SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4

[vibratingdonkey]

So i know seagate makes these drives in their plant in china and slap a seagate sticker on them but has it been verified if the hardware design and performance is still the same as when samsung was making them? I've read mixed user reviews so im not sure what the deal is.

 

[samboy]

I've purchased a couple since the labels have changed and have not noticed any difference in build or reliability.

The layout of the controller board looks exactly the same as before.

However, there is always a concern (perhaps unfounded?) that Seagate has cut some corners and reduced the quality. It's hard to really get anything definitive on the failure rate since Seagate took over and having Seagate reduce the warranty to one year does not instill any confidence.

I personally think that this is still be best 2TB drive to get; mainly due to lack of anything else and this had a good record and should still have if Seagate did not screw with things.

 

[ericloewe]

It's kinda sad that we're down to recommending hard drives because there aren't really any alternatives that are better/worse.
We could really use some fresh air in the HDD market...

 

[AE-Ruffy]

It's kinda sad that we're down to recommending hard drives because there aren't really any alternatives that are better/worse.
We could really use some fresh air in the HDD market...

fresh air is SDD price drops. If they keep dropping as fast as they have I can imagine 512gb drives for $100 by this time next year, As capacity ramps up and price comes down spinning drives will begin to die out.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Make sure you're aware that the warranty on those F4 Ecogreen drives, now that Seagate is producing them, is just 1 year. I'll bet it's been more than 15 years since I last bought a hard drive with only a 1 year warranty.

 

[thelastjuju]

The new Samsung drives are being made in China instead of Korea, and Seagate reduced the original 3 year warranty to a mere 1 year warranty. I've also heard some people say that different serial numbers come up on some diagnoses tests when compared to the original F4's, so considering all this, its safe to assume they are indeed not 100% the same as before. Exactly how much is different is something very few people know for sure though.

Personally, I think getting any hard drive with a mere 1 year warranty is a huge mistake. Its like they want us to just accept that hard drives are becoming disposable products, and we get new ones every year or two.

fresh air is SDD price drops. If they keep dropping as fast as they have I can imagine 512gb drives for $100 by this time next year, As capacity ramps up and price comes down spinning drives will begin to die out.

Its going to be a LONG time before you see a 512gb SSD for $100. This time next year? This is just wildly optimistic and incredibly unrealistic. If this happens, I'll buy you one.. I'm that certain it wont. ()

 

[OlafSicky]

If the drives were the same quality, the warranty would still be 3 years but when the company switches to china and lowers the warranty they are doing that for a reason.
So your data is in "gods" hands after a year.

 

[Carson Dyle]

If the drives were the same quality, the warranty would still be 3 years but when the company switches to china and lowers the warranty they are doing that for a reason.

I don't know that this is necessarily the case. My bet is that they shortened the warranty so that they could lower the price point. After all, there's very little else to distinguish these drives from Seagate's own 5xxx RPM drives.

 

[vibratingdonkey]

I've purchased a couple since the labels have changed and have not noticed any difference in build or reliability.

The layout of the controller board looks exactly the same as before.

However, there is always a concern (perhaps unfounded?) that Seagate has cut some corners and reduced the quality. It's hard to really get anything definitive on the failure rate since Seagate took over and having Seagate reduce the warranty to one year does not instill any confidence.

I personally think that this is still be best 2TB drive to get; mainly due to lack of anything else and this had a good record and should still have if Seagate did not screw with things.

any difference in terms of drive noise? the seagates tend to suffer from chirping and clicking which would be a give away if they changed the samsungs.

 

[samboy]

any difference in terms of drive noise? the seagates tend to suffer from chirping and clicking which would be a give away if they changed the samsungs.

No, I've never heard these sounds (I know what you mean) from the new F4's.
The spin up sounds the same for both the old and new F4's............

I find it odd that Seagate would move the production from one country to another. Retooling a factory (+ local training) is not the cheapest thing to do and why do this for something that probably near the end of life (maybe Seagate/WD do have issues increasing the density in the near term and know that this generation will be around for a while)? I guess there must be more to this........