NEWZ: Fujitsu 120GB 2.5-Inch SATA & PATA

[Dïscfärm]

MHV2120BH (SATA) and MHV2120AH (PATA)

• 
  Rotational Speed: 5400RPM
  
  Average Seek Time: 12 ms typ. (Read), 14 ms typ. (Write)
  
  Average Latency: 5.56 ms
  
  Read / Write Power Consumption: 1.9W typ.
  
  Idle Power Consumption: 0.6W typ
  
  Acoustic Noise: 2.6 bels (Typ.)
  
  Operating Shock: 2,940 m/s2 (300 G) 2ms
  
  Non-Operating Shock: 8,820 m/s2 (900 G) 1ms

http://www.fujitsu.com/us/fcpa/news/pr/20050920-01.html

 

[CougTek]

The operating shock resistance seems quite high. Is it bullet-proof too?

I'd like to find a module that fits into two 5.25" bays and let me mount 2.5" drives vertically, à la Supermicro CSE-M34.

BTW, browsing Supermicro's website, I saw that we have competition for our name. There's a Storage Forum in Barcelona this October. We should sue them.

 

[Pradeep]

I think this is what you are looking for Coug:

http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/mobilerack/CSE-M28E1.cfm

 

[CougTek]

Shit, I was there and I didn't see it. Thanks.

 

[CougTek]

...and of course it has to cost more than 300U$. Nice.

 

[Mercutio]

To be fair, that model apparently supports SAS, so I'm guessing there's a slight premium in that...

Also those Supermicro enclosures are really, really loud. Or rather the fan that fits on the back of the unit is.

 

[Tannin]

120GB in a laptop drive. Very tempting! Upgrade now? Or wait till Samsung release one?

But if I wait, Hitachi (or someone) will probably have a 160GB out.

Do I really, really trust any drive that doesn't have a Samsung badge anymore? Not really. I'll wait. But Fujitsus were always pretty good. Maybe I should buy now. I certainly desperately need more space.

But then I could just burn a whole lot of stuff to 2X DVD and carry a pack of 10 DVDs around with me. That would work OK, and not take too much space. I'll wait.

Or just buy now becausae an extra 40GB would be a godsend.

But then, if I order one now, I'll probably discover that there is a new 120GB Samsung out the week after next. (Murphy's law.) I'll wait.

But maybe I should .....

(Tannin! Stop dithering and go to bed you stupid human.)

(Sorry. You're right, Tea. Bed! Your turn to make the cocoa tonight?)

(Nup. It's your turn. But if it will make you happy, I'll make it anyway.)

(Hey, that's nice of you. Thanks. Err .. just one other thing. Do you think I should buy the Fujitsu, or would I be wise to .....)

(Shudaup and go to bed! Now!)

(sorry)

 

[Pradeep]

To be fair, that model apparently supports SAS, so I'm guessing there's a slight premium in that...

Also those Supermicro enclosures are really, really loud. Or rather the fan that fits on the back of the unit is.

Actually I've found the 90mm fans on the Super enclosures to be acceptable. Usually quieter than the drives they contain. The Supermicro full chassis on the other hand....

 

[mubs]

I think this is what you are looking for Coug:

Eight-in-two! Awesome!

 

[Fushigi]

Tannin: I would think that one of these+ one of these would be easier to manage and quite a bit faster than burning to DVD while on the go. The right unit would draw power from the USB port so you wouldn't need a separate wallwart.

 

[LunarMist]

Tony,

The 120GB Seagate 5400.2 has worked well in my old Fujitsu P5K, though it is too small for a 2-week trip. It is cool, quiet and noticeably faster than the 100GB drive it replaced. If speed is of primary importance over capacity and power consumption the 100GB Hitachi 7K100 drives are now available (at least in the US).

 

[Dïscfärm]

For field photography storage, I use a Kanguru Media X-Change Pro device, which has a 100 GB internal hard drive, 8-slot internal flash card reader, and rechargeable battery. It is completely self-contained and does not require a computer to be present to operate. The USB2 port in it is used to read and write to the internal storage hard drive. This is much easier to deal with than lugging a notebook computer around.


Another 2½ inch hard drive possibility for use in current desktop computers, is one of the Addonics 2½ inch hard drive bays. This one fits in a 3½ inch floppy drive bay (they also have 2½ inch drive bays that use a 5¼ inch drive bay slot). Addonics makes *lots* of niche items.

http://www.addonics.com/products/mobile_rack/aenrhd25.asp

To be fair, that model apparently supports SAS, so I'm guessing there's a slight premium in that...

There's plenty more to this drive bay package than any other drive bay package you may have encountered so far. The CSE-M28E1 has a built-in 8-port SAS/SATA expander in the backplane. An expander is essentially the same thing as a Fibre-Channel hub (not a switch). Not to mention, with 8 bays, there's also a bit more to this drive bay rack -- mechanically speaking -- than the other 4-bay and 5-bay racks Super-O sells.

Also those Supermicro enclosures are really, really loud. Or rather the fan that fits on the back of the unit is.

I find the stock fan to be about medium-loud. I've also changed out these fans for lower speed (i.e. -- quieter) fans, because I knew I was never going to have more than 2 or 3 hard drives plugged in at one time and frankly did not need that much airflow through that SCA rack.

Shit, I was there and I didn't see it. Thanks.

http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/index.cfm

It's been there on the website for a few weeks. But, it really only started trickling out to retailers maybe 10 days ago. Use the URL above to see *all* the existing Mobile Rack models. Below, is a retailer selling the CSE-M28E1 :

US$307.80 + free shipping in USA at:

http://www.wiredzone.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=32001439

...The Supermicro full chassis on the other hand....

It depends on what the power supply is -- you can go anywhere from quiet to loud depending on the power supply. Those high-watt triple redundant power supplies are reminiscent of an idling turbojet.

 

[Mercutio]

The couple Supermicro SATA racks that I have are both *very* loud. Server-room loud. Loud enough to be heard over a 20" box fan on the high speed setting.
And unfortunately, they really aren't any fun unless you're going to get them close to full.

Someone should make some 5400rpm 500GB drives that don't need active cooling. That would be a very good thing IMO.

 

[Tannin]

It's archival storage I need, no great need for read-write. (Well, backup obviously, but CDR does that just fine.) (Only a combo drive in my Thinkpad, the DVD-R was $400 extra this time last year when I bought it.)

No spare USB ports - scungy IBM only give you two, which get external KB and mouse in them. I have a nice little Firewire box with a hard drive of any desired capacity in it, but I hate buggerising about with plug-plugging and remembering to unmount it so I mostly only use it at home.

Yeah, I could probably use a Fujitsu, or even a Seagate. I'd just feel so damn stupid if I did that and it crashed. If my Samsung ever dies at least I can say "well, I did everything right, it wasn't my fault".

Neat device there Gary! I need to carry the laptop anyway, for review and edit purposes, but a nice toy just the same.

 

[Dïscfärm]

...Neat device there Gary! I need to carry the laptop anyway, for review and edit purposes, but a nice toy just the same.

I forgot to add a picture and a URL for that self-powered self-contained storage device that does NOT require a computer of any kind to be around to make it work. By the way, these Media X-Change devices have been around for a few years now.

The Kanguru Media X-Change allows you to empty your compact flash card of images and store them offline when you are out in the field. You operate the Media X-Change from buttons on the faceplate and the little LCD screen gives you the textual information involved in copying data from your flash memory devices to its internal 2.5-inch hard drive (up to 100 GB available). To read data off the Media X-Change, just plug a USB2 cable into it and plug that cable into your notebook or desktop computer. You can also use the Media X-Change as a storage device if your camera can use an external USB storage device to store imagery as it is acquired!

This is mine. It is the older model that goes up to 80 GB that uses a 1.8-inch hard drive, not the 2.5-inch hard drive they now use. See URL below for information and picture of new model:


http://www.kanguru.com/mediaxchangepro.html