2TB Samsung Spinpoint: F3EG HD203WI [Archive]

View Full Version : 2TB Samsung Spinpoint: F3EG HD203WI

[XC] Synthetickiller

12-16-2009, 07:08 PM

So does anyone have any info on this drive? Newegg has it for $180.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152202

I'm guessing 500gig x4 platter?

Edit: I should read more!
500GB Formatted Capacity Per Disk
Improved recording stability over temperature with PMR
Advanced dynamic FOD control for best data integrity
Intelligent compensation of external disturbance
SATA Native Command Queuing Feature
Device Initiated SATA Power Management
Shock & Rotational vibration sensor
Environment friendly product with RoHS compliance
Improved performance with dual-ARM based firmware
NoiseGuard
SilentSeek

[XC] Synthetickiller

12-17-2009, 12:17 PM

Really, no one?

pjkenned

12-17-2009, 01:22 PM

Is that just a F3 in the 2TB size? If so probably a decent drive. I almost got a bunch of those 2TB Hitachi's when they were under $130 earlier this week though.

XS Janus

12-17-2009, 02:32 PM

Can't even find it on their web...:confused:
Google spits out nothing:p:

[XC] Synthetickiller

12-18-2009, 10:26 AM

I have their 500 gig single platter drive that is dead silent. Works well considering I use it for torrent downloads while gaming.

I also own an external samsung story station 1.5tb, which I'd guess is just a 500x3 platter design. I also cannot hear that drive. I doubt adding a 4th would increase noise much, but whats the reliability of a 4 platter drive?

Bo_Fox

12-20-2009, 11:08 AM

500G platters is nice (currently the biggest size out there for now), compared to Hitachi's 400G x 5 platters 2TB drive, and it's only $10 more on Newegg.com..

But is it 7200rpm? I see that it has only 32mb of cache, which is not too bad, but the rpm is everything to me.

Bo_Fox

12-20-2009, 11:11 AM

The price search sites say that it's low-power 5400rpm drive.. not 100% sure about that, though, since Newegg would've advertised it being low-power.

[XC] Oj101

12-20-2009, 11:13 AM

Aren't the low power drives the F2 range? I could be wrong :)

jfromeo

12-20-2009, 02:18 PM

Talked to a local distributor in my country and confirmed, they are "native" 5400rpm (no 5400rpm-7200rpm variable rotating speed like some Caviar Green).

WhiteFireDragon

12-20-2009, 02:28 PM

Talked to a local distributor in my country and confirmed, they are "native" 5400rpm (no 5400rpm-7200rpm variable rotating speed like some Caviar Green).

i don't think there's any drives that are variable rotation speeds. WD caused a lot of confusion marketing their green drives like this, so now this 5400-7200rpm BS is taken off their website.

[XC] Synthetickiller

12-21-2009, 09:55 AM

5400rpm really isn't a downside for a drive like this unless you plan on pulling massive files from it constantly. As a back up, that's ideal to me. The lower rotation speed should increase the longevity of the drive. If you plan on using this for an OS, then.... well... WTF, go ssd or the 500 gig samsung drive.

ArcticOC

12-21-2009, 10:44 AM

It is 4-platters..

SAMSUNG Harddisk 2.0TB 5400RPM SATAII 500GB P 3.5" NoiseGuard SilentSeek 32MB F3EG 8.9ms

http://www.ps.no/artdtl.aspx?i=174951

:D

XS Janus

12-21-2009, 11:06 AM

Sonds good... access time looks good to!
Where is the official spec sheet?

Is it RAIDable on hardware raid controllers?:D

gr8golf

12-21-2009, 11:27 AM

Just ordered one - hope it's as fast as my 1TB 7200 RPM F1

[XC] Synthetickiller

12-21-2009, 11:47 AM

Just ordered one - hope it's as fast as my 1TB 7200 RPM F1

Please create a new thread and post a comparison. :up:

Is your 1TB a spinpoint F3? That would make an awesome comparison. ;)

gr8golf

12-21-2009, 11:51 AM

Synthetickiller;4165448']Please create a new thread and post a comparison. :up:

Is your 1TB a spinpoint F3? That would make an awesome comparison. ;)

No - it's an F1 and I'm slapping the 2TB F3 in an HP media server, so I guess it doesn't make as much difference.

[XC] Synthetickiller

12-21-2009, 12:00 PM

Gotcha. Could you at least comment on the noise levels ( or lack thereof) once you get it running?

gr8golf

12-21-2009, 01:07 PM

Synthetickiller;4165463']Gotcha. Could you at least comment on the noise levels ( or lack thereof) once you get it running?

sure thing.

leefuji

12-22-2009, 07:58 AM

Mine is arriving tomorrow :-) , so lets see how well this new fella is gonna perform .. most likley im gonna use it as a backup drive combined with another one in a RAID-1 config .

I will post some benchies once I get it up and running and have time to test.

cheers !!!

[XC] Synthetickiller

12-23-2009, 07:06 AM

Price dropped! $150 @ newegg shipped.

Should I jump on this or do you guys think it'll drop more? With my luck, it'll go back to $180.

leefuji

12-24-2009, 01:04 PM

ok Got mine today, here is quick benchmarks:

1. HD Tach http://i47.tinypic.com/fxwkp.jpg
2. HD Tune http://i48.tinypic.com/b7x47a.jpg

System Tested on Core2Duo , 3GB ram , Windows XP Pro SP3

EDIT: I had the MS security Essentials running and forgot to shut it down so I'm not sure if that had some kinda impact on the benchmark. I will re-run later again without the MS Sec Ess running.

jalyst

02-18-2010, 09:46 AM

Is this their enterprise class 2TB like the RE4-GP?
If it is, it's :banana::banana::banana::banana: load better value than the RE4-GP here in Oz.

*update*
I just checked out their site and it doesn't look like they even make
server/enterprise grade hdd, only desktop :(

Apologies for multiple posts, there was an issue w/the server.

AAbenson

02-19-2010, 12:24 PM

the RAID series is the enterprise version of Samsung's hdds.
they still have not been released (the 500gig platter), Samsung is still sellin still the RAID drive with the 330gigs platters...guess theyre still testing internally the new enterrprise series and collecting info on the already released 500gig platters - the EcoGreen F2 and the F3.

i wonder why WD released their enterprise version so quickly this time,even before the new black series,which are hitting shops just now while the enterprise version been available for months.

jalyst

02-19-2010, 07:05 PM

zanzabar

02-19-2010, 07:09 PM

What constitutes RAID series? What's the model name typically?
Thanks

the name has raid in it
IE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152119&Tpk=samsung%20f1%20raid

they have command time out and a cashe optimization but they arnt really needed for personal use they are more for constant access and use in sans

jalyst

02-19-2010, 07:47 PM

I know what sort of usage they're ideal for, thanks.

Is there an F3 near-line (enterprise grade) 2TB yet?
The F1's I believe have the lower density platters.

Soulburner

04-11-2010, 08:39 AM

Any more on these drives? About to buy one for the NAS.

Reviews seem very positive so far.

Blauhung

04-27-2010, 12:11 AM

OOOOOOO, $30 off w/ promo code HD4263, 48-hours only!!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152202

Only get the discount once though, so can't buy 2

Soulburner

04-29-2010, 08:02 PM

I've switched to using these over the WD Green drives. I have also changed my recommendations I make to others to do the same.

jalyst

04-29-2010, 08:16 PM

if only they'd release a near-line equivalent, id pay the premium, so long as it's not a crazy premium like some of the other makes.

mbreslin

04-29-2010, 10:11 PM

I've had one of these for awhile seems great so far. I'm not a great indicator as my usage is really light. Will likely be a year or two before half-full.

jalyst

04-29-2010, 10:13 PM

do you know if there's a nearline equivalent?

The_Beast

04-30-2010, 08:51 AM

I just got mine in the mail yesterday, it's a great drive for storage. It runs nice and cool (major +) no problems so far.

I kinda feel like a traitor for buying a Samsung when I have 4 WD blacks, but it had a better reviews than the WD green so I bought it instead. Now that I have it I don't regret it one bit

Lightning98

04-30-2010, 03:21 PM

Are you sure its an F3? Because as far as i know that is reserved for the 7200rpm line... the 5400 drives are usually F2 EcoGreen.
I haven't even heard that Samsung released an 7200 drive @ 2 Tb yet so... i'm guessing its probably a F2.

As far as my information goes only WD and Seagate have 7200 rpm 2TB drives... and with all the Seagate cr*p going on in the last 2 years i wouldn't trust them with saving a game of solitare on their drives...

And even for storage... i have a WD 2TB GP drive... and i'm probably gonna resell it because the lack of rpm's does show a bit. Even if it is only for storage.

Soulburner

04-30-2010, 04:03 PM

Lightning98,

They are designated F3EG, the EG being EcoGreen.

The 2TB drive uses 4x500GB platters.

jalyst

04-30-2010, 05:55 PM

@soulburner
Do you know if they have or are releasing a near-line equivalent? (similar to WD's RE4-GP)

Soulburner

05-01-2010, 04:27 AM

No idea. Is this a strict requirement?

jalyst

05-01-2010, 05:02 AM

Yes,

Limits me to WD & Hitachi (from mem), anyway v.low priority atm.
For when I build my Native VMM/NAS, which is some ways off...

Thanks anyway.

LarsMarkelson

05-04-2010, 11:46 AM

Sam_oslo

05-04-2010, 11:50 AM

I just bought a 1TB F3 with 30% discount. Really cheap, almost the same price as a 500GB. I guess it indicate the 2Tb is just around the corner.

Soulburner

05-04-2010, 04:09 PM

2TB has a promo code on newegg right now. $30 off the $150 price = $120. An absolute steal at that price.

Guys F3 denotes the 500GB platters. IT IS AN F3. It's the F3EG (EcoGreen).

The_Beast

05-04-2010, 05:05 PM

2TB has a promo code on newegg right now. $30 off the $150 price = $120. An absolute steal at that price.

Guys F3 denotes the 500GB platters. IT IS AN F3. It's the F3EG (EcoGreen).

I kicked myself today for not waiting to buy :(

Soulburner

05-04-2010, 07:05 PM

It's okay, you aren't alone. I got one before the promo code email too.

The_Beast

05-04-2010, 07:28 PM

It's okay, you aren't alone. I got one before the promo code email too.

It's happened to me too many times, like when I bought 2 WD 1TB black, I bought for $100 (still a good deal) and the when on sale a week later for $90

That's $50 so far this year

mbreslin

05-16-2010, 02:12 PM

Windows popped up a message saying a drive is dying and I should backup now. I'm running chkdsk now can someone tell me if this smart data looks bad?
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy154/mbreslin/SLOWPOKE/dying.png

I've crashed windows a ton from overclocking, I don't know what effect that has if a drive is in the middle of a write or etc.

Edit: Chkdsk found no errors. There used to be some windows tool that would graphically show bad blocks, does windows 7 have something like this? If not windows some other (preferably free) program?

Soulburner

05-17-2010, 05:36 PM

I use the WD Diagnostic (Data Lifeguard) tool to scan my disks and check SMART info.

mbreslin

05-17-2010, 08:32 PM

Thanks will run that tonight while I sleep.

Edit: Well everything I've ran shows no bad blocks/sectors so I guess it was just some fluke read/write error? I'm not going to worry about it for now.

daedao

08-15-2010, 04:01 AM

HI guys,

I've had this HDD for about 3 months. Lately the drive is getting full of data. 1.5 TB actually of mostly .mkv files. I've noticed that when it does some random read operations it makes an clearly audible rattling noise.
Did some tests in HD Tune Pro, and when random seeking , reading it makes the noise. Wonder if anyone has this problem too. SMART data says my drive is okay.
The noise is really putting some fear into me, since it's a loud combination of clicks and rattling, something of sorts. I don't want to lose data, so that's why I'm asking.

HDTune says my drive is healthy. Samsung's own tool, ESTOOL after a 12 hour surface scan, says my drive has no errors. So why the noise, and why now (after filling it up with 1.5 TB of data)? Could it be that now is makes more random accesses than before, so that's why makes it the noise?

I really would like some opinions about this, if someone has this drive.

INVESTIGATIONS:

Guys I've done some HD Tune-ing and I have discovered that in just 3 days the SMART attribute Write Error Rate jumped from 10 to 40. Just 3 days.

Now, every time I do an update of the SMART attributes in HD Tune, I notice that the attribute G-sense error rate increases. It's like every time I read the attribute this G-sense errors occur. Is this normal?
3 days ago the G-sense error rate had a data value of 2505790. Now it's 11569439. Huge difference for just 3 days. This scares me.

Also, If during 2 minutes I hit the button Update, HD Tune, section Health, about 4-5 times at 20-30 seconds intervals, to read the SMART attributes, the drive makes a beep, Yes, you heard that correct. The drive beeps. WTH is this?

Come on, some feedback, some opinions, someone surely has this drive.

Havis

08-27-2010, 04:26 PM

I recommend Hitachi, as with Samsung you might end up with relabeled 5400RPM drive after RMA

[XC] Synthetickiller

08-27-2010, 05:25 PM

I hope these drives are horrible. I was excited about them when I saw them, hence my creation of the thread.

I recently bought a 5 platter hitachi. I hope it holds up. I wish there was a 4 platter version.

I need a back up drive for my hitachi and I might just get another one. I won't touch Seagate and WD parking issues bug me as well as the added cost for the name on the drive.

[XC] Synthetickiller

08-31-2010, 07:49 AM

Newegg has the 2T F4 out now...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245

I can't find any reviews of it. I just noticed it was out. Anyone pulled the trigger on it yet?