Buying Seagate 200 drive, short on time!

yermolovd · Post by **yermolovd** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 1:32 pm

Ok, I was shopping around and I found Seagate 200Gb drive with a $40 rebate.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ ... 2&NoMapp=0

The deal expires today, so I think I am going to go for it. With the rebate and shipping the drive is going to be $186, good deal? I guess. Any things I should consider, before buying it?

Originally I was going to go for a 120 drive, which would run me a $150, but then with only $40 difference, I can't let this go, even if it will be a bit louder.

yermolovd · Post by **yermolovd** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 2:19 pm

ATA, cant go SATA, remember, that was me on msn.

Ok, too late for the advise, I already ordered it.

zoob · Post by **zoob** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 4:17 pm

You should have ordered something else to bump it over the $200 mark, where they give you free shipping!

Now let's wait and see if TD actually sends the rebate.

yermolovd · Post by **yermolovd** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 4:28 pm

Thats what I did actually, I bought 256Mb of ram, that I really need more than a bigger HD. I really liked this store. So far

.

You winky smilie tells me that I am not very likely to get a rebate, am I? Hehe, well, I will be pretty happy about that price anyway.

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:17 pm

It's about time somebody around here got an ST3200822A!!!

You wouldn't, perchance, have any other 7200.7s laying around to compare with, would you?

-Ed

yermolovd · Post by **yermolovd** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:50 pm

No, sorry, I dont. I have the monstrous WD80JB, but obviously I know its gona be quieter. Unless I find some guy in my area using any other 7200.7.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:01 pm

i have a 7200.7 160 and 200 GB... do you want me to test them? they are on diff comps, the 160 is the HDD on my SFF, while the 200 GB is the main HDD on my desktop, with a Maxtor 200 GB for holding anime

PS> I got mine for cheaper! My 200 GB was for ~ $120 USD

It was origionally $200, but there were 2 $40 rebates from BestBuy for it. I was sooo stoked when I got it

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:05 pm

Dude if you could please do a comparison between them, it would be, "highly informative."

I know I'd thank you for it...

-Ed

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:14 pm

Sure. Do you have anything in particular you want me to pay attention to? I dont really see anything that would be different...maybe the 160 is 2 platters while the 200 is 3 ?

zoob · Post by **zoob** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:21 pm

acaurora wrote:Sure. Do you have anything in particular you want me to pay attention to? I dont really see anything that would be different...maybe the 160 is 2 platters while the 200 is 3 ?

I'd like to know how different the idle and seek noises are

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:23 pm

No, the ST3200822/3A(S) use(s) a new 100GB/platter technology. This is why the acoustics of it are really up in the air; noone really knows if/how the increased density affects acoustics. You might want to use my comparison of the 160GB Seagate to the 160GB Samsung as a reference, but there's no need to go into that much depth of course... unless you've nothing better to do.

Cheers!

Btw I recommend to try comparing them both, hardmounted and also suspended/softmounted, which is a mistake I made in my original comparison. Just find a good part of the day when it's quiet, break out the old pen & pad, and listen away.

-Ed

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:27 pm

I dont really have anything or the materials i've seen for softmounting HDDs... my BQE uses rubber grommets. I guess I could try using some string of some sort to suspend them. Anyone have any particular ways to suspend them with normal string / local supplies that can be bought?

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 6:06 am

acaurora wrote:Anyone have any particular ways to suspend them with normal string / local supplies that can be bought?

Stretch Magic seems like one of the cheapest and easiest ways to do it.

yermolovd · Post by **yermolovd** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 10:04 am

I'm laughin my arse off. The drive is on backorder. I am really screwed up now, becuase I have to sell my old drive to the guy, but I dont think he will wait as long as it takes for drive to arrive and ship to me. Oh dangit... What am I going to do now lol. I'm gona go cry.

Hope they dont get away with my rebate in this way.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:02 pm

Maxamus, u have 160/200 seagates, can u test both too? that way we can see if my findings of the 7200.7s are the same.

also, you have a reserator? how do you like it? was installation/use easy? i'm thinking of getting one. i would LOVE some pics

douglas · Post by **douglas** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 6:35 pm

I bought one of these 200GB drives a few weeks ago at Fry's. The deal you have there doesn't sound so good, considering Fry's has it on ethe shelf for $189. A few weeks ago it was $149 on sale, and had $80 in rebates, so I got it for $70 (once I get the $80 back). I think it still has the $40 rebate from Seagate, so you can get it for $149 off the self at Fry's right now.

But I am using the drive right now. I don't know if I can do much testing with it to depth that people might like. But I can tell you the idle noise is pretty great, as in it isn't there. It is much less than the Enermax NoiseTaker on low, the Panaflo at 7V, and the Antek BQE 120mm fan at 5V, which is pretty much all the other noise in my system. I have used a Samsung SP 160GB drive in another system I built and the idle noise in comparable, although I haven't put them side by side.

But the seek noise is the deff. there. It is not bad, but it is certainly the loudest thing in the machine now, and much louder than the Samsung. I'm pretty happy with the drive (considerng that it replaced a WD 200GB drive, which wasn't exactly loud, but the whine, oh the idle whine, when would it just stop...).

yermolovd · Post by **yermolovd** » Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:04 pm

Guys, quit telling me my deal sux

It's in canadian$ and its probably the best I could get with free shipping.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 1:42 pm

Ok, i finally have done the comparisons of the 200 GB Seagate and the 160 GB. Truth is, I've found the 200 GB to be quieter. However, there are some restrictions -

1. Because of my schedule, I was unable to have the time to put the two drives in the same enclosure. My 200 GB is in my BQE, on the HDD rails with the rubber grommets, whilst the 160 GB is in my SN45G with the raw metal screws.

2. Both were set as the MASTER on IDE 0

Acoustic Test
I found that the 200 GB was quieter, and the seek noise to be similar to a VERY VERY faint tapping/ticking

The 160 GB, on the other hand, was noisier, with a seek noise similar to that of a notebook drive, with the tapping/ticking noise more evident.

I have used my Sony DSC-P100 Digital Camera to take short clips from both cases. Note that on the BQE movie, the heavy seek noise is not the 200 GB, rather it is the 200 GB Maxtor that is the slave on my IDE 0 Channel (i was defragmenting).

While the BQE.avi was shot while defragmenting, the SN45G.avi was shot during boot-up.

I apologize for not providing equal ground for comparison between these two drives, but I will point out that the 160 GB is noisier from my ears.

Both of the cases were set below my desk, with the SN45G's M1A HSF set to "Auto", and the BQE's rear exhaust fan off, front intake off, video card's off (yes, crazy aint it).

Anyways, here they are... again I apologize for not providing equal ground/environment for comparison (i.e., having both in the same case), but the 200 GB, I must say, is at much quieter than the 160GB.

Performance Test
This test was performed on both systems using the built in speed test bundled with the latest nVidia ForceWare drivers w/the nVidia SW IDE Driver.

Both systems were set so that they would be evenly evaluated as possible, with the latest ForceWare drivers. Both were running Norton AntiVirus 2004 Professional Edition and their respective Graphics Card Utility (ATI Catalyst for the BQE, and nVidia Detonator Utility for the SN45G). Both systems also run on the same chipset, the nVidia nForce 400 Ultra with SoundStorm, so the NVMixer utility was also running on both with the same settings.

Results:

Units shown in MB/sec

As you can see, the 200 GB Seagate (in the BQE) shows higher performance than the 160GB Seagate in the SN45G. Is it due to the increased density in the platters? Who knows.

Again, I apologize for not testing these two acoustically and in terms of performance in the same system for a more even evaluation. Due to my schedule with meetings, interviews, and classes, I cannot do such a thing. However, I suppose this is better than just guessing.

Enjoy.

Finally, stats on the SN45G:
AMD Athlon 2800+ w/1 GB Mushkin High performance DDR RAM 2 x 512 in Dual Channel Mode PC2700. Plextor 708A, 160 GB Seagate 7200.7, M1A HSF.

While the 3200+ on my BQE provides a faster bus, so that my BQE has 400 FSB/Clock for the RAM and the SN45G has a 333FSB/clock, I don't think it provides a big impact. But then again I could be wrong.

And last, but not least, sorry for the disorganization of this review. Like I said, I have a busy schedule =[

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 9:25 am

Where the hell was I when you posted this?!?

Anyway, thanks a lot for informing us of this; it's quite handy for people who are afraid of the Samsung/JVC situation and would rather go Seagate.

-Ed

nannygoat · Post by **nannygoat** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 10:00 am

i'll try and get round to comparing my barracuda ATA IV with my ST3200822A, if i can find a decent mic i could even do some freq. analysis....

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 10:30 am

Edward Ng wrote:Where the hell was I when you posted this?!?

Anyway, thanks a lot for informing us of this; it's quite handy for people who are afraid of the Samsung/JVC situation and would rather go Seagate.

-Ed

See that check box next to "Notify me when a reply is posted"? Click there!

But then again don't always click there. I have those notifications on by default and i get loads of notifications EVERY HOUR. Just comes to show how active SPCR is

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:07 am

I only get notifications when I've replied in/can turn on notifications even without replying in a thread if I've seen it. I must've been in Florida or something to completely miss it.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:15 am

hehe. Well, all in all, I do find this very useful. Although, like i said a billion times in that post, it was done in different systems, and that may affect it.

lazyguns · Post by **lazyguns** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:39 am

Hi guys. Greets from Australia.
Have read similar threads with interest over the last few weeks prompted by a noisy SATA 160g seagate. I have some basuc input to offer.
In my main system I have run :

1 x Seagate 120 - ST3120026A
2 x Seagate 200 - ST3200822A
1 x Seagate 200 - ST3200822AS
2 x Seagate 160 - ST3160023AS
and 1 x Western Digital 200jb.

The only ones I can really hear are the two 160 SATA drives which have very loud seek noises. I find the 200JB easier to live with 24/7 than them.
The rest of the seagates are excellent. I assume they have switched the AAM setting from performance to quiet or something.
anyway IMO the 200s are excellent but avoid the 160s.

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 3:58 am

Hi, my understanding (from reading over on Storagereview.com) regarding seek noise on 7200.7s is that the S-ATAs have AAM disabled and the ATAs have it enabled and it isn't changeable. I believe the inability to change it is due to some legal wrangling over right to use "AAM Technology" or there abouts. The S-ATA units have it disabled to give them a faster seek time and (theoretically) higher performance, which the industry sees as fitting to the supposedly faster S-ATA interface.
This is why P-ATA 7200.7s (w/2MB cache) have quiet seeks and the S-ATA ones don’t. I don’t know which category the P-ATA 7200.7s w/8MB cache fit in to.
Seb

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 7:54 am

The 200 GBs are 7200.7 PLUS, meaning they have the 8 MB cache. They also use a higher density platter than the previous models. With those 2 combined, maybe that is why the seek/idle noise is better

lazyguns · Post by **lazyguns** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 3:53 pm

Yes SebRad I have come to similar conclusions which is why the last two drives I bought were the IDE 200s. Will wait for next generation b4 buying any more SATA from seagate. That said the SATA 200 is def quieter than the SATA 160s. as far as I know the IDE 200 only comes in 8 MB cache version.
I'm guessing all the ATAs have AAM enabled.