Samsung's Spinpoint F4 320GB is fast and quiet, we think
By Thomas Ricker 
posted June 18th 2010 1:34AM
posted June 18th 2010 1:34AM
You still rocking a desktop rig at home? Then you might want to check out Samsung's latest 3.5-inch spinner, the SpinPoint F4. The latest F-series drive features a 7,200 RPM platter rotation and 8MB/16MB buffer memory in capacities of up 320GB. While detailed performance specs aren't given, the SATA 3Gbps F4 has a one-head design with fewer moving parts (for quieter operation) delivering a 10% increase in read/write performance over Samsung's Spinpoint F1 while consuming 7% less power. Unfortunately, that's not very helpful for comparison against other manufacturers' drives now is it? Regardless, it's shipping to OEMs now. Samsung Launches 3.5" Spinpoint F4 320GB Hard Drive for High-Performance Computing
NEW YORK--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, announced today that it is now shipping the Spinpoint F4, the newest model of its Spinpoint F series drives. The superior performance and high-reliability Spinpoint F4 is engineered for high-end computing in PCs, Macs, high-end workstations and server applications.
"Higher performance combined with increasing capacities continues to accelerate demand for 3.5" drives in desktops storage," said In-Chul Park, vice president of sales, storage systems division, Samsung Electronics. "The one-head platform of the new 7200rpm Spinpoint F4, packing up to 320GB of storage capacity per one head in half platter, delivers added reliability that our customers have come to expect from Samsung."
With a one-head platform design and fewer mechanical parts, the reliability and acoustic features of the Spinpoint F4 have been improved. The drive delivers 10% increased read/write performance and 7% lower power consumption than the Spinpoint F1.
Eliminating halogen compound and brominated flame retardant from the PCBA, the new Spinpoint F4 is produced with eco-friendly materials and meets all the environmental regulations including RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances).
The Spinpoint F4 features 7200rpm speed rotation, advanced areal density technology and a SATA 3.0 Gbps interface. Equipped with Samsung's exclusive dynamic balancing technology, the drive's overall stability and reliability is optimized as a high performing solution. Samsung's proprietary SilentSeek™ and NoiseGuard™ technologies are incorporated in the drive to offer ultra quiet operation.
The Spinpoint F4 drive has an 8MB/16MB buffer memory and is available in 320GB capacities worldwide.
The Spinpoint F4 is available to key OEMs now.
NEW YORK--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, announced today that it is now shipping the Spinpoint F4, the newest model of its Spinpoint F series drives. The superior performance and high-reliability Spinpoint F4 is engineered for high-end computing in PCs, Macs, high-end workstations and server applications.
"Higher performance combined with increasing capacities continues to accelerate demand for 3.5" drives in desktops storage," said In-Chul Park, vice president of sales, storage systems division, Samsung Electronics. "The one-head platform of the new 7200rpm Spinpoint F4, packing up to 320GB of storage capacity per one head in half platter, delivers added reliability that our customers have come to expect from Samsung."
With a one-head platform design and fewer mechanical parts, the reliability and acoustic features of the Spinpoint F4 have been improved. The drive delivers 10% increased read/write performance and 7% lower power consumption than the Spinpoint F1.
Eliminating halogen compound and brominated flame retardant from the PCBA, the new Spinpoint F4 is produced with eco-friendly materials and meets all the environmental regulations including RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances).
The Spinpoint F4 features 7200rpm speed rotation, advanced areal density technology and a SATA 3.0 Gbps interface. Equipped with Samsung's exclusive dynamic balancing technology, the drive's overall stability and reliability is optimized as a high performing solution. Samsung's proprietary SilentSeek™ and NoiseGuard™ technologies are incorporated in the drive to offer ultra quiet operation.
The Spinpoint F4 drive has an 8MB/16MB buffer memory and is available in 320GB capacities worldwide.
The Spinpoint F4 is available to key OEMs now.
so... it is still just a hard drive... not a SSD
@Keanedi
What's your point? Not everyone can afford an SSD. And SSD's are still too limited in storage capacity. I welcome innovation in HDD technology. Cheaper, faster storage is a big plus for me.
@Keanedi
What? SSDs? Why on earth would you use an ssd when your brains memory is so much more faster?
@Keanedi
Yeah, uhm.... its not an SSD, and we already have 2TB platter drives. Talk about yawn-fest. NEXT! *hits gong*
@Ducman69
There are currently no 2TB-per-platter 3.5" hard drives currently.
This 320GB drive should be $30 considering you can get a 1TB WD Black drive for $100
Hell... if they were only $30... I'd buy a bunch of them to use with one of those Thermaltake docks. They'd be like 320GB cartridges.
I could store 23 hours of DV footage on each one.
@Kirikanu Reiclair No, there are not, and we care becauuuuse.... _____.
Point is simple, you want a storage drive, there are bigger badder ones. You want speed and power efficiency for the boot drive, you go SSD.
Only 320GB? o_O
@Peytral
320 GB per platter. Engadget was not clear.
@Peytral
Your avatar is actually naked in that pic.
@Kurian
what.
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8733/1249244569527.jpg
@FAP FAP FAP
Look it up on Fantasti.cc
@Kurian
INB4 B&
Well I was quite satisfied with the f1, so if this is any improvement, bravo.
@Failbait Same here, I've been using the Spinpoint F series for years now because they were already some of the fastest and quietest drives out there. Improvement only makes them better!
Still rocking a desktop rig? Why yes, and I always will be. That question confuses me. Are desktops going the way of the dodo? I certainly hope not.
@plyx
Exactly. When I can run triple monitors, the latest Intel multi-core processor, the latest nVidia graphics card, and three+ harddrives off a laptop ... then I'll consider switching.
@plyx You haven't upgraded to an iMac or Mac Mini yet? You been living under a rock or what? =p
Might be useful as a games drive, if you cant cope with an extra few seconds of loading times, or to do encoding/ archival work. Otherwise, just quietly expensive fileserver hardware for now...
320GB? 7200RPM? Is this 2006?
@archpope I feel so nostalgic. Remember when none of the Mexicans showed up to work that Monday?
This would have been really exciting news then.
@archpope
Damn, you beat me to it! Seriously, 320 GB? Does it even have a SATA II connector, or did they decide to go full-nostalgia and put an IDE connector on there? Do you have to go into your BIOS and specify Heads/Cylinders/Sectors, or does it support autodetection?
@Locust
sata 3
read the press release
@samisax
That, my friend, is what we refer to as a "joke." See, because 320GB is a very small amount nowadays for a hard drive, I made a reference to older technologies, because 320GB in a hard drive is something we would expect from the time when SATA was still brand new. Understand now?
@Locust
i'm not your friend
First off, the Samsung F3 is one of the fastest and most energy efficient drives on the market right now, so if this improves on that it will probably be the best drive you can buy, at least in this class.
But with a 320GB platter, the density is probably lower than the 500GB F3 and so you won't get the full performance advantage until they come out with the 500/1TB/1.5TB/2TB varieties.
@DrDr
I dunno about energy efficient on Desktop HDD. People would rather had higher performance with higher GB capacity drive than to save a few dollars over electric bills. The price will make this kind of efficient drive less efficient.
make this 10 bucks and we're talking. :P
Seagate Momentus XT is a bit better. Plus, it's a laptop drive but only faster.
Considering that it's 320 GB with only one head, it means they are only using one side of a 640 GB platter. It's probably to cut costs and increase the profit margin. If they really wanted to, they could make a 2.4 TB drive with those platters, but they probably won't, considering the rest of the industry isn't ready yet.
Actually, this could actually fit my use case in my HTPC. Recorded TV goes to a separate 1.5 TB drive and any thing I plan to keep long term stays on a server. So the boot drive just needs to be big enough for windows and cheap.
So if the price was right ($60?), I would consider it.
320GB is fine for a lot of things.
A 3.5" 320 GB drive is news? Did I suddenly wake up in 2007?
@Khav
Why do you understand. This is the first hard drive that has 320GB per half-plater. The samsung can create an 640 GB single plater and 2.4TB 4 plater design. This hard drive is good o use in raid setups. Because its faster and haver shorter access time compared to other 320GB hard drives.
I have 2xF3 500 GB single plater in RAID 0.
@theoutsider I hadn't read the press release or any other comments, just the Engadget article that gave the impression of an "up to 320 GB" 7200 RPM drive.