Date: December 3rd, 2002
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Head Editor & Hardware Reviewer)
Product was donated by: Samsung Canada
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PRODUCT PICTORIALS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION


Not that there is a lot to show you in a hard drive, but just so that you may recognize one in the store or online if you want to purchase this unit...

The overall drive shot.....

Shot of the underside including the onboard processor and cache..

And a shot of the rear (don't laugh) of the unit which contains the appropriate jumpers, power connector and the IDE interface. One thing that I will notify you of is that the jumpers for the master, slave etc.. settings are a little different than most drives. But to aid in the matter, samsung has supplied a guide on the top of the drive to set the drive to your needs. A little bit of a rant here, but I really wish all harddrive manufacturers would print this on the label at all times. Most drives are bought via OEM, and this does not usually include any manuals, so if per-chance a harddrive manufacturer reads this, please make sure that this is included instead of having to search the net for the settings. Ok, rant over....

Just as a note, I took a photo of the actual drive label to show everyone what people like to see. But, hmmm, something is a little different here. Need a closer shot to show you.

Two interesting and definitely positive attributes of this drive is that it incorporates Noise Guard Technology (tm).

Here is what Samsung is telling us about it:

Implementation of NoiseGuard™ Technology: Most HDD noise is generated from mechanical vibrations of the rotating spindle motor and read/write sensor positioner. During the rotation process, the spindle motor's internal ball-bearings generate a considerable amount of noise. During the positioning process, high frequency magneto-electric interactions, head stack vibrations, and actuator also contribute to HDD acoustic noise.
The vibrations are also transmitted to the HDA (Head-Assembly). When HDA resonance frequencies are similar to the excitation frequencies, vibrations are further amplified, worsening overall HDD noise. In reducing HDD noise, controlling or suppressing energy transmission in the HDA structure can be as effective as minimizing the noise sources.
Through acoustic noise intensity distribution analysis, Samsung researchers identified specific noise sources, and set out to fix these problems with NoiseGuard™ technology. After thoroughly analyzing the acoustic noise loss and absorption rate of various materials, the optimal combination of vibration-absorbing materials was selected.
The shape of the HDD cover was also designed to reinforce the overall structure of the most vibration-susceptible areas, further reducing acoustic noise. Samsung's NoiseGuard™ technology incorporates these design improvements and significantly reduces overall acoustic noise levels, especially those that humans are most sensitive to. At Samsung, we strive to provide our customers with products that are as comfortable as they are reliable.
The next illustration illustrates before and after NoiseGuard™ technology noise comparisons. This study shows that HDDs equipped with NoiseGuard™ technology emit significantly lower levels of noise (human-detectable frequencies-1KHz-3KHz.)

And I would have to back this up by saying that this is THE quietest hard drive I have had grace my system since I got into computers professionally in 1995. Not even a peep is detected outside of my case and only minimal noise is emitted while the case is open.

ImpacGuard (tm)

What Does ImpacGuard™ Do?


ImpacGuard™, another Samsung innovation, prevents an HDD disc from vibrating when not assisted by the helping head media, which is parked in the landing zone. SSB™ minimizes the impact of external shocks while ImpacGuard™ strengthens an HDD's internal resistance to shock by reinforcing the disc and minimizing its susceptibility to shock. A really good read on this subject can be found HERE.

Another great part of this drive is yet another technology called SilentSeek™ Technology.

Here is a brief part of what the link above illustrates..

As personal computers are becoming more prevalent in the home and HDDs are being used for audio/video and entertainment applications, acoustic noise emissions are becoming important to consumers. In response to this new requirement, a number of new technologies have been developed to reduce the overall acoustic noise emitted by a HDD. The majority of the new technologies now being implemented are to suppress acoustic noise emission. One example is Samsung's NoiseGuard™ technology (see the Samsung NoiseGuard™ Technology White Paper).


Now onto the benchmarks....