SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive for $50 AC w/FS
 

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive [newegg.com]

Promo Code: EMCKAGK22

Hard to get much better than this price.

Grabbed one...Thanks

good price

Can anyone recommend a good external case (preferably that you've used) to go along with this?

Not a bad price. Another idea is for $30 more you can get a sata 3 (6 GB/s) with a 64 mb cache. Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6822136533

The F3 is faster.

lol wtf..this never seems to drop any lower...got it from Newegg for $54 almost 2 years ago... -__- If only there were more deals on the 2TB f4

yepp he's right^

Traditional hard drives cannot saturate SATA II let alone SATA III so that is irrelevant.

Thumbed and repped...SATA 6GB is overrated even at 7200 rpm there is no physical way to achieve 3 let alone surpass it.

Sure it's a low price, but you can get significantly bigger and even with external enclosure for just a little bit more...

This does have a 64 mb cache tho so the WD black with definitely outperform this samsung.


How is the F3 faster? The WD has the same RPM but also has a 64 MB cache versus only a 32 MB with the F3.

F3 Warranty 3 years
Caviar Black warranty 5 years

The Caviar Black also gets a little faster read and seek times in benchmarks but I doubt you'd notice it a whole lot. I'd just go with the F3 unless you want to spend extra for extra warranty.

Because 32MB vs 64MB doesn't make much, if any, difference in speed. And I bet those people read the reviews out there that proved the F3 is faster instead of you making a blanket statement about cache size.

I have been thinking about the fact that $40-50 seems to be the absolute floor for any mechanical hard drive, and it's disappointing, but aside from the actual ICs in the HDD, everything else is mechanical or electromechanical, and often those things are much of a fixed cost. The HDD manufacturers are already producing at such a high volume that the Aluminum chassis, magnetic platter, etc just really have no room to come down in price much (i.e. can't make them smaller like with newer technology ICs).

So, the best we can get is better motors that allow higher density platters, which is why 2-3 years ago, 500GB was ~$50, and now it's 1TB. In a year or two, it will be ~2TB for $50 when 2TB can be fit on one or two platters.

Dunno... just a thought.

BTW: TU and repped.

Caching doesn't make a difference for random speeds, because it isn't cached (because it's different data), but the caviar black has faster access times. If you are accessing the same data multiple times, the caviar black will be way faster because cache speeds saturate SATA II speeds (that's why they make SATA III drives now) and there's twice as much room to cache things into.

platter density makes a big difference...

Didn't realize that is the newer Caviar Black, so yes, it is a little bit faster than the F3, but still not worth the $30 extra.

Yes, you aren't going to notice a difference. Unless you really want the extra warranty, go with the F3. that's what I got and I'm loving it (I got it last time it was $50)

I've got a pair of them in RAID0 myself, and they bench right around 250MB/s for read and write.

That sounds about right. Just one of mine gets a bit over 130 MB/s sequential. I don't really do too much that requires moving large sequential files, though. Random reads/writes are much more important to me.

people please. it has been this price for 122 years. make that 132 years. make that two centuries. really. who cares. you are all just hungry for deals because nobody's providing them. doesn't make this NOT a great drive - it is. it just ain't a deal. a 1tb drive is almost available everyday somewhere for $50 or less.

Definitly wish they would have these kinds of deals on 2TB drives.

I need to get 4 x 2TB drives to upgrade my ReadyNAS NV+ to extend it's life a little while longer till I can afford to get something better that will support bigger drives (or more drives)

The 2TB F4s are routinely available for $70...

Do you have a link? The best I've found is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6822136514

NewEgg had 'em for $70 last week...SuperBiiz usually has 'em for around $70 with a coupon code...just set a deal alert.

ohh man.. if it were not this post.. i was in the impression.. that it is a 2 TB drive.. lol.. not looking at the title properly.. n did not even go to the newegg..website...we need deals on 3TB..now..

What do you guys recommend? Samsung F3 raid 1 and keep that for backup and My WD 64mb cache main drive. OR samsung F3 raid 0 and WD backup. The WD has 64mb of cache that's why. Not sure if it makes a huge difference. (I don't want to use ssd's yet.)

Thanks OP, building a comp.. picked up one to use alongside kingston 96gb ssd

not sure why this is not on FP

Whew, I was getting a bit scared. I've been waiting for this drive to hit the $50 price range again since early September. In August I believe there were 5 or so different times time drive hit the $50 range, so I didn't expect to wait long, but week came and week went throughout September and nothing. Finally got my deal, awesome.

I'd love a 2TB 5400rpm for $50 right now, no mir or anything. I need one for the Thermaltake dock I picked up.

If/when 2TB drives get down to $50 with no rebates, you'll know.

because it hits this price point quite often, it was the same price when i got it
on 6th sep, it made it sweeter by using newcustomer10 by adding a filler.
i got this + memorex 8 DL 5 Packs and Sony Optiarc Burner for 59.99

The F3 is top rated, $25 cheaper and also outperforms [harddrivebenchmark.net] your WDBE.

These drives rock. I have 6 of them in RAID10 on my personal server and have installed them in multiple machines for other people. I really wish NewEgg would stop using Seagate all the time for their combo deals and use this drive.

What's the difference between the HD103SJ and the HE103SJ

I believe they are the exact same drive, but the HE model has a 5yr warranty vs 3yrs for HD.

Whew, still in stock. Picked one up for ~$54 after CA tax.

Going to have to jump on this... thanks OP

I wanted that WD1002FAEX WDCB though, read the newer 1002 model is faster than F3, nice drive but I already have a SSD and the F3 will be my secondary games/storage drive. Should be fast enough still.

In for two. Still waiting for a hot deal on the 2TB F4.

Thanks OP.

Thanks, Just pick this up along with a dvd burner.