Content area
Full text
Fujitsu Computer Products of America (800)626-4686
CompuServe: Go Word 'FCPA'
Distibutors: Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Bell Micro
THE M2932SAU and M2334SAU are 2Gbyte and 4-Gbyte models in a new line of drives from Fujitsu that offer a plethora of advanced design features, such as a 7,200-rpm spindle speed, magneto-resistive (MR) heads and Partial Response Maximum Likelihood (PRML) read channel technology. Both drives use Fast and Wide SCSI-2 and haue a 510-Kbyte buffer.
Both the 2- and 4-Gbyte drives are in a 3.5-inch form factor and stand 1.6 inches tall; 2-Gbyte drives are often only inch all, which allows for greater placement flexibility. CRN Test Center engineers noted that both drives ran quite hot--common with 7,200-rpm models--which suggests a problem with the 1.6-inch form factor against tight placement.
In the CRN Test Center's performance tests, the Fujitsu drives performed in the middle of the group. Fujitsu claims an 800,000-hour Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) for these drives.
These Fast and Wide SCSI drives from Fujitsu offer impressive technical specs and good, though not spectacular, performance. The 1.6-inch height of the 2-Gbyte model might present limitations not found in 1-inch models from some other vendors.
HP SureStore 2000A
HP SureStore 2000LP
Hewlett-Packard Co.
Disk Memory Division (800) 826-4111 http://www.hp.com Distributors: Gates/Arrow, Ingram Micro, Mensel, Tech Data
THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE between drives from Hewlett-Packard and those from many of the other companies represented in this comparison is the service, support and compatibility that come with the HP name.
Both of the HP drives tested here--the Enhanced-IDE SureStore 2000A and the SureStore 2000LP, a Fast SCSI-2 drive offering--come with that resume, including things such as cross-shipment for replacement units and good documentation.
Other than the HP organization behind them and the approxiamate 2-Gbyte size, these two offerings from HP are quite different.
The SCSI-2 2000LP incorporates PRML read channel technology, needing five disks to achieve a 2.17-Gbyte capacity, into a midlevel performer. With a 5,400-rpm spindle speed, the drive performed in the middle of the pack in the Business Applications Performance Corp BapCo) test and near the bottom in...