Good info on Seagate HD's you should know before you buy - might explain performance.

[tankman1989]

I was reading some reviews on Amazon and found the following review:

ok, so this drive is listed as the "Seagate ST2000DM001" and guess what, other than that it sports 2 Terabytes, it tells you nothing whatever about what drive you'll end up with, because Seagate has chosen to obscure and omit relevant Data between different builds, with vastly different performance.

The short advice: Only purchase the WxExxxxx version of this model. This was made in Wuxi, China and uses 2 platters and 4 heads.
This performs 30% better than the version with 3 platters, which has a WxFxxxxx or similar designation.

You'll need to contact the seller and ask them to check the code on the drive. If they can't verify, don't buy it, better to get a drive from Western Digital, where its not a surprise game of whats in the box.

S - SU - Suzhou China
W - WU - Wuxi China
Z - TK - Korat Thailand

F = 3 platters with either 5 or 6 heads, while E = 2 platters.

Weight info received in a comment here, suggests that the 'good' 2-platter drive weighs 534 grams, while the 'bad' 3-platter drive weighs 624 grams.

Seagate used to embed the information about their drives in the model number, but now they obscured it, so they can pawn off whatever they want. Send a WxE model to Publications who test drives, and then ship the crappy WxF model to unsuspecting customers who may never realize they're not getting what they thought they were buying. This should really be illegal.

.

Note 1: This was written for the 2TB drive. It turns out Amazon also shows this review for 3TB drives. This info does not apply to 3TB drives, the 3TB drives always have 3 1TB platters.

Note 2: comparison test results here[...]

Note 3: A relevant post on Seagate's forum stating that these Barracuda have been crippled through redesign [...]

Note 4: Someone commented that Seagate removed any reference to the 2 platter version of this drive in the manual (something which is usually only read after the purchase)

Note 5: Someone explained that Seagate made this change due to the flooding of their plant in Thailand. This is not quite correct since chinese 2 platter 2TB drives are also in circulation.

Seagate's real reason for the change is being able to use lower bin or older tech platters that can only hold ~670 GB, so they use 3 platters. This is a fine business decision, but an honest company would give it a new Model number/name, as its a different product with lower speeds, lower reliability and higher weight.

But why be honest, if you can cheat and make a few dollars extra per drive, by selling it under the same name as the better drive, which has been reviewed extensively and lauded for its higher speeds?

I'm only interested in this because I have one and was going to buy a few more for a RAID setup and if there is a difference in platters for the same model then I want to make sure I choose correctly.

Anyone else have any info on this issue? Do you know if it effects their 1TB drives?

[NYJimbo]

"The short advice: Only purchase the WxExxxxx version of this model. "

Oh, that should be easy. Now let me find a website that sells hard drives that posts all of this extra info.......

[red12049]

Originally Posted by tankman1989

I was reading some reviews on Amazon and found the following review:


I'm only interested in this because I have one and was going to buy a few more for a RAID setup and if there is a difference in platters for the same model then I want to make sure I choose correctly.

Anyone else have any info on this issue? Do you know if it effects their 1TB drives?

Why would some posts made on a forum be "good info"? Is there anything verifiable? Is there a measured failure rate? Is there ANYTHING that can be verified?

Rick

[smashedbotatos]

I know! Just use WD drives

[NYJimbo]

Originally Posted by smashedbotatos

I know! Just use WD drives

Carve that sh!t in stone, brother !

[tankman1989]

Originally Posted by red12049

Why would some posts made on a forum be "good info"? Is there anything verifiable? Is there a measured failure rate? Is there ANYTHING that can be verified?

Rick

Well I'm sure the info can be dug up, do you really need it or are you just bit&hing? You can verify that one has 2 platters and another has 3 by the weight - if you had two to compare. I don't have a reason not to believe this guy as I know that seagate does use these codes this way to designate model and where it was made. WD has a similar procedure.

If you don't want to be aware of this and and wonder why a potential RAID array isn't working like it should then be my guest. I was just posting this because this model was a really good deal over the holidays and I'm betting a few people bought some. Maybe they can weigh in.

I'll pull mine and see if the code measures up to the weight the poster claims.

[NYJimbo]

Actually Seagate does note that their 2tb drives have three platters. Its even part of the info on neweggs site:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148834

"Maximizes hard drive storage densities Barracuda 1TB-per-disk technology incorporates 340,000 unique tracks in the width of a single inch. This incredible storage density drives new capacity possibilities and lowers your total storage costs. Seagate AcuTrac technology enables new storage densities with accurate reading and writing to nano-sized tracks that are only 75 nanometers wide! That’s about 500 times smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. (3 Disks for 2TB model) "

The 2 platter might just be newer models, not that they are making crap drives for the masses.

[16k_zx81]

Originally Posted by NYJimbo

Carve that sh!t in stone, brother !

Fanboyz

<just kidding!>

[red12049]

Originally Posted by tankman1989

Well I'm sure the info can be dug up, do you really need it or are you just bit&hing? You can verify that one has 2 platters and another has 3 by the weight - if you had two to compare. I don't have a reason not to believe this guy as I know that seagate does use these codes this way to designate model and where it was made. WD has a similar procedure.

If you don't want to be aware of this and and wonder why a potential RAID array isn't working like it should then be my guest. I was just posting this because this model was a really good deal over the holidays and I'm betting a few people bought some. Maybe they can weigh in.

I'll pull mine and see if the code measures up to the weight the poster claims.

So, if I post on a forum that the 2012 Corvette is better than the 2013 Corvette, you'll accuse Chevy of trying to put one over on us? Simply based on my posting in a forum?

Because, without meaningful, verifiable statistics on failure, speed, heat, and so on, that's all you posted. Someone on a forum bellyaching about something they don't like, without anything to back up their statements.

If I understood you correctly, you have to pull your own drive to see which you have. If so, that only proves my point.

You didn't post "good info", you re-posted meaningless drivel.

Rick