GSBUG Hardware Info SIG June 12, 2003

2 GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Agenda – June 12, :00 – 7:05 Administration 7:05 – 8:15 Featured Topic – Hard Drives and “Floppies”: 2003 Update 8:15 – 8:30 Hardware News 8:30 – 8:55 Random Access (Q&A) 8:55 – 9:00 Recap, Preview, and Close

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Administration Welcome! Please Sign In. What the SIG is…and is not. Is – an information resource for computer users and potential computer users Is NOT – a way to get your computer built or repaired (contact the GSBUG Daytime Hardware SIG) Log – Random Access/Q&A (First Come…)

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Administration (continued): Presentation materials will be posted at: Prior presentation materials are also posted.

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update “Hard disk drive (HDD)” – a readable, writeable, storage device with NON-separable media; the device which stores most computer programs and data. “IDE” – integrated drive electronics “ATA” – advanced technology attachment; ANSI for IDE “SATA”(SATA/150) – serial ATA (vs PATA, parallel ATA – your “normal” IDE/ATA drive type) “SCSI” – small computer system interface

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) “Ultra ATA” – higher speed ATA, incl. Ultra ATA/33, Ultra ATA/66, Ultra ATA/100 and Ultra ATA/133; depending on supplier, may be called UDMA (ultra direct memory access) /xx or /xxx is max (burst) external data rate in MB/sec Primary manufacturers – Hitachi (IBM), Maxtor (Quantum), Seagate, Western Digital Other manufacturers – Fujitsu, Samsung, Toshiba

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Key performance indicators: Spindle speed – higher the better Internal (media) transfer rate (Mb/sec) – higher the better Average seek time (ms) – lower the better Latency (ms) – lower the better Disk cache/buffer size (MB) – larger the better Benchmarking: Ziff Davis’ Disk WinMark (Business and High-End) – most recognized; virtually free

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Current capacity leaders (ATA) Hitachi – Deskstar 180GXP, up to 180GB (up to 8MB cache, 7200 rpm, ATA/100) Maxtor – MaXLine II, up to 300GB (2MB cache, 5400 rpm, ATA/133) Seagate – Barracuda , up to 160GB (up to 8MB cache, 7200 rpm, ATA/100, SATA) Western Digital – WD2500JB, 250GB (8MB cache, 7200 rpm, ATA/100)

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Current performance leaders (ATA) Hitachi – Deskstar 180GXP, 699Mb/sec (up to 180GB, up to 8MB cache, 7200 rpm, ATA/100) Maxtor – DiamondMax Plus 9, highest performance? (up to 200GB, up to 8MB cache, 7200 rpm, ATA/133, SATA) Seagate – Barracuda , 683Mb/sec (up to 160GB up to 8MB cache, 7200 rpm, ATA/100, SATA) Western Digital – Raptor (WD360GD), 816Mb/sec (36.7GB, 8MB cache, rpm, SATA)

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Current capacity leaders (SCSI) Hitachi – DK32EJ, up to 147.8GB (up to 16MB cache, rpm, U320) Maxtor – Atlas 10K IV, up to 147GB (8MB cache, rpm, U320) Seagate – Barracuda 180, 181.6GB (16MB cache, 7200 rpm, U160) Western Digital – N/A

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Current performance leaders (SCSI) Hitachi – Ultrastar 146Z10, max 825Mb/sec (up to 146.8GB, 8MB cache, rpm, U320) Maxtor – Atlas 15K, 860Mb/sec (up to 73GB, 8MB cache, rpm, U320) Seagate – Cheetah 15K.3, 891Mb/sec (up to 73GB, 8MB cache, rpm, U320) Western Digital – N/A

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Price example – best found 6/1 was $110 (after rebate) for a Maxtor 160GB/8MB cache ATA/133 drive (Fry’s/ Outpost.com); “easy” to find larger drives (80GB and above) for $1/GB (after rebate). Availability – check the web, Pomona, ACP, Fry’s Reliability – even the best drives fail! Warranty – MAY be non-existent if not purchased from a reseller that purchased through an “authorized” distributor or the drive was stolen. Check the manufacturer’s web site.

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Tips: Set BIOS (drive ID) to “Auto”. SATA drives may have special BIOS settings to match the controller (HDC). Watch the motherboard connector keying “Short” end of cable towards the drive Drive end of cable – the “red” wire/stripe installs closest to drive’s power connector; red wire of power connector towards the data cable. Ultra ATA/66/100/133 drives require a 40-pin, 80- conductor cable & compatible HDC

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Hard Drives: 2003 Update (continued) Tips (continued): SATA drives use different cables than PATA drives – both data (7-pin) and power (15-pin); data cables “should” be included with the motherboard or HDC; a power cable adapter is typically NOT included (you’ll need a “4-pin Molex to 15- pin serial” power adapter) – plan ahead! Put HDDs on their own channel Use HDD-included or third party “cloning” software to upgrade (e.g., PowerQuest’s Drive Copy or Drive Image, Symantec’s Ghost – as low as $9 + S&H on the web).

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG “Floppies”: 2003 Update “Floppy disk drive (FDD)” – one form of readable, writeable, storage devices with separable media; for our purposes uses a 3.5” “diskette” as the storage medium Key issues: Capacity, performance Ability to read/write standard 1.44MB FD OS compatibility Interface – available, appropriate, cost?

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG “Floppies”: 2003 Update (continued) Standard floppy 1.44MB; 62.5KB/sec transfer (standard internal floppy) Reads/writes 1.44MB diskettes 100% OS compatible (standard internal floppy) Interfaces – standard internal floppy, parallel, PCMCIA, SCSI (external), and USB Less than $10 (standard internal), Web

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG “Floppies”: 2003 Update (continued) ZIP (Iomega) 100, 250, and 750MB models – 1.4, 2.4, and 7.3MB/sec, respectively (internal drives) Will NOT read or write 1.44MB diskettes; the 750 will not write to 100 media <100% OS compatible (DOS and pre-Win 3.x not supported) Interfaces – ATAPI (internal), parallel, SCSI (external), FireWire (IEEE-1394), and USB Less than $30 for 100MB (ATAPI), Web + S&H Value proposition vs CD-RW?

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG “Floppies”: 2003 Update (continued) Gone (at least from the US market): LS-120 (“SuperDrive”) – Imation, Mitsubishi, Panasonic/Matsushita Sony’s “HiFD”

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News Processors AMD released the Athlon XP – 2.2GHz, 400MHz FSB (first), 512K L2 – line extension. Intel released 2.4, 2.6, and 2.8GHz Pentium 4 processors with 800MHz FSB and Hyper-Threading (HT) Technology – line extension.

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News (continued) Core Logic (chipsets) Intel released the 865PE and 865G chipsets – both support 800MHz FSB processors, AGP 8X graphics, and dual-channel DDR400 (PC3200) SDRAM; 865G includes Intel Express Graphics 2 (integrated graphics, 266MHz core, 350MHz DAC, and support for an AGP card slot). Paired with previously released ICH5/ICH5R. Intel released the 865P chipset – same as 865PE except only supports 533MHz FSB processors and DDR333 (PC2700) SDRAM.

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News (continued) Core Logic (chipsets) (continued) NVIDIA released the nForce2 Ultra 400 and 400 Northbridges for AMD Athlon XP processors – adds 400MHz FSB support to nForce2; both support DDR400 (PC3200) SDRAM; Ultra version supports dual-channel DDR400. SiS announced the SiS648FX Northbridge for Intel Pentium 4 processors – supports 800MHz FSB CPUs and single-channel DDR400 (PC3200) SDRAM.

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News (continued) Core Logic (chipsets) (continued) VIA (pre-)announced the KT600 Northbridge for AMD Athlon XP processors – adds support for 400MHz FSB processors; supports up to 4GB RAM in 3 DIMM sockets; only single-channel DDR400 (PC3200) supported. VIA announced that the previously announced UniChrome KM400 Northbridge for AMD Athlon XP processors will include support for 400MHz FSB processors.

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News (continued) System RAM – nothing new Motherboards Intel released the D865PERC, D865PERL and D865GBF ATX form factor boards and the D865PESO and D865GLC micro-ATX form factor boards. Major Taiwanese manufacturers release boards based on the just-released Intel 865PE, 865G, and 865P chipsets and the just-released NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 and 400 chipsets.

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News (continued) Graphics Processors & Cards NVIDIA released the GeForce FX 5900 GPU for high-end desktops – 256-bit /450MHz core, 256-bit/850MHz memory; uses DDR, not DDR-II; supports up to 256MB RAM. Still not fastest? ASUSTeK, Leadtek, MSI, PNY, other partners announce cards. NVIDIA release the Quadro FX 500 GPU for workstations – 128-bit core, presumably 128-bit memory bus. PNY announced card, 128MB, AGP 8X, MSRP $449. Hard Drives Seagate announced 2.5” enterprise drive plans for 2004.

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News (continued) Hard Drive Controllers – nothing new Other Drives Iomega enters market with two DVD writeable drives – a 4X/2.4X DVD+R/+RW and a 4X/2.4X DVD+R/-R/+RW/- RW; 2MB buffer; internal, ATAPI. Plextor announced the PX-504UF external 4X/2.4X DVD+R/+RW drive w/ USB 2.0 and IEEE-1394 interfaces. Samsung released the SM x24x52x16 CD-R/- RW/DVD-ROM combo drive – 8MB buffer, ATAPI, MSRP of $129.

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Hardware News (continued) Sound processors & cards – nothing new Modems & NICs – nothing new Chassis & power supplies – nothing new

June 12, GSBUG Hardware Info SIG Random Access

June 12, GBBUG Hardware Info SIG Recap, Preview, and Close Recap Preview Featured Topic for July 10 – CD, DVD, and Other Non- ”Floppy”, Removable-Media Drives: 2003 Update Close (please police up the area)