Seagate Momentus 7200.2 as good as Hitachi Travelstar (PIC)

[Pascal_TTH]

- Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 200 Go :


- Seagate Momentus 7200.2 200 Go :


Enjoy ! I got my new Momentus 200 Go for 172 € while here in Europe TravelStar 200 Go cost 220 €.

mod edit: Its great to see that you had images <50KB in your post. But in the future, please add a picture warning to the title of your thread.

[erik]

it's interesting that the hitachi drive showed only 0.8% CPU usage where the seagate was 2.7%.   the rest of the numbers are so close that only a computer would notice the difference.

i'll happily stick with my hitachi 7K200 since it doesn't have the infamous "marble drop" noise when the heads get parked.

thanks for the test!

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Test on the same system?

CPU difference is quite big indeed, must be tested on another CPU I think.

The Seagate is indeed lots cheaper in Europe then the Hitachi

[Pascal_TTH]

Not tested on the same machine. I still have found a 7K200 so it's not my own benchmark but one from notebook review. Most important things are access time (less then 15 ms) and average transfer rate (more then 50 MB/s) . Burt is useless and CPU usage can change according to ICH, CPU, ACHI, drivers, some background tasks and so on.

[BeeJayEmm]

I noticed that the two drives were tested with different versions of HD Tune, 2.53 for Hitachi and 2.54 for Seagate. Not exactly apples to apples...

[sugo]

I wouldn't worry too much on that 0.01 version difference:

WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 2.54:
* Added option to change block size
* Improved compatibility with Vista
* Fixed problems with Fahrenheit temperature display

[FNAKFHE]

I wouldn't worry too much on that 0.01 version difference:

WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 2.54:
* Added option to change block size
* Improved compatibility with Vista
* Fixed problems with Fahrenheit temperature display

I have ran both of those drives with that program the later version, and i got diffrent answers.

It would be the same resault for the first 4-7 times after that it changes.

But in my test on the same cpu the hatachi was just a bit faster.

[erik]

But in my test on the same cpu the hatachi was just a bit faster.

hitachi does seem to be faster when testing on the same machine.   i tested the seagate 100GB 7200.1 against the hitachi 100GB 7K100 in my T61p and the hitachi was faster.   even windows vista rated them 4.8 and 5.1 respectively.

[Pascal_TTH]

But in my test on the same cpu the hatachi was just a bit faster.

hitachi does seem to be faster when testing on the same machine.   i tested the seagate 100GB 7200.1 against the hitachi 100GB 7K100 in my T61p and the hitachi was faster.   even windows vista rated them 4.8 and 5.1 respectively.

Vista is very stupid. My Lenovo 3000 N100 have higher Aero score then most Thinkpad : 5.1 !!! This 488 € laptop runs a GMA 950...

7K100 as poor access time about 17 ms. This is what we can get with 5400 rpm drive.

[FNAKFHE]

But in my test on the same cpu the hatachi was just a bit faster.

hitachi does seem to be faster when testing on the same machine.   i tested the seagate 100GB 7200.1 against the hitachi 100GB 7K100 in my T61p and the hitachi was faster.   even windows vista rated them 4.8 and 5.1 respectively.

on my t61p i got harddisk rateing vista of 4.9 and 5.0 respectivly.

2.4ghz 4gb ram vista ultimate, 256 MB nvida 1900x1200 wide 15.4"

[mybellyisempty]

As much as I'd have preferred a Seagate in my T60 to the Hitachi, the fact that Best Buy has the 200gb 7200rpm Hitachi in an external enclosure for $139.99 (listed as 200gb 5400rpm, but the ones with serial numbers starting with DTG are all 7200rpm, it seems)...I guess I'll have to live with saving some $70 or so vs. the Seagate.

[erik]

on my t61p i got harddisk rateing vista of 4.9 and 5.0 respectivly.

2.4ghz 4gb ram vista ultimate, 256 MB nvida 1900x1200 wide 15.4"

try re-running the test.   you should get 5.1 from the hitachi --- we have the exact same hardware.   my 7K200 results in 5.4 so it's still the fastest of them all.

As much as I'd have preferred a Seagate in my T60 to the Hitachi, the fact that Best Buy has the 200gb 7200rpm Hitachi in an external enclosure for $139.99 (listed as 200gb 5400rpm, but the ones with serial numbers starting with DTG are all 7200rpm, it seems)...I guess I'll have to live with saving some $70 or so vs. the Seagate.

logic says that $139 in an enclosure is way too cheap to be 7200.   regardless, i'll be interested to hear what's inside once you buy it.

[FNAKFHE]

Well i dont have a 200GB hard disk like you do.

Mine is only 100 GB, but it should not make much of a difrence. I used to get 5.0 on that drive in my old r60 running vista business.

but now .. i dont know why?

[Pascal_TTH]

Because Windows Vista performance index is crappy...

[Brad]

I thought the seat of the pants feel with the 7K100 to 7K200 upgrade would be more than what it appears to be. I am somewhat disappointed in this upgrade and would say if you don't need the extra space the upgrade is not all its cracked up to be.

Just my .02c.

Brad

[Pascal_TTH]

Don't need all the extra space but fastest drive. When I see how slow is the 7K100 coming with my T60p.

7K100 tested on my T60p before the upgrade to 7200.2 200 Go :


Mutch too long access time : 17 ms is just good for 5400 rpm drives.
39.2 MB/s to 51.6 MB/s is more then 30% transfer rate.

So it's less then 30 seconds to boot now with the Momentus vs more then 40 seconds with the Hitachi. Also, data base access are much more fast now.

And last but not least, Momentus 7200.2 200 GB costs only 164 € and is aviable while 7K200 costs more then 210 € and are not really aviable.

And I nearly forget it : Seagate offers 5 years warranty vs only two for Hitachi.

[Brad]

You make an excellent case.

I don't see the Seagate available here in the US. The only 7200.2 that I see is the 160gb. Is the 200gb any different?

This Seagate drive has an 8gb cache. The Hitachi has 16mb.

The 5 year Seagate warranty is very compelling.

Thanks for your excellent work.

Brad

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

something

Warranty doesn't matter imo. It better never get broken, that's me worth more then 50 euros

[Pascal_TTH]

Momentus 200 GB also have 16 MB cache. But what is very strange is that Seagate did not tell about their new drive. I work in IT and online press and I did not reviece any press release for those drives (also exists with g-sensor like Thinkpad airbag).

It seems they were add to the Momentus 7200.2 familly early in septembre. To tell the true, I know about them beacause I went to the shop of a friend to buy a 720 rpm drive. He tells me I got 200 Go 7200 rpm from Seatage. What ? From Hitachi ? No, Seagate ones ! I buy it...

Here in Belgium, they become more common and are aviable. I have a look in French and German online stores but I don't see those drives. It's the first time we have a new product *before the rest of the world*.

Now here we got Seagate Momentus 7200.2 200 GB, SATA 3Gb, 16 MB, 5 years warranty for 164 € all taxes included (last week, I paid 172 €) ! Two month ago, I paid 165 € for 7200.2 160 Go /w 8MB.

So, no one here who first plan to wait 7K200 will wait any more. Everyone jump on the Seagate 7200.2 200 GB. More then 20% cheaper, 3 years warranty more and same performances level.

[Pascal_TTH]

Don't need all the extra space but fastest drive. When I see how slow is the 7K100 coming with my T60p.

...

And I nearly forget it : Seagate offers 5 years warranty vs only two for Hitachi.

Warranty doesn't matter imo. It better never get broken, that's me worth more then 50 euros

Hitachi and Seagate have both about 1,2% of RMA (average based on one year and more then 100 000 per brand). So buy whatever you want... Spend 50 € for fee ! Any way, don't forget to backup any hardware is issue free.

PS : I don't work for a drive manufacturer ! :p

[Volker]

Both the Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 and Seagate Momentus 7200.2 have the same same data density on the disk (200 go on 2 platters) and the same rotational speed. Of course they offer the same performance.

[mybellyisempty]

As much as I'd have preferred a Seagate in my T60 to the Hitachi, the fact that Best Buy has the 200gb 7200rpm Hitachi in an external enclosure for $139.99 (listed as 200gb 5400rpm, but the ones with serial numbers starting with DTG are all 7200rpm, it seems)...I guess I'll have to live with saving some $70 or so vs. the Seagate.

logic says that $139 in an enclosure is way too cheap to be 7200. regardless, i'll be interested to hear what's inside once you buy it.

Logic would be correct, but it would seem that Hitachi was being generous at the time. I wasn't writing this saying I hope I got one, I wrote it saying I -already- got one. It's already in my T60, and [censored] it's fast.

[GomJabbar]

I have not been the one deleting quotes, but come on guys...

Do we need to see the same image three times in one thread
I think not.

Please use restraint in quoting. When quoting someone, take the time to highlight and delete material that does not need to be duplicated. This especially applies to quoting yourself. It is not often that it is necessary to quote oneself.

You have seen what happens when you get one of the less tolerant mods on your tail. All quotes get deleted. Is this what you want?

You know, you do have the Edit button where you can correct your own posts.

[erik]

Logic would be correct, but it would seem that Hitachi was being generous at the time. I wasn't writing this saying I hope I got one, I wrote it saying I -already- got one. It's already in my T60, and [censored] it's fast.

got a link?   i wouldn't mind having an external 200GB 7200RPM SATA 150 drive for storing photos, especially if it's a hitachi.

btw, the way you worded it above sounded to me like you were in the process of buying it and checking the drive's specs -- not that you already had it.   my apologies for misunderstanding.

[mybellyisempty]

Price is back up to 169, but HardForums has a link and details on what to look for (DTG serial number, it seems)

[erik]

good info, thanks.   the only downside is the 1-year warranty.   now that the price is back up to $169 + tax, the difference between this drive and an OEM 7K200 from newegg is only about $30.

[Pascal_TTH]

I really don't understand why they place 7200 rpm drives in USB 2.0 external enclosure. USB 2.0 maximum transfert rate is 30 MB/s. With so slow data rates, there is realy no need to have 15 ms access time instead of 17 ms...

Whatever, a 7K200 200 GB for 170 $ with the enclosure is quiet a nice price. Down side is only one year warranty.

[thunderdog]

So it appears that the Hitachi HTS722020K9SA00 drive has a SATA I interface (1.5 Gb/sec transfer rate). Interestingly, Hitachi also makes the same drive with a SATA II interface, HTS722020K9A300 (3 Gb/sec transfer rate). Both drives are listed as having the same media max transfer rate of 876 Mbits/sec.

http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib. ... K200DS.pdf

I haven't seen the SATA 3Gb/sec drive for sale here in the US, but it appears it is on its way. If the SATA interface is not a bottleneck, and the published media transfer rates are the same, why should it make a difference?

[Pascal_TTH]

Compatibility. Some older SATA controler (part with is on the laptop) did not handle properly SATA 3 Gb. Hitachi have two rev of his drive. Seagate have a small jump to make it operate in SATA 1.5 Gb or SATA 3 Gb.

I try booth options (with and with out the jump so 1.5 and 3 Gb), there is any difference in any way with my T60p.

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

I really don't understand why they place 7200 rpm drives in USB 2.0 external enclosure. USB 2.0 maximum transfert rate is 30 MB/s. With so slow data rates, there is realy no need to have 15 ms access time instead of 17 ms...

Whatever, a 7K200 200 GB for 170 $ with the enclosure is quiet a nice price. Down side is only one year warranty.

That's easy: That's so you can swap the drive in the enclosure with your current notebookdrive.

Result: (common): 120 GB 5400 RPM in the enclosure, 200 GB 7200 rpm in the notebook.