed
Looks like the Seagate 7200.9 series is finally available. It looks like the 160GB version is just one platter, which is a nice jump in arial density over the 7200.8's.

The 500GB should be available shortly. I can't wait!

SATA/ATA
3Gb/s interface
NCQ
5 year warrantee

Edit: 500GB version now shows as in stock in the link I provided above.

Nice price too, they are selling for $400+ or more at other stores.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: biostud

Native SATA interface at 3Gbs transfer rates also supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ) to get the most performance from PC technology, such as Intel Hyper-Threading.

So does this imply that NCQ is more beneficial on dualcore systems. Not that I expect stellar increase, but it would be nice to see it benched.

Marketing speak.

 

[Pariah]

Originally posted by: SGtheArtist
Did I miss something I thought that the next generation would have platter densities of only 133GB but the op said that the 160GB is on 1 platter. Where did you find this?

If thats the case then Seagate platter density skipped 133GB and is at 166GB/platter. They could release a 664GB HDD on 4 platters & a 500GB HDD on just 3.

Currently the Hitachi runs 5x 100GB platters.

The 400GB and 250GB capacities of the 7200.8 use 133GB platters.

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: SGtheArtist
Did I miss something I thought that the next generation would have platter densities of only 133GB but the op said that the 160GB is on 1 platter. Where did you find this?

If thats the case then Seagate platter density skipped 133GB and is at 166GB/platter. They could release a 664GB HDD on 4 platters & a 500GB HDD on just 3.

Currently the Hitachi runs 5x 100GB platters.

I speculated on the 160GB version being on 1 platter. Here is my reasoning.

Manufacturers often release drives within the same family with varying platter densities. This is usually done by short-stroking full platters to fit a given model's capacity. Since the 7200.9 is a new generation, let's assume it's based on 166GB platters, (up from 133GB platters for the 7200.8 series) which could mean:

80GB model = One side of one platter
120GB model = Short-stroked 166GB platter
160GB model = One full platter
200GB model = Two short-stroked platters
250GB model = Two short-stroked platters
300GB model = Two slightly short-stroked platters
500GB model = Three full platters

The 500GB model is one of the keys to my speculation. As far as I know, Seagate has no plans to release a 4-platter drive. If this is indeed true, the 500GB model must be a 166GBx3 platter design. So the varying arial densities are actually based on 166GB platter density, short-stroked to hit the capacities listed above.

 

[leegroves86]

when it shows up on newegg I'll buy one... Until then i'll stay away from these "mom & pop" vendors online

 

[Tiamat]

Hopefully its quieter than the crappy 7200.8 400GB drives which are noisy as hell.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: clarkkent333

Originally posted by: akugami
I'm going to assume the price for the 500GB will drop a tad when more stores get them in, but dear lord, $365 for 500GB. I could get two 7200.8 400GB's for roughly that price. Maybe this will push the prices for the 7200.8's down a bit and I'll pick up one or two more 400GB drives.

Where the hell can you get 800GB's for $365?

Here.

Edit: But yeah...I :heart: Seagate (my current 7200.8 250GB SATA anyway), but there's no way I'm paying that much for a drive. Hopefully prices will come down, but otherwise as the guy I quoted said...I could get 800GB for the same price as that 500GB elsewhere (Not 7200.8's specifically, but just for my uses - mainly HDTV storage - it doesn't matter)

 

[d2arcturus]

Originally posted by: wafflesandsyrup
like, oh my god!!

Woot! So exciting!

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Finally, quality large drives. I could use two of those 500GB drives.

They'd made a nice addition to my 300GBx2 drives.

Dude, I must be the last person on AT who has only 25 MB of 73MB used on my main system's only drive.

Though I do have all my mp3s, other media and the like on my fileserver, but even the fileserver only has 120 GB total.

Part of me wants to know what you're all putting on these gigantic drives, as I'm able to fit quite a lot on what is probably under 100 GB combined. Part of me doesn't want to ask though because I'm afraid the answer is going to be 'pr0n and pirated media'. A guy at work made a DVR box though, I suppose that's a good use of tons of space.

 

[thirdlegstump]

omg

 

[leegroves86]

when will it show up on the egg?

 

[SGtheArtist]

Pariah & Mojoed,

Thanks for clarifying. Now that you mention the 400GB at 3 platters I remember that they are currently at 133GB/platter.

I had heard some information that suggested the 500GB from seagate would be a 4 platter design, however there was no evidence to back this up.

If in fact the 500GB model is the 160-166GB/platter density this will be really nice as it will decrease temperature & failure compared to a 5 platter design.

Keep your eyes out for a 4 platter design tho

 

[MIDIman]

I'm also pretty sure these are 166gb platters (166x3 = 500). The 7200.8 was 133x3 to hit 400gb (and the first to do so, if I'm no mistaken).

Glad to see them selling at about $0.50/gb right off the bat - kind of like when the t7k250 came out.

Anyone find a review yet? As always, curious about noise levels. They seem to be getting louder and louder ever since the Cuda IV.

 

[VooDooAddict]

Anyone happen to know the platter count on the 400GB WD?

WD 400GB 16Meg SATA at Monarch for under $200

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: VooDooAddict
Anyone happen to know the platter count on the 400GB WD?

WD 400GB 16Meg SATA at Monarch for under $200

Umm... if you look down at the specs listed on that page there is a line that says:

# Number of Platters 4

So my guess would be 4.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

100 gb platters * 4...

133 was already a huge jump for Seagate... You can usually guess the platter size of most hard drives. WD was stuck with 83gb platters forever, and finally moved to 100 or 133?

 

[Concillian]

I think WD's highest right now is 107 per platter with the 320 (3*107), but I'm not 100% on that.

Edit: Looks like they print that data on their website and that is indeed the case. I couldn't find anything that would be higher than 107 per platter.

 

[aatf510]

Same density as 7200.8.
They are called 7200.9 now because they are finally upgrading to 16MB buffer in order to compete with the DM10 and WD SE II.
Since the 7200.8 was obviously slower then the all the competitors drives.

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: toattett
Same density as 7200.8.
They are called 7200.9 now because they are finally upgrading to 16MB buffer in order to compete with the DM10 and WD SE II.
Since the 7200.8 was obviously slower then the all the competitors drives.

I remember reading Seagate will not have a 4-platter design for the 7200.9 series. (Sorry, can't find link) If they are indeed sticking to 8 series density, how is the 500GB 7200.9 possible? In this case, it would have to be 166GBx3. Perhaps something has changed?

 

[SGtheArtist]

For the 500GB HDD if Seagate doesnt go to a 4 platter design then yes it would have to be the 166GB/platter density, however I thought I read where they were developing a 4 platter design in which case you could continue to run 133GB/platters.

I guess the question is whether or not its easier to develop a 4 platter design (or buy a design) OR increase density from 133GB to 166GB/platter.

Only time will tell, or we could email Seagate

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: Mojoed
I remember reading Seagate will not have a 4-platter design for the 7200.9 series. (Sorry, can't find link) If they are indeed sticking to 8 series density, how is the 500GB 7200.9 possible? In this case, it would have to be 166GBx3. Perhaps something has changed?

Maximum PC Aug 2005
Barracuda 7200.9
"It will be Segate's first SATA 3G drive, and will also sport the now-standard 16MB cache. One interesting design change is the move from three to four platters. (Hitachi's 500GB drive uses five platters.)"

 

[orangat]

How much would the extra cache help with the speed in the 7200.9? IIRC the problem with 7200.8 drives was the seek/access time which was relatively slow but not quite acknowledged by many reviewers.