Hard Drives, Yesterday And Today: From 500 GB To 1.5 TB

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2009: 1500 GB Spinpoint F2 EcoGreen (HD154UI)

Finally, we looked at the latest Samsung Spinpoint F2 EcoGreen drive, the HD154UI. In this case, the green product is the first 1,500 GB hard drive in Samsung’s product portfolio; the Spinpoint F2 at 7,200 RPM will follow soon, but the order of market introduction makes very obvious where the focus seems to be. While the F2 EcoGreen aims at further increasing performance and power efficiency, it mainly introduces higher capacities. The smallest capacity point is 500 GB, and there is only the 1,000 GB model in between this one and our 1,500 GB test sample. However, 16 and 32 MB cache versions are available for 1,000 and 1,500 GB capacity, while the 500 GB F2 EG only has 16 MB cache.

The F2 EcoGreen is slightly heavier than the F1 (650 vs. 640 g), but it maintains the same mechanical specifications (70 g operating shock resistance) and similar power consumption levels. As you will see in the power consumption results, it is specified to require even a bit more power than the Spinpoint F1 EcoGreen. Still, the difference is tiny, and the capacity advantage will still turn the F2 EcoGreen into the favorable drive from a capacity per watt standpoint. Remember that these drives are not intended to deliver maximum performance, although they do well compared to the 2007 Spinpoint T166.