Samsung intros new Spinpoint F4 HDD

[RejZoR]

Sounds good to me.

I doesn't to me. They're comparing F4 to F1. Last time i checked, F3 were the recent models. Imagine BMW saying: "We improved acceleration by 10% compared to our model from 1975." Well no sherlock, it's a model from years back. Of cours it's better. But if they'd compare it to F3, the difference would be non existent. So, yes, i'm not impressed at all, especially because i know F3 drives are really (really) fast.

Btw, my Spinpoint F1 750 GB died after 2 years. Or shall i say started dying slowly...

[Clairvoyant129]

F4s are a replacement for the F2s (which are the green eco drives), We won't see a true successor to the F3s until the F5s are out.

[[XC] Oj101]

Well what makes the F4 "Eco" is it's up to 7.2KRPM?

[BababooeyHTJ]

I doesn't to me. They're comparing F4 to F1. Last time i checked, F3 were the recent models. Imagine BMW saying: "We improved acceleration by 10% compared to our model from 1975." Well no sherlock, it's a model from years back. Of cours it's better. But if they'd compare it to F3, the difference would be non existent. So, yes, i'm not impressed at all, especially because i know F3 drives are really (really) fast.

Btw, my Spinpoint F1 750 GB died after 2 years. Or shall i say started dying slowly...

Oh, I didn't catch that I had just assumed that they would be comparing it to the F3 spinpoint.

[cstkl1]

just got 3x1gb f3's for rm519.. around usd 150 total

[AAbenson]

if you want to compare the speed of the new F4 how do you compare it when no other drive uses only one head/one platter side.
if i remember correctly the Samsung drives in the past that had the lowest capacity were also the slowest ones.

[RPGWiZaRD]

Well that makes sense if F4 is the F2 successor, ie 5400rpm, so it should be roughly as fast as F3 7200rpm series (probably like 5MB/s slower) due to the bigger platter size and slightly more silent. My F2 1.5TB has been a fantastic HDD as storage especially for the low price.

[Caparroz]

Well that makes sense if F4 is the F2 successor, ie 5400rpm, so it should be roughly as fast as F3 7200rpm series (probably like 5MB/s slower) due to the bigger platter size and slightly more silent. My F2 1.5TB has been a fantastic HDD as storage especially for the low price.

The article says it's 7200rpm. Cache size is pretty small, though (8mb and 16mb).

They don't mention the F3 and there's "only" 10% speed improvement over the F1 which puts it around the same speed as the F3. Maybe Samsung is going to launch 3 different series of HDDs. This F4 will be the middle ground, one 5400rpm "Eco" drive and a speedy true sucessor to F3...

[RPGWiZaRD]

Well it's something that doesn't make sense here. Either it's typo or marketing fail that it's not 7200rpm but like WD Green's much fuss about "variable speed" back in the days or it's actually 10% faster than F3 or it uses old 320GB platters which would be a totally failmove for a F4 branded series.

To me my logic says it's the F2 successor that's 640GB platter 5400rpm and should have like 105-110MB/s write speeds compared to F3 115-120MB/s (or 85~90MB/s F2). Both WD and Samsung sport to bring out the 5400rpm variants first in order to be able to sell the 7200rpm variants later as it's like a cheap easy performance upgrade. F1 = 7200rpm, F2 = 5400rpm, F3 = 7200rpm, F4 = 7200? Same thing like WD relying on their Green series before bringing out a Black and possibly a Blue series variant on same platter size.

[Budwise]

whats with the baby sized cache on these? 8 and 16?

[Caparroz]

Well it's something that doesn't make sense here. Either it's typo or marketing fail that it's not 7200rpm but like WD Green's much fuss about "variable speed" back in the days or it's actually 10% faster than F3 or it uses old 320GB platters which would be a totally failmove for a F4 branded series.

To me my logic says it's the F2 successor that's 640GB platter 5400rpm and should have like 105-110MB/s write speeds compared to F3 115-120MB/s (or 85~90MB/s F2). Both WD and Samsung sport to bring out the 5400rpm variants first in order to be able to sell the 7200rpm variants later as it's like a cheap easy performance upgrade. F1 = 7200rpm, F2 = 5400rpm, F3 = 7200rpm, F4 = 7200? Same thing like WD relying on their Green series before bringing out a Black and possibly a Blue series variant on same platter size.

Yup, there's def something odd with this F4 HDDs information. I thought about variable spindle speed myself but I would think they would mention that.

I though about Samsung releasing three different series this time based on the very same WD line you just mentioned. WD Green/Samsunsung F?=variable spindle speed; WD Blue/Samsung F4=mainstream 7200rpm and WD Black/Samsung F?=top-end based on enterprise level HDD.

[onethreehill]

Samsung Spinpoint F4 Review (HD322GJ)

The Spinpoint F4 features a single 320GB capacity model, but that's 320GB on a single drive platter. That platter spins at 7200 RPM and feeds 16MB of drive cache. By using a single platter and a single drive head, the SpinPoint F4 benefits from both a greater platter density and a reduced number of moving parts. That means a reduced risk of drive failure. While it's hard to define a category that the F4 fits neatly into, there is something to be said for a blend of low-cost and performance.

http://www.storagereview.com/samsung...review_hd322gj