Seagate 1.5TB's anyone buying anymore?

[AbRASiON]

Hi all,

So I know there's a lot of discussion on these from people who already purchased one but does anyone have the balls to actually buy one at the moment?
I need some more space, the 2TB WD's are way overpriced unfortunately and the Seagates are only 130$ at Newegg,... however I'm a bit worried about the firmware (understandably)

What's the deal is the latest shipping firmware all fine and dandy or what?
Also is there any known physical issues with it, or is it purely a firmware thing?

[grantmeaname]

IIRC (and I may not) the firmware was the only thing wrong with it, but the updated firmware didn't fully fix the problem.

[Madman]

I am thinking about this HDD as well. The Seagate drives have been quite good before, and since WD Raptors are prone to develop bad clusters I still believe in Seagate more than in WD. But the firmware issue is kind of scaring me from a purchase.

Maybe I could go with an ES series?

[l33t-g4m3r]

I own the drive, and have no issues.
The smaller drives had a different problem.
The firmware does fix the problem, which isn't a big one, and new drives hopefully already have it installed.

A firmware issue has been identified that affects a small number of
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 hard drive models which may result in data
becoming inaccessible after a power-off/on operation. The affected
products are Barracuda 7200.11, Barracuda ES.2 SATA, and DiamondMax 22.
Based on the low risk as determined by an analysis of actual field return
data, Seagate believes that the affected drives can be used as is.
However, as part of our commitment to customer satisfaction, Seagate is
offering a free firmware upgrade.

[Madman]

But what is the difference between ES and regular Cudas? The price difference is very small. Is there any point in choosing Cuda over ES?

[morphine]

I own the drive, and have no issues.
The smaller drives had a different problem.
The firmware does fix the problem, which isn't a big one, and new drives hopefully already have it installed.

Correct. Last time I checked, Seagate had (finally) solved the outstanding issues with those drives.

[just brew it!]

But what is the difference between ES and regular Cudas? The price difference is very small. Is there any point in choosing Cuda over ES?

The ES is supposed to be more reliable, and still comes with a 5 year warranty (Seagate is in the process of shifting back to a 3 year warranty for the standard Barracuda line).

[l33t-g4m3r]

I believe my drive came with the 5yr warranty, since I bought it before they switched.
Not 100% sure though.

[grantmeaname]

But what is the difference between ES and regular Cudas? The price difference is very small. Is there any point in choosing Cuda over ES?

The ES is supposed to be more reliable, and still comes with a 5 year warranty (Seagate is in the process of shifting back to a 3 year warranty for the standard Barracuda line).

I believe the MTBF is also rated higher, and the parts may be more thoroughly tested like Intel's Xeons and Western Digital's Raid Editions.

[AbRASiON]

I checked the newegg comments and some people are claiming a 20% failure rate anyhow, the drives are arriving DOA :/

I dunno what to do, I need like 5 of them.

[Forge]

I just bought one a week or two ago. CC1H and thus never was affected.

With the scare going on and clueless users anti-hyping it, the price has made it quite attractive.

[AbRASiON]

Hmmm worth considering getting 5 I spose, should do me for another year or two.
Anyone know how many platters it has?

[Farting Bob]

Hmmm worth considering getting 5 I spose, should do me for another year or two.
Anyone know how many platters it has?

4x 375GB platters.

[AbRASiON]

Hurrmmmm, I kind of have a personal rule to avoid 4 platter drives, I like to stick to 3 or less.

[Flying Fox]

WD Raptors are prone to develop bad clusters

Linkage?

[johngoodie]

WD Raptors are prone to develop bad clusters

Linkage?

i think this was not proved, just bad rumours

[AbRASiON]

They are currently 119$ on newegg with a coupon code, that's 180$ AUD, which is spectacular :/
I really don't want to give seagate my cash right now, I'd much prefer a WD but 1.5TB, I can't afford their insanely expensive 2TB :/

Anyone know when the 1.5TB WD's are entering circulation?

[grantmeaname]

I thought that on the podcast Scott said 2nd quarter the 500GB platters are going to trickle down to other capacities.

[Forge]

I got two more Seag 1.5s delivered from Newegg last night. Both firmware CC1G, non-issue. Dropped them into my Windows Home Server box and it's very happy with them.

[AbRASiON]

I thought that on the podcast Scott said 2nd quarter the 500GB platters are going to trickle down to other capacities.

Yeah but my pal in Boston is leaving for Melbourne in 2 or 3 weeks I think, so I need to snap up a drive now.

[AbRASiON]

I got two more Seag 1.5s delivered from Newegg last night. Both firmware CC1G, non-issue. Dropped them into my Windows Home Server box and it's very happy with them.

I appreciate a positive response, I hope that's indicative of how they are for everyone.
Shame I missed the 119$ deal on Newegg, 129$ now - only 30$ US behind the WD with 500gb platters.

[bthylafh]

I've got a Seagate 1.5 as well, I think a CC1E firmware, and no problems with it aside from what appears to have been a GRUB bug. Good value at $110 & free shipping.

[potatochobit]

Sadly, in my latest build I opted to go for 1GB WD cavier black even though I love seagate so much.
so its now the OS drive with partitions sitting next to a couple of 7200.10's
harddrive headaches can be painful, so I hope to support seagate in the future when they straighten everything out
but i did also get a 500GB Go drive

[Airmantharp]

Sadly, in my latest build I opted to go for 1GB WD cavier black even though I love seagate so much.
so its now the OS drive with partitions sitting next to a couple of 7200.10's
harddrive headaches can be painful, so I hope to support seagate in the future when they straighten everything out
but i did also get a 500GB Go drive

That's exactly what I wound up doing- and the 1.5TB was cheaper than the Black at the time. Reliability counts kids, and Seagate threw our faith in them over a cliff. The Black is also faster than the Seagate even with the Seagate's denser platters, so I don't feel bad about that considering that the hard drive is the slowest part of the system, but I could also have used the space. Maybe when WD and Seagate get serious about competing at 2TB I'll grab a green or something for extra storage, to sit along side my Black and pair of 7200.10's.

[AbRASiON]

Well I've spoken with some people and I think unless a cheap WD deal comes out by Monday, I'll pick up 4 of these from Newegg on Monday.
I'd love another 119$ US deal to come out instead of 129$ US deal but I doubt it.

Anyone got any good links to firmware upgrade information, I want to be damned sure the ones I get are 'good ones'

[Airmantharp]

I just paid $90 shipped for a 1TB Green off of the Egg, but I already have my Black for a boot drive.

[AbRASiON]

I have just found an exceptional deal for the Seagates which I'm getting my US contact to investigate (I'm in Australia)
Hope he can snap 4 up for me at the awesome price I found.

Will update thread when I know he's got mine (he can be slow to respond)

[AbRASiON]

By the way,

Any recommendations on the best place to go for full information on the firmware debacle? I'd like to be sure I deploy good ones before I even copy any data to them.

[blitzy]

FWIW I've got one of these 1.5TB drives and had no probs

[joseph_wh]

Just ordered one in the morning. Should have early next week. Hopefully it will run without problems.