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No one thinks of their hard drive until it crashes or it
locks up. No one seriously considers performance when purchasing a hard
drive, mis-focusing instead on the “deal-of-the-week”. Well,
think again! Your hard drive is absolutely the most important part of
you system, and you ought to be more concerned about it than you are about
the CPU!
After all, if your CPU dies, you buy another one –
your master OS disc drive dies and you have likely lost a ton of important
data, some of which wasn’t backed up, and you are faced with literally
a full days worth of effort to reload your software and reconfigure your
system.
A failed disk drive easily can cost you your weekend, and
drive your aggravation level through the roof!
We were therefore very interested when we got a chance to
review the latest 120Gig drive from Seagate – the Barracuda ATA
V (120G) Model ST3120023A.
Reputation
We couldn’t start any review about disk drives without
pointing out several important issues dealing with reliability, construction,
and performance – Reputation. Seagate is one of the world leaders
in disk drives, and importantly, Seagate has a strong reputation for quality
control, quality assurance, and product reliability. This reputation is
earned – you don’t get a reputation for following, you get
one for leading. Seagate is one of the top drive manufacturers for the
past 8 years – not from sales, but in disc drive innovation.
What’s new?
We got the ST3120023A and immediately went over the technical
aspects of the drive:
• Speed: 7200 rpm (this is a must for your primary
drive, it will make initial start-up with WINDOWS much faster –
you can see the difference)
• Seek Time: 9.4 ms (this is an acceptable range for
120G drives which typically run from 8.2ms to 9.8ms)
• Ultra ATA: Interface improve data transfer rate
speeds
• 8 Mbyte Buffer: The only negative about this model
was almost the 2M buffer originally released... however, the new Seagate
ST3120023A’s are now equipped with 8M cashe-buffers that allows
for faster read-write times.
However, what really got our interest were three very important
items:
• 350 Gs shock resistant internal construction
• 3D defense system (Seagate proprietary disk and
data protection system)
• FDB (fluid dynamic bearing) motors
What’s different?
We looked at the shock mounting specifications with considerable
interest. While we did not open the drive and examine the internals, nor
initiate a 63 G shock (rated value is the industry's highest non-operating
shock spec of 350 G's at 2 milliseconds) – we noted that most other
vendors do not even rate shock as a performance parameter.
Why is shock important - because it is an indication of
the degree of internal sealing, overall tight tolerances, and the ability
to withstand vibration (from small to large). Although there is no specific
mathematical correlation between shock resistance and longevity, it is
roughly analogous/equivalent to the longevity/reliability of a “rattletrap”
car and a “tight” luxury car.
We then noted the Seagate “3D defense”. Seagate
differentiates themselves from the competition by offering extra features
such as the 3D defense: Drive defense, disk defense, and data defense.
Drive defense starts with the shock parameter already discussed,
but also includes “Seashell” - a thermo-formed, translucent,
shock-ribbed, "clamshell" wrapped exclusively around Seagate
drives, and offers complete electrostatic discharge protection (i.e.,
it will reduce returns due to handling damage by up to 70 percent).
Disk defense involves Seagate's Advanced Multi-drive System
(SAMS) – SAMS reduces the rotational vibration (RV) effects of multiple
drives seeking inside a cabinet. An array configured with Seagate drives
maintains data throughput and data integrity during peak use. Also, hardware
error correction code (ECC) is included for excellent performance and
firmware correction for maximum data recovery so that data is read and
recorded correctly.
Data defense includes “SeaTools” – a diagnostic
utility software that helps determine whether system problems are drive-based
or due to some other hardware or software problem. “SeaTools”
is designed to reduce drive returns, decrease drive repair costs, and
protect data.
The Final Straw – QUIET!
This reviewer is also involved in another significant project
– the evaluation of “quiet” computing. Basically, many
computers (from gamers to videophiles to everyday home desktops) sound
like a jet engine. “Noise” is regarded in electrical engineering
as a form of electrical interference introduced into the power quality…
“noise” to me is the dang thing makes so much background noise
that I can’t enjoy listening to music on my computer.
While there are several sources within the computer (CPU
fan, Chassis fans, CD/DVD drives, and hard drives) which create the background
sound, one source – the hard drives – can be particularly
annoying because they “spin up” and “spin down”
as they access data. Seagate has performed extensive research and development
of both quieter drives and better system designs to minimize the perceived
acoustics of drives and systems. Seagate is frankly leading the industry
in not only providing exceptionally quiet drives but also understanding
how drives sound when they are in systems, and designing methods, models
and products to minimize overall system noise. These efforts are evident
in the ST3120023A.
This is one area where Seagate ought to get an award –
and frankly, I’m going to vote for them for a 2003 award for their
fluid dynamic bearing motors (FDB) and overall “quiet quotient”!
All hard drive motors rotate on bearings. The bearings may
contain metal alloy balls, ceramic balls, fluid or other materials. For
many years, disc drives relied primarily on metal alloy ball bearings.
They can, however, become louder over time if the motor sustains knocks
and bumps that could cause minor damage to the motor bearings. Such damage
might not affect the drive's performance, but it could cause the drive
to become noisier. Ceramic balls are more costly, but they are more perfectly
round and less subject to the type of damage that could result in louder
drives (they can't be dented). Finally, fluid bearings can be used for
ultimate acoustic performance; the balls are completely eliminated from
the bearings, which are filled with fluid instead. This results in a smoother,
more perfectly-circular spin with very little vibration and nearly silent
operation. Fluid bearing motors (also called fluid dynamic bearing, or
FDB) have historically been more expensive than ball bearing motors, and
may have other issues, as well. They need to be carefully designed and
manufactured to avoid excessive power consumption, heat and fluid leakage.
But they also enable additional features, such as higher density with
more tracks per inch, and higher robustness because they are less subject
to damage.
Summary
Seagate's Barracuda ATA V ST3120023A disc drive delivers
7,200-RPM performance for desktops and entry-level ATA servers, with a
capacity of 120 Gbytes. The product features a FDB motor for the quietest
acoustics in the industry, superior reliability and the Ultra ATA/100
interface. The drive includes Seagate's exclusive 3D Defense System and
a one-year limited warranty.
This is a rock solid replacement for your current
drive – and if you are going to replace your drive, please consider
the singular importance of the disk drive, and purchase a quality product…
“penny wise, pound foolish” can refer to a number of us who
look back after 18 months and wonder “why in the WIDE WIDE WORLD
OF SPORTS did I ever go for the drive on special when I should have spent
my money wisely!”
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10 / 10 |
OVERALL SCORE
98%
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10 / 10 |
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9 / 10 |
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10 / 10 |
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10 / 10 |
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9.8 / 10 |
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