# Spinpoint F3 vs F3R



## fstreed

I am in the market for a new HDD for a build I am ready to start. I had planned on getting a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

This drive has a good reputation, is fast, and is more than big enough for my needs. Problem is, reading the reviews it seems as though the quality has slipped lately. A lot of people seem to be having problems with it, either DOA or the drive dies in a month or two. Perhaps they shipped a bad batch. 

Anyway, I was looking around to see what else might be available. I see that Newegg is listing this hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152238

It seems to be basically the same drive, spec wise anyway. Except it is $30 more. Is it an updated version of the F3 or is there something different about it? Anyone know anything about it?


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## spynoodle

That is strange..... I actually just bought the non-F3r HD103SJ an will probably put it in today, so hopefully I'll remember to post back.


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## bomberboysk

Quality hasn't slipped, it just goes back to the idea of sample size. For starters, most people only like to review products if they have a bad experience. However, you also have to remember that the HD103SJ is one of the most popular drives on the market right now, and you are going to see a larger number of failures on more popular drives (percentage wise, it would more than likely be the same as other similar 1TB drives).

The F3R is the enterprise level raid edition of the drive, and as such it comes with a 5 year warranty.


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## fstreed

bomberboysk said:


> Quality hasn't slipped, it just goes back to the idea of sample size. For starters, most people only like to review products if they have a bad experience. However, you also have to remember that the HD103SJ is one of the most popular drives on the market right now, and you are going to see a larger number of failures on more popular drives (percentage wise, it would more than likely be the same as other similar 1TB drives).
> 
> The F3R is the enterprise level raid edition of the drive, and as such it comes with a 5 year warranty.



Perhaps. I hadn't thought of that. This drive has been getting rave reviews and lots of recommendations for awhile now so maybe a larger number than usual of idiots are buying it. I am convinced that most of the bad reviews on sites like Newegg are from people who screwed up and then blame the product. But I also know bad batches do happen. You pays your money and you takes yer chances. Luck of the draw sometimes.

Do you think the F3R is any better than the F3? Are they built better or something? Or tested to a higher standard? I don't think it would be worth $30 just for a longer warranty. My experience is that if a HDD lasts a year or two it will probably last for several more years. They seem to fail in the first few months if there is a problem. I'll probably either just order a Samsung F3 or try to find something locally. That takes the UPS goons out of the equation at least.


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## bomberboysk

fstreed said:


> Perhaps. I hadn't thought of that. This drive has been getting rave reviews and lots of recommendations for awhile now so maybe a larger number than usual of idiots are buying it. I am convinced that most of the bad reviews on sites like Newegg are from people who screwed up and then blame the product. But I also know bad batches do happen. You pays your money and you takes yer chances. Luck of the draw sometimes.
> 
> Do you think the F3R is any better than the F3? Are they built better or something? Or tested to a higher standard? I don't think it would be worth $30 just for a longer warranty. My experience is that if a HDD lasts a year or two it will probably last for several more years. They seem to fail in the first few months if there is a problem. I'll probably either just order a Samsung F3 or try to find something locally. That takes the UPS goons out of the equation at least.



Not sure as to the particular nature of the F3R, but generally the enterprise raid level drives are built with higher end components, or they are cherry picked drives. They also generally have a special firmware on them. Both the F3 and F3R are rated to an MTBF of 1.2 million hours.


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## StrangleHold

Dont really think there is a difference in them except, other then like you said firmware. Slap a 5 year warranty on them and call them a enterprise drive.


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## spynoodle

Just got the F3 HD103SJ in and cloned over. WAY faster than my old IDE 120gb WD. No problems as of yet. Here's an HD Tune bench that I did earlier:




Pretty sweet, eh?  I can't recommend anything on reliability yet, but it _seems_ to not be DOA. 

P.S. Newegg bubble wrap is fun to play with.


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## bomberboysk

spynoodle said:


> Just got the F3 HD103SJ in and cloned over. WAY faster than my old IDE 120gb WD. No problems as of yet. Here's an HD Tune bench that I did earlier:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pretty sweet, eh?  I can't recommend anything on reliability yet, but it _seems_ to not be DOA.
> 
> *P.S. Newegg bubble wrap is fun to play with. *



Thats the main reason i tend not to buy hdd's from newegg, throw them in some bubble wrap and call them packaged. eWiz, ZZF, and Tiger(and all their other names) all package their drives a heck of alot better.


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## spynoodle

bomberboysk said:


> Thats the main reason i tend not to buy hdd's from newegg, throw them in some bubble wrap and call them packaged. eWiz, ZZF, and Tiger(and all their other names) all package their drives a heck of alot better.


I think they've gotten better, though. It was in an antistatic bag, bubble wrap, and a whole lot of crumpled paper. It seemed to fare pretty well. We'll see how time takes its tole though.


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## fstreed

spynoodle said:


> I think they've gotten better, though. It was in an antistatic bag, bubble wrap, and a whole lot of crumpled paper. It seemed to fare pretty well. We'll see how time takes its tole though.



The last one I got, few months back, was packed OK. It was wrapped in bubblewrap and taped, then that was packed inside a layer of the rectangular air bags. It is still working and seems fine. 

The abuse packages get in shipment is a good argument for buying a HDD locally, even if it costs a little more. Staples and Office Depot are actually price-competitive. They don't carry Samsung though. I bought a 1TB Seagate for storage and backup last summer from Staples and I think I paid something like $80 for it. I don't want a Seagate for my main drive though, I'd prefer Samsung or WD.

I'm thinking that this drive will get turned into a storage drive in a year or so once SSDs come down in price a little more and about the time whatever distro Suse follows 11.4 with comes out.


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## fstreed

Just received a Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ from Newegg. It was part of a combo package with a Corsair 650W power supply. They came in the same box, a big cardboard box with the boxed PS and the HDD in it's thin plastic thingie stuck in a cardboard wrap. The big box was approximately half full of peanut packaging and it was all rattling around and loose. A power supply is kind of heavy to be banging into a hard drive every time some UPS worker tosses the box. 

Worst job of packaging I've ever seen from the Egg. They need to find the idiot responsible and fire his useless a$$. No excuse for this kind of stuff, it's just asking for a RMA.

I'll plug the HDD in when I get time and test it. I hope it is OK.

Now it is just a matter of getting the rest of my build together. Ordered a SATA DVD burner and this memory 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095 
More to follow over the next couple of weeks whenever I can kind of sneak it past the executive branch of the fstreed household.


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