What happened to big, slow, cheap hard drives?

[Jeff7181]

I'd be really happy if I could find a large capacity, slow drive to use simply for storing backups. I remember back in the late 90's I had a 12 GB Quantum Bigfoot drive when 4-6 GB drives were the norm. The Bigfoot was slow as molasses in January, but the extra space was a welcome trade-off.

Why don't we see that anymore? Where's the slow 4200 RPM 1.5-2 TB drives? Slowing down the spindle speed should allow them to increase the areal density as well as stuff more platters in there because there would be less friction and less heat that if you tried to stuff 5 platters in a 7200 RPM drive.

 

[seemingly random]

Pretty funny - when I read the title I thought it was going to be a lamentation of the demise of mfm drives.

The 1tb 5400rpm wd drives are kinda close to what you're looking for and dropping weekly in price.

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: seemingly random
Pretty funny - when I read the title I thought it was going to be a lamentation of the demise of mfm drives.

The 1tb 5400rpm wd drives are kinda close to what you're looking for and dropping weekly in price.

Yep, but they not cheap relatively speaking. I have a WD EACS 1 TB in my Tivo and have been looking to add a second one but the price was higher than the Samsung F1 or the Hitachi Deskstar.

 

[seemingly random]

It's $180 now - who knows for how long though - same as samsung, although these two are different animals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136151

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: seemingly random
It's $180 now - who knows for how long though - same as samsung, although these two are different animals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136151

For $30 more I can get one with the same capacity, larger cache, higher density platters and better electronics. Doesn't really fit the bill... sacrificing speed for capacity.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: seemingly random
It's $180 now - who knows for how long though - same as samsung, although these two are different animals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136151

Microcenter had them for $169 for OEM.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: seemingly random
It's $180 now - who knows for how long though - same as samsung, although these two are different animals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136151

For $30 more I can get one with the same capacity, larger cache, higher density platters and better electronics. Doesn't really fit the bill... sacrificing speed for capacity.

Ok. I pointed this out in response to the mention of the slow 4200rpm in the op. You'll have to decide what you want.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: seemingly random
It's $180 now - who knows for how long though - same as samsung, although these two are different animals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136151

Microcenter had them for $169 for OEM.

Great. How low do you think they'll go in the next six months?

I wonder if the price is falling because of slow sales or the threat of ssd or something else.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: seemingly random
It's $180 now - who knows for how long though - same as samsung, although these two are different animals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136151

Microcenter had them for $169 for OEM.

You can get a 1tb Seagate drive for that much at Fry's.

I think the reason why we're not seeing big slow and cheap drives is because it's not really any cheaper now days to make a big and slow drive.

Most hard drive plants are geared for 7200 rpm drives, to make a 5400 rpm drive they probably have to refit their plants. It just isn't cost effective. Plus honestly I don't want a slow drive if I'm accessing that much data.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: seemingly random

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: seemingly random
It's $180 now - who knows for how long though - same as samsung, although these two are different animals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136151

For $30 more I can get one with the same capacity, larger cache, higher density platters and better electronics. Doesn't really fit the bill... sacrificing speed for capacity.

Ok. I pointed this out in response to the mention of the slow 4200rpm in the op. You'll have to decide what you want.

I'm just pointing out that for just $30 more you can get a newer and faster drive. If I'm going to spend $180, what's another $30 to get something faster? What I'd like to see is a slower 2 TB drive in the $200-250 range. It would be perfect for storing backup images or archives.