Weekly ads starting 4-9-06

[bill]

Heading off to work ( ) this morning but here's a partial list.


Staples, same as last week;

Sony DVD +or-R, 50 count for $14.94
Sony CD-R (high speed 1-40x), 50 count for $8.94
Sony CD-R Audio, 30 count for $8.94
Sony CD-RW 4x, 25 count for $8.94
Staples slim jewel case, 100 count for $14.94

Maxtor PATA 300gb w/16 cache, $99.94 after $30 easy rebate. The SATA model is available at Outpost this week for $99.99 without rebate. Almost forgot to mention, Outpost will ship for free.


BestBuy;

Verbatim Xx DVD+R DL, 20 count for $39.99 Edit, that would be 2.4x DL
Fuji 8x DVD +or-R, 100 count for $29.99
Verbatim CD-R 52x lightscribe, 30 count for $12.99

DeLorme Earthmate GPS w/Street Atlas 2005 is available for $70 this week.


CompUSA;

Check your local ad to verify in-store pricing.
Memorex 16x DVD +or-R printable, 100 count for $29.99
TDK 52x CD-R, 100 count for $14.99
Memorex 4x DVD+RW, 25 count for $9.99

[Ian]

CompUSA also has a 300GB HDD on sale this week for $99.99 and no rebates. It seems generic though.

http://www.compusa.com/adproducts/produ ... ADPRODUCTS

btw.. I don't think those are 8x DVD+R DL discs at Best Buy. They appear to be rated at only 2.4x.

[Ian]

I had to run some errands so I swung by Best Buy and CompUSA. The DVD+R DL discs at Best Buy are indeed rated at 2.4x.

The 16x DVD writer on sale at CompUSA for $39.99 is a BenQ DW1640.

http://www.compusa.com/adproducts/produ ... ADPRODUCTS

CompUSA also sells LightScribe enabled drives which appear to be both DW1625's and DW1655's. Unfortunately these weren't on sale.

[bill]

Ian, thanks for correcting my Verbatim mistake.

Did you notice any of the 300gig drives at CompUSA? Do you think the manufacturer is Maxtor?

[Ian]

No, I didn't see any of their 300GB drives. Kinda odd since they had all their big sale items out in front. Maybe they were sold out?

[texascbx]

Most of the current Maxtor 300 have 16MB, not 8. Fry's had their Seagate 300 G with 16MB SATA retail for 89.99.

[Ian]

Damn, I wish we had a Fry's around here.

[vinnie97]

No major need since you have Outpost online, which shares the same parent company as Fry's.

[TCAS]

Although Fry's Electronics and Outpost.com are belong to the same Corp, they do have two different price structure and price from one is not necessary being honored by the other one.

[Ian]

I couldn't find the Seagate for $90 but the Maxtor 300GB is only $100:

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4116853

I might have to pick one of those up for my new computer.

[TCAS]

You can pick one up at Staples for the same size and with same price may be even less if you find Staples coupon.



http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/store ... tId=120094

[Ian]

Yeah, but that one is PATA.

[bill]

This deal may expire before you read it on the 19th but my order went through so it may be extended.

At Outpost- Seagate 300 gig sata w/16m cache for $99 plus shipping. Ground shipping cost $8 to the east coast.

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4596297

[dodecahedron]

yup. too late.
but definitely a very good deal !

[bill]

yup. too late.
but definitely a very good deal !

Dodec, you might have checked the link when Outpost was updating the web page that originally listed the deal as expiring on the 18th.. I guess they decided to keep the price at $99 which is why I was able to order the drive early this ( 19th ) morning.

So the good news is - Outpost did extend the sale until the 20th. if anyone is looking for a sata drive. The OEM list for $140 @ NewEgg.

[dodecahedron]

i was thinking about it...maybe too long, now it's not available.

is this an older model?
i can't find it here: http://www.seagate.com/products/details/0,,4,00.html

[bill]

i was thinking about it...maybe too long, now it's not available.

is this an older model?
i can't find it here: http://www.seagate.com/products/details/0,,4,00.html

I don't know why the ST3300631AS ( SATA 1.5 ) isn't listed at the page that you linked. With SATA 3.0 becoming more common youre probably correct that the 631AS is a older, maybe interim model, until Seagate released the SATA 3.0 models.

I did find this link that displays the "631AS" and "831AS" in the same column. After taking a quick look the two drives appear to have the same specs except that the 631AS has the larger 16mb cache. - Link
BTW, had to google for the cache info because it's not listed on the page that I linked.

If you really want a SATA drive keep checking Outpost, they've been having some good hard drive sales recently.

OT
Another BTW just in case it comes up again in the future- the generic 300gb SATA drive that was listed in CompUSA's store ad for last week is made by Samsung.

[dodecahedron]

the model listed on the models page:
ST3300622AS (BTW the only 300GB SATA model)
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/dis ... 19,00.html
this model is "Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s"

the model sold on outpost:
ST3300631AS
this model is "Barracuda 7200.8 SATA NCQ"
no features/specs page for it on Seagate's website !!!
ah...
OK here is the ATA equivalent.
http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/spe ... 0631a.html

i've no idea what the differences between 7200.8 and 7200.9 are.
my twin 80 GB SATA Seagate drives are 7200.7

[dodecahedron]

I don't know why the ST3300631AS ( SATA 1.5 ) isn't listed at the page that you linked. With SATA 3.0 becoming more common youre probably correct that the 631AS is a older, maybe interim model, until Seagate released the SATA 3.0 models.

you're probably right, the page i first gave probably lists only the current models, older models aren't listed (and when you search for them you only have support/specs, no features page! like current models have.

[bill]

i've no idea what the differences between 7200.8 and 7200.9 are.
my twin 80 GB SATA Seagate drives are 7200.7

I sent a e-mail off to Seagate's Tech Support and asked what the 7200.7, 7200.8 etc meant. The brief response was-

"Dear Bill:

This is simply the generation to which this drive belongs to.

Best regards."

Short, sweet and uninformative

[dodecahedron]

Short, sweet and uninformative

i couldn't be bothered to read much on Seagate/s website...

as i recall, my 7200.7 are SATA, regular SATA
apparently 7200.8 are 1.5 GB/s (which i think is faster than ordinary, 1st gen SATA)
and 7200.9 is the 3GB/s

of course there are other differences too...if you look at the page of the newest 7200.10 you see other new features ...

[bill]

i couldn't be bothered to read much on Seagate/s website...

as i recall, my 7200.7 are SATA, regular SATA
apparently 7200.8 are 1.5 GB/s (which i think is faster than ordinary, 1st gen SATA)
and 7200.9 is the 3GB/s

of course there are other differences too...if you look at the page of the newest 7200.10 you see other new features ...

Everything you said makes sense, thanks for the help.

Just to mix things up, Seagate's 7200.10 series will be available as 1.5gbs or 3gbs models.

[dodecahedron]

well, according to the Barracude models page
http://www.seagate.com/products/details/0,,4,00.html
the 7200.10 are all 3GB SATA drives.
however some have an 8MB buffer, some 16MB.

i don't understand why 7200.9 have NCQ and 7200.10 don't.
maybe the 7200.10 are SATA2 (newer spec SATA) and NCQ is built into the spec ?

[bill]

well, according to the Barracude models page
http://www.seagate.com/products/details/0,,4,00.html
the 7200.10 are all 3GB SATA drives.
however some have an 8MB buffer, some 16MB.

i don't understand why 7200.9 have NCQ and 7200.10 don't.
maybe the 7200.10 are SATA2 (newer spec SATA) and NCQ is built into the spec ?

Seagate's web site, for lack of a better word, sucks!

I read the page that you linked but there is another that adds some confusion- PDF link .

Maybe the PDF really means backward ( 3Gbs vs. 1.5Gbs ) compatible, I'm not really sure. The major change appears to be the "Perpendicular Recording" to squeeze more data on the disk.

I found one 7200.10 series drive at NewEgg and the description reads that the drive does have NCQ.. We will probably have to wait and see if Seagate updates their specs for better confirmation.