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Seagate Rolls Out 400 GB SATA Drives

SenorCitizen writes "Seagate is the first hdd manufacturer to announce 400 GB 3.5" hard drives. The 7200.8 is SATA native and comes with buffer sizes up to 16 MB. Seagate also announced a 2.5" portable external hard drive with 100 GB, and an external USB2 pocket hard drive with 5 GB. Get leeching!"

57 of 418 comments (clear)

  1. USB pen distros by mastergoon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Once BIOS supports booting from them, USB pen distros will be really nice. Read and write, and now a whole 5 gig on something easier to transport than a CD.

    1. Re:USB pen distros by wo1verin3 · · Score: 5, Informative

      My IBM ThinkPad already allows me to boot from a USB Memory key.. and the ThinkPad is almost 2 years old.

    2. Re:USB pen distros by Sielle · · Score: 5, Informative

      Most current BIOS's will already support booting off of USB drives.

    3. Re:USB pen distros by MonMotha · · Score: 3, Informative

      The number of writes that your average flash chip can endure is so large, that you'd have to TRY to "wear it out". Most flash devices these days (at least all the good ones) do wear patterning, where new writes are spread out over a large second of unused space (though this often requires filesystem support, see jffs[2]). This makes it even harder to kill flash memory since writes to one spot won't actually write to one spot, but will instead be spread over the whole device.

      For grins, someone once went and calculated how long it would take to "wear out" the flash in a 32MB iPAQ. They figured out that, using wear patterning on an unloaded device (in other words, writing the the entire device and then starting over at the beginnign again), it would take 12 YEARS to wear it out if one were to write as fast as the flash was rated to write. Of course, if you're not wear patterning, you could wear out a sector quickly, but that's what filesystems have bad sector support for (even FAT has it, though that's a holdover from the ancient days where hard drives came with bad sectors, and of course flash filesystems support the inevitable wearing out of sectors).

  2. Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was just about to purchase 2 x 200GB drives. Now I can pay thrice as much for storage I'll never use!

  3. Ooops... by Cheerio+Boy · · Score: 4, Informative

    2.5" portable external hard drive with 100 MB

    Wouldn't that 100GB?

    --

    "Bah!" - Dogbert
    1. Re:Ooops... by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Wouldn't that 100GB?"

      No, they're talking about a Zip drive. Slashdot's just a little slow on reporting current news.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:Ooops... by Zapper · · Score: 5, Funny

      I always get a bit depressed when I read about current tech.
      First, video cards get more RAM than my main system.
      Then , HDDs get more cache RAM than my video card has.
      Technology prediction: Tomorrow (or maybe the next day), Intel or AMD release CPUs with more cache than my system RAM. AAAAARRRGH.

      --
      So much to do, so little bandwidth.
      --
      Try Mozilla
    3. Re:Ooops... by dasmegabyte · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, it's your own fault for using Linux. If you used Windows like me, you'd be forced to upgrade every four years or so...

      --
      Hey freaks: now you're ju
    4. Re:Ooops... by Wraithlyn · · Score: 4, Funny

      LUXURY!

      My system's so old that modern CPUs have more capacity in SINGLE REGISTERS than all my disk storage combined! Uphill! Both ways! ;)

      --
      "Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
  4. Oh my by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that 5GB in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

    1. Re:Oh my by kfg · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is that 5GB in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

      Well, now that you mention it, several of the pictures I have on this drive are pictures of you -- and a pony, that I found on some website.

      It seems your Xboyfriend had an X10 camera and. . .

      Welcome to the world of ubiquitous data, sweet thing.

      KFG

    2. Re:Oh my by NanoGator · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Is that 5GB in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

      You think 5 gigs is impressing? Just wait until I unzip.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  5. IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Seagate is not the first with 400GB disks,
    IBM announced them a copule months ago and already ships them.

    1. Re:IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by foidulus · · Score: 4, Informative

      IBM announced them a copule months ago and already ships them.
      Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that IBM sold most of it's hard drive business to Hitachi(IBM still holds 30% IIRC) and that the drives that are shipping from IBM's former hd unit are now all labeled under the hitachi name?

    2. Re:IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by cens0r · · Score: 3, Informative

      Don't forget that IBM sold it's disk business to Hitachi so you guys are talking about the same thing.

      --
      Jack Valenti and Orrin Hatch will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
    3. Re:IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by EddydaSquige · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The Seagate is the first with a Native SATA interface. I have no idea what that means, but I assume that to be important. Maybe faster IO?

    4. Re:IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I recently quit purchasing regular ATA drives and have begun moving my systems to SATA.

      While the performance difference is negligable, the reduction in wiring clutter, and not having to mess around with jumpers on the back of the drive is pretty nice.

      If it were a $50 price difference, I would've stayed with regular ATA, however at a $10 price difference (or less), it's a no-brainer.

      Now, my master plan of a 8 x 400gb RAID array server is starting to look rather attainable :)

      N.

      --
      "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
    5. Re:IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by afidel · · Score: 4, Informative

      Uh, the difference of native SATA vs EIDE with a SATA bridge chip has nothing to do with what you posted. Btw native SATA will be cheaper than even normal EIDE because the electronics are actually simpler. Chances are all of the SATA drives you have at this point are EIDE with the bridge chip since this is one of the first drives with a native chip (Raptor 10K was the first AFAIK).

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    6. Re:IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by forevermore · · Score: 4, Informative
      IBM announced them a copule months ago and already ships them.

      That would be Hitachi (others pointed that out). On that note, the Hitachi drives come with a warning that they should not be left on for more than 24 hours (ie. not for use in servers). What good is a 400G drive if you can't use it in a server? Very few applications (if any) call for that much space in a desktop system.

      --
      Do you really need reason for beer? Wingman Brewers
    7. Re:IBM already ships 400GB SATA disks by Deton8 · · Score: 3, Informative

      The Raptor drives are not native SATA. They use a ATA/SATA converter chip made by Marvell.

  6. Length of Warranty? by DAldredge · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is the warrany on this 400GB drive 1 year or 3 years? I didn't find mention on their site of how long it is, and if it is only 1 year why should you trust your data to it?

    1. Re:Length of Warranty? by deepestblue · · Score: 4, Insightful

      How would a 3-year warranty help me recover my data in case of failure? If I don't have backups, I don't see how I can trust my data however long the warranty period is.

    2. Re:Length of Warranty? by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's warranteed for as long as you own the drive, or until you open the anti-static bag. Whichever comes first.

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
    3. Re:Length of Warranty? by DAldredge · · Score: 3, Informative

      The length of the warranty shows how long they are willing to stand behind what they sell. If they will only stand behind it for 365.2425 days, then why should you trust it?

    4. Re:Length of Warranty? by deepestblue · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I agree. The point is that there's a difference between trusting a company to make good products and trusting the drive to keep your data safe. The latter is independent of warranty, unlike what the original post implies.

  7. Just out of curiosity... by blackula · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Does anyone know what ever became of the $1/GB tax on hard drives in France?

    That could make for some pretty pricy hard drives if it's still in effect...

    1. Re:Just out of curiosity... by bhtooefr · · Score: 4, Informative

      It only applies to bulk hard drives in media processing devices (TiVos, DVD recorders, MP3 jukeboxes (set-top or portable), etc.), and it goes (basically) to the French **AA.

      I found this out by RYourFA.

    2. Re:Just out of curiosity... by totatis · · Score: 3, Informative

      This tax was discussed by French's Ministry of Culture, but was vetoed by former Prime Minister Jospin. So, in fact, this tax never existed.

  8. Sure, good stuff... by Eric(b0mb)Dennis · · Score: 4, Interesting

    But not down to my level of use, seems more geared at enterprise solutions....80gb IDE drives are going for what... 50 cents a gb now? last 80gb drive i bought was around $60

    Don't know the cost of this drive, but i'll stick to my RAID arrays and be happy as a Joe Consumer.

    --
    Excuse me, I don't mean to impose, but I am the ocean
  9. It's been said before by agent+dero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't need 400GB, hell I don't need 160GB; I need a hard drive that is more reliable

    These are cool and all, i'd love to have one, but I'll rest easier knowing that my 80GB, let alone 400GB is safe and reliable for some time to come.

    --
    Error 407 - No creative sig found
    1. Re:It's been said before by mduell · · Score: 3, Informative

      NewEgg.com (which is listed on pricewatch)

    2. Re:It's been said before by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 5, Funny

      Re:It's been said before (Score:1, Redundant)

      I find something terribly amusing in a post about RAID being moderated 'Redundant'. 100% correct!

      Bloody hell, I'm such a nerd...

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
  10. Backups... by CompSurfer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    But the only thing short of a really long tape that you can backup these things to in one media is another 400GB hdd. (it would still be 86 4.7GB DVDs)

    1. Re:Backups... by anthonyclark · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A LTO-2 tape will hold 400GB compressed, 200GB uncompressed. The LTO-1 (200GB compressed) library I use to back up my little corner of the net can hold 7.2TB worth of data.

      Of course, those tapes cost like 50 bucks each and the drives cost several thousand...

      A large and *affordable* backup medium would be nice.

      --
      ----- Documentation is worth it just to be able to answer all your mail with 'RTFM' - Alan Cox.
  11. system requirement by gandalphthegreen · · Score: 5, Funny

    I suppose that this is part of the technology that makes a Windows Longhorn installation possible.

  12. And the name of this HD model is.... by hellfire · · Score: 3, Funny

    Seagate is the first hdd manufacturer to announce 400 GB 3.5" hard drives.

    Seagate tenatively plans to call this line of hard drives the "Pornotopia" series.

    --

    "All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"

  13. 16MB Cache? by cerebralsugar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder if 16MB is actually an aid to performance on these drives? What kind of algorithms do they use to ensure efficient usage of all that space? Can anyone here comment?

    I seem to recall in chip design that the larger the cash does not always equal more performance, if the cache manager has to search the whole cache everytime time (hash?) to deliver what needs to be used.

    --
    Easy guys, I put my pants on one leg at a time. The difference is after I put on my pants I make gold records!
  14. Speeds? by anthonyclark · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Meh, size is nothing, speed is everything. Having used a 10k and a 15k rpm scsi disk in my workstation I'm far more eager to see faster rather than larger.

    Now 20k or 30k rpm? *that* would make me drool :-)

    --
    ----- Documentation is worth it just to be able to answer all your mail with 'RTFM' - Alan Cox.
    1. Re:Speeds? by tntguy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Perhaps, but the drool would evaporate from the generated heat before it even left the corner of your mouth.

    2. Re:Speeds? by jfengel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Rather than suffer the machanical difficulties associated with a 20k rpm drive, putting a stripe set across three 7200 rpm drives will move data very quickly and last longer. Yeah, the seek time is still slower, but the sustained rate is just as high, and smart caching will eliminate a lot of the differences in seek time.

      That said, I'd adore a drive that fast for my swap space.

    3. Re:Speeds? by ron_ivi · · Score: 3, Informative
      With higher density platters often comes more speed.

      Higher density = more "bits - per - revolution"
      More "bits/revolution" * same RPM = faster data rate

      (of course if they just added platters, you wouldn't get faster - but it seems they're getting more bits by increasing the density/platter)

  15. No problem by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Informative

    Get multiple drives and RAID them together. A 2-disc RAID-1 is quite reliable, but you can go for more if you are really concerned. Also, go SCSI instead of IDE. SCSI drives tend to be engineered to a higher standard, and are generally warenteed longer to boot.

    However, don't bitch about the price. You WILL pay more for less storage, that's the cost of reliability.

  16. What's the maximum partition size in WinXP/Win2003 by davegaramond · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Win2k's is 128GB and I was bitten by this once. I bought a 160GB drive, created one big partition with Redhat 7.3, and formatted it as NTFS under Win2k. Win2k displays it as 160GB but actually when the drive is near full, old data was overwritten by the new one!

    Is Win2k's limitation artificial? I'd hate that.

    Well, anyway, I've said goodbye to Windows as my desktop.

  17. Except for Hitachi by UserChrisCanter4 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hitachi has had 400GB drives (SATA) for a few months now link
    It looks like the only thing unique here is the "highest areal density", meaning (I assume) that Hitachi is using a four platter system, where Seagate's only has three.

    Also, I wonder what problems might arise from 16MB caches on normal desktop machines. One of the issues I seem to recall with larger cache drives is the risk of filesystem corruption. If power is lost while data is sitting in cache, waiting for a write, then you could potentially royally screw up your file or filesystem. Hence, the only 16MB cache drives I've seen are notebook drives (almost always gonna have a battery) and SCSI drives (likely in a server or workstation, which will most likely have a UPS). Before you go countering that these aren't meant for desktop use, keep in mind that DV video, digital photgraphy, and music are all things that home users like the idea of, and they are also the things much more likely to consume massive amounts of storage capacity.

  18. Wow 400 GB in a single drive by k4_pacific · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's just amazing. I remember back when I was in college and couldn't afford a good hard drive. Instead, I scrounged several cheap, small drives and an extra IDE card. My PC, built into an old server tower, had seven (7) IDE drives totalling about 5 GB in disk space. There was so much rotating mass, you could balance the PC on its corner and watch the precession.

    --
    Unknown host pong.
    1. Re:Wow 400 GB in a single drive by eSims · · Score: 4, Funny
      At the risk of sounding on-ups-man some might find this intersting/amusing.

      Due to lack of cash flow I had at one point 22 Drives attached to my poor Duron 700 for almost 200GB of disk space. There were 12 IDE (4 builin, 4 on each of 2 add in cards) the rest were scsi.

      I set it up in a FreeBSD vinum raid5 array and although performance was abysmal I had reliability even though many of the scsi were salvaged 4.5 or 9gb disks!

      Some would call me crazy (or worse), but I got by until better times and was able to purchase a decent drive to replace them.

      --
      I .sig therefore I am!
  19. Re:What's the maximum partition size in WinXP/Win2 by dougnaka · · Score: 4, Informative
    "The maximum size of an NTFS partition is 16 EB"
    EB = Exabytes = BIGGG
    I believe the problem you ran into is only during installs, and is similar to WinNT4's 4GB max boot partition. You can simply put the drive in another Win2K box that's already installed, format the full 160GB and use it nuts. Just be aware of NTFS versions that differ in Win2K/WinXP... I think XP has a newer version, and 2k can't use it, but could be wrong..

    --
    My Linux Command of the Day site : LCOD
  20. Re:What's the maximum partition size in WinXP/Win2 by Tranzig · · Score: 5, Informative

    The default windows 2000 install does not support harddisk sizes over 128gb. SP3 enables the support for 48bit LBA, thus solving this problem.
    Here's the related MSKB article.

  21. This just out... by nmb3000 · · Score: 5, Funny
    AP Story:

    In response to a recent article on Slashdot, both the RIAA and the MPAA have announced a partnership with Seagate, Inc.

    The details of this new partnership are sketchy, but it seems that it will entail the automated delivery of detailed information on everyone that purchases the new Seagate 400GB SATA hard drive. This comes from the assumption that the only reason anyone would really need that amound of drivespace is to store their growing collection of music and movies. Understandably, downloaders and rippers are tired or poor quality movies and audio, and as such this new drive will allow them to contain all their new high-bitrate media in one central location.

    In a related story, the RIAA has officially sued Seagate because this new hard drive gives people the capability to store pirated music on their computers. Said an RIAA spokesman, "We feel this is a gross violation of artist's rights, and that it's our responsibility to protect them."

    --
    "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
    /)
  22. Come on! by yttrium · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can't we just say 0.4 TB? It's only a matter of time...

  23. What happened to native FireWire drives? by GPS+Pilot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This thing has a native Serial ATA interface... will we ever see a drive with a native FireWire interface?

    --
    That that is is that that that that is not is not.
  24. Re:What's the maximum partition size in WinXP/Win2 by dameron · · Score: 3, Informative
    I think XP has a newer version, and 2k can't use it, but could be wrong..


    You are correct, and if you put an NT disk in an XP machine (say to do data recovery) the XP machine will -automatically and without asking- convert your NT disk to it's version of NTFS, rendering it unbootable.

    -dameron

  25. in other news by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seagate has redefined a 'Byte' to be 4 bits.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  26. Re:does it matter..? by Martin+Blank · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is why RAID-1 is so nice. I went from "OHMYGODILOSTADRIVEMYDATAISGONE!!!" to "Oh, a drive failed. How annoying." Cross-ship from the manufacturer (Maxtor in my case), and in two days, I'm back up and running.

    --
    You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
  27. Quit makeing up stuff. by DAldredge · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Specs from a WDC 80GB 7200 RPM IDE drive.

    Current Requirements and Power Dissipation
    Operating Mode RMS Current Power, Typical 1
    12 VDC 5 VDC
    Spinup 2.2 A 525 mA 17.0 W
    Read/Write/Idle 350 mA 800 mA 8.0 W
    Seek 900 mA 675 mA 14.0 W
    Power Management Commands
    Operating Mode RMS Current 1 Power, Typical 1
    12 VDC 5 VDC
    Idle (E1H) 330 mA 675 mA 7.25 W
    Standby (E0H) 20 mA 200 mA 1.25 W
    Sleep (E6H) 20 mA 50 mA

    0.5 W

  28. Re:Mmmm RAID 5 for video on demand... by Ratcrow · · Score: 3, Informative
    So, if one of those 400GB drives goes down, and you throw in another (or have a hot spare), how long will it take to rebuild the array so that it is once again redundant?

    It could take weeks.

    Meanwhile, if another drive fails before the new one is built, then everything is lost.