Seagate 7200.8 in stock in the UK

luminous · Post by **luminous** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:50 pm

I just spotted them at www.scan.co.uk

at the bottom here

Please note that I am not advocating that you purchase form here. This retailer used to have a very bad rep, although more recent reports have been favourable. Previous problems were over a difficult returns process.

Please do your own research prior to any purchase

Looks like they may also be in stock at span.co.uk here

cold c · Post by **cold c** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:10 pm

www.ebuyer.com have both the SATA and the PATA versions of the 400GB drive.

I recently purchased a drive from them and their hard drive packaging method has improved (since the last time I purchased). The drive was packaged in its own box with foam cut to fit around all sides.

www.dabs.com also has a 7200.8 400GB PATA drive in stock and some SATA versions "ordered upon request".

luminous · Post by **luminous** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:18 pm

Thanks for those links. I'm watching the prices of these drives closely. Hopefully soon there will be more feedback about these drives. Hopefully, they may even be a review here at SPCR, but I expect that may take some time

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:22 pm

Hey guys let me know what these drive are like.

I have been eyeing them up for a while.

They look good on paper, but personal experience is better than any amount of paper.

Andy

Nik7304 · Post by **Nik7304** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 10:42 am

Has anyone had experience with the 7200.8's yet? I'm particularly interested in the performance of the 250GB version.

Also, what are the advantages/disadvantages of PATA, SATA and UDMA?

/Nik

mb2 · Post by **mb2** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:05 pm

250gb and 300gb versions are also available @ ebuyer now..

the 250gb 7200.8 seems a lot more expensive than a 200gb 7200.7

.. is this likely to last for long or is it just 'its brand new we'll charge what we like' stuff?

scan say they have;
"400Gb Seagate Barracuda ATA-100 (7200rpm,8MB) - PATA NCQ"
this is wrong right? u need SATA to get NCQ right?

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 12:00 am

Yes, you need a compliant SATA controller to get NCQ working.

Slaugh · Post by **Slaugh** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 12:23 am

Does the new Seagate 7200.8 have AAM or not? Looking at the datasheet, they give 2 seek noise levels (3.2 bels for quiet seek and 3.7 bels for performance seek). I also see these noise levels on the 7200.7 datasheet but with lower numbers (2.8 and 3.4 bels)...
I ordered a 200GB SATA 7200.7 but my supplier told me it's no more available and they'll sell me a newer version (7200.8 I guess)... I have to call them back monday...

MassMan · Post by **MassMan** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 12:57 am

mb2 wrote:the 250gb 7200.8 seems a lot more expensive than a 200gb 7200.7 .. is this likely to last for long or is it just 'its brand new we'll charge what we like' stuff?

Looking at the development of the Danish prices the uk should experience something similar: http://www.edbpriser.dk/Listprices.asp?ID=110327 (in the lower part of the page: Prisudvikling = price development)

bomba · Post by **bomba** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 7:50 am

This thread on storagereview.com, stangely enough has a post which links to a SPCR thread. It has posts from folks 1st hand experiences w/ 7200.8 drives. Although there is contradictory information, I've made some conclusions from reading the posts. Please note that I do not have direct experience w/ the 7200.8, so please do not take my conclusions as gospel. If anyone has further information, contradictory or not, please post.

1. AAM is locked & cannot be changed. PATA drives are locked for quiet seeks, SATA for loud (performance) seeks.
2. Spindle accoustics (idle) is very good.
3. All 7200.8 have periodic head moving noises (ala Hitachi 7k250 meow) when drive is sitting idle. Unlike Hitachi, there is no firmware fix for the 7200.8.
4. Those w/ PATA 7200.8 are generally happy with drive accoustics, while those w/ SATA 7200.8 are not.

luminous · Post by **luminous** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 8:34 am

Thank you for the summarising all that info. I was not aware about the periodic HDD seeks. I was hoping that was something that would not have come back to haunt us.

I'm going to have to think very carefully about what I buy next. I know this may sound daft, but out of all the drives that I have, my WD in an enclosure is the best. All the other drives manage to annoy me more, even when in an enclosure.

Pauli · Post by **Pauli** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 10:00 am

Does anybody worry about AAM anymore? Decoupling pretty much eliminates seek noise. I have sorbothaned my Samsung, Barracuda IV, and 120GB Maxtor and I can really only hear the Maxtor anymore, and even that is not bad. It's really not worth sacrificing performance.

luminous · Post by **luminous** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 10:12 am

It is nice to be able to choose what AAM mode you want to use. That way each person can set it to their own liking.