Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1924
Price Guide, January 2006: Storage
by Haider Farhan on January 17, 2006 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
We'd like to welcome you to our latest edition of our storage price guide. Don't forget to check out our handy-dandy RTPE, http://labs.anandtech.com, for up-to-the-minute hardware prices. Our RTPE's database has been rapidly growing on a daily basis, bringing you more information on any of your hardware needs.
Sometimes, the best deals can be had with mail-in rebates, and if you don't mind dealing with them, there are many PATA drives with MIR's. There are also a couple 1.5Gbps drives that are quite decently priced as well.
Although not the lowest prices, there are many outstanding DVDR's at great prices. We would also like to mention that the SAS drives have finally come down in price and are now on at the same level as the Ultra320 drives.
Here we go, starting off with the 3.0Gbps SATA drives.
SATA - 3.0Gbps
We're seeing quite a few of the SATA 3.0Gbps drives have had some significant price reductions over the course of the past few weeks. We feel the Western Digital 3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 [RTPE: WD2500KS] appears to offer the best value. It's on sale for about $110, making that $0.44 per GB. There are a few other drives going for nearly the same price per GB like the Samsung 3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 8MB SpinPoint P [RTPE: SP2504C] going for $112. Do note that this Samsung SpinPoint P drive has an 8MB cache rather than 16MB like the Western Digital drive above.
We would also like to point out that the 250GB, 300GB and the 400GB Seagate 7200.9 drives have decreased approximately $50 since our last analysis. Our RTPE is picking up on two 500GB drives, one from Hitachi and another from Seagate. The Hitachi 3.0Gbps 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar 7K500 [RTPE: HDS725050KLA360] is going for $363 while the Seagate 3.0Gbps 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.9 [RTPE: ST3500641AS] is on sale for $342.
SATA - 1.5Gbps
There are quite a few deals out there this week with the 1.5Gbps drives, but a couple we would like to point out are the Maxtor 1.5Gbps 300GB 7200RPM 16MB MaXLine III [RTPE: 7L300S0] and the Maxtor 1.5Gbps 300GB 7200RPM 16MB DiamondMax 10 [RTPE: 6L300S0]. The MaXLine III is on sale for $125, making that $0.42 per GB while the DiamondMax 10 is going for $119 shipped, making that $0.40 per GB.
We're picking up on the brand new Western Digital 1.5Gbps 150GB 10000RPM 16MB Raptor X [RTPE: WD1500AHFD] that was featured at this years CES. This drive is exactly the same as the 150GB Raptor out now [RTPE: WD1500ADFD] (which, by the way, is on sale for $289 shipped), but the only difference is that the Raptor X has a small window which allows you to see the inner workings in action. We're expecting this drive to roll in within the next week or two and to list for approximately $350.
If you're in the mood to deal with mail-in rebates, the Western Digital 1.5Gbps 74GB 10000RPM 8MB Raptor [RTPE: WD740GD] is going for $140 shipped after a $20 mail-in rebate. Also, the Maxtor 1.5Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 8MB MaXLine Plus II [RTPE: 7Y250M0] is on sale for about $89 after a $40 mail-in rebate.
PATA
We've noticed the Maxtor ATA100 300GB 7200RPM 16MB DiamondMax 10 [RTPE: 6L300R0] is going for approximately $125 shipped, making that $0.41 per GB. Another decent deal is the Western Digital ATA100 320GB 7200RPM 8MB Caviar SE [RTPE: WD3200JB] that is also on sale for about $125 shipped, making that $0.39 per GB.
TigerDirect seems to have a few drives on sale with rebates. We'd be glad to list them for you here: the Maxtor ATA100 250GB 7200RPM 8MB MaXLine Plus II [RTPE: 7Y250P0] going for about $89 after a $40 MIR (that's $0.47 per GB), the Maxtor ATA100 160GB 7200RPM 8MB DiamondMax 10 [RTPE: 6B160P0] on sale for $59 after a $40 MIR (that's $0.54 per GB), the Seagate ATA100 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Barracuda 7200.8 [RTPE: ST3400832A-RK] priced at $209 after a $40 MIR (that's $0.56 per GB), and the Maxtor ATA100 160GB 7200RPM 8MB DiamondMax 10 [RTPE: 6L160P0] also at $59 after a $40 MIR (that's $0.49 per GB).
We would like to remind you that the rebates for the Maxtor drives expire January 31st, 2006, while the rebate for the Seagate drive expires January 28th, 2006.
SCSI
Quite a few of the SCSI Ultra320 drives have seen a price hike ranging from about $15 to $200. The one drive with a significant decrease is the Hitachi Ultra320 147GB 10000RPM 8MB Ultrastar 10K300 [RTPE: HUS103014FL3800] down about $112, bringing its price to $333 shipped.
The most reasonably priced 15,000 RPM drive we're seeing is the Maxtor Ultra320 73GB 15000RPM 8MB Atlas 15K 68-pin [RTPE: 8C073L0] on sale for an even $320 shipped ($4.38 per GB).
The SAS drives have been slowly decreasing in price, and are now roughly the same price of the Ultra320 drives.
The best value, cost per GB-wise, is the Maxtor SAS 73.5GB 10000RPM 16MB Atlas 10K V SAS [RTPE: 8D073S0] which is going for $216 ($2.93 per GB). Also, the Maxtor SAS 147GB 10000RPM 16MB Atlas 10K V SAS [RTPE: 8D147S0] is going for $2.95 per GB, that's $434 shipped.
DVDR
There are a couple Plextor drives with rebates over at Newegg. There is the Plextor 16X PX-740A [RTPE: PX-740A/SW] is on sale for $67 shipped after a $20 MIR and the slot loading Plextor 16X PX-716AL [RTPE: PX-716AL] which is at $96 shipped after a $50 MIR.
Narrowing it down to only a couple drive recommendations is somewhat difficult since there are many exceptional drives. But the Pioneer 16X DVR-110D [RTPE: DVR-110] is one of our favorites, which is on sale for $45. The NEC 16X ND-3540A [RTPE: ND-3540A] is also a great choice, going for $48 shipped.
This concludes this week's storage price guide. Stick around next week when we take a look at the latest trend in CPU pricing. Thanks for reading!