seagate hard disk 4tb externalseagate hard disk 4tb external

I'm off to IDF this week while Ryan
and Brian cover Microsoft's BUILD
conference, so expect lots of CPU
and Windows 8 news in the coming
days. Just before I left however
Seagate sent me a review sample
of its recently announced GoFlex
Desk 4TB drive. Eager to find out if
anything had changed since I
reviewed last year's 3TB model I
dove right into testing.
The GoFlex connector standard
Seagate's GoFlex Desk is a line of
external 3.5" hard drives with
interchangeable GoFlex Desk docks.
Internally all GoFlex Desk drives
have a standard Seagate 3.5" SATA
hard drive; it's the GoFlex Desk
dock that converts SATA into USB
3.0, USB 2.0 or FireWire 800. Since
3.5" drives require more power
than you can get out of a single
USB port, Seagate's GoFlex Desk
requires an external power adapter
that comes with the drive.
Although the SATA power and data
connectors on the GoFlex Desk are
in a standardized location, to date
all implementations of Seagate's
GoFlex spec have been designed
for 2.5" drives. As a result the only
real advantage to this being a
GoFlex drive is that you can swap
out docks to get support for
different interfaces.
By default the GoFlex Desk bundle
comes with a USB 3.0 dock that's
obviously backwards compatible
with USB 2.0 ports. Seagate offers
an optional USB 2.0/FireWire 800
dock, presumably for Mac users
with FireWire 800 ports. The dock
features five LEDs, one for power
and the other four indicate capacity
used in 25% increments.
Seagate sent me the standard 4TB
USB 3.0 bundle; with it you get the
drive, power adapter and a USB 3.0
cable. The drive comes preloaded
with Seagate's Dashboard as well
as Memeo Instant Backup. Seagate
will part with a 4TB GoFlex Desk
bundle for $249.
As I mentioned in our initial post on
the 4TB GoFlex Desk, Seagate uses
a 5-platter 7200RPM 3.5" 6Gbps
SATA Barracuda hard drive inside
the GoFlex Desk. At 4TB that works
out to be 800GB per platter.
The spec for hard drive storage
capacity is done in base 10 where
1TB = 1 trillion bytes. That works
out to be 3725GiB of storage on the
GoFlex Desk 4TB. We've addressed
the issue with hard drives greater
than 2TB in previous articles, the
same discussion applies here.
A Redesigned Chassis
Despite retaining the name, the 4TB
GoFlex Desk introduces a new
external enclosure. It's sleeker and
more angular than last year's, but
more importantly it has better
cooling properties. For now it looks
like you can only get the new
chassis if you buy the 4TB drive,
the smaller capacities still ship with
the old chassis.
Seagate GoFlex Desk 3TB 2010
(left) vs. GoFlex Desk 4TB 2011
(right)
In our review of the 3TB GoFlex
Desk we found that under hours of
continued use the drive got quite
warm: up to 69C. The high
temperatures resulted from two
things: the GoFlex Desk enclosure
had very little ventilation and the
5-platter 7200RPM drive inside put
out a lot of heat. With the move to
4TB Seagate stuck with a 5-platter
7200RPM design, but gave the
enclosure more holes for
ventilation:
Seagate GoFlex Desk 3TB 2010
(left) vs. GoFlex Desk 4TB 2011
(right)
The top and back of the new
GoFlex Desk are vented to bring
down drive temperatures. The old
design had dents that looked like
holes but they were simply to give
the plastic texture, they weren't
functional. Western Digital's My
Book Essential is still better
ventilated but this is definitely a
step in the right direction.
Hooray, vents!
The new chassis definitely keeps
temperatures cooler for longer
under light usage, however if
you're copying a lot of data to the
GoFlex Desk temperatures will
climb. After one hour of sequential
writes over USB 3.0 I measured a
drive temperature of 63C. In just
under 2 hours the drive got up to
67C, a bit lower than last year's
model but still troubling. The good
news is unlike last year's model,
the drive will continue to operate at
full performance in this state. When
testing the 3TB version last year
we found that sequential write
speeds dropped to 50MB/s when
the temperature got into the upper
60s.
Granted that's after copying nearly
1TB of data without pause, so you
shouldn't see these numbers other
than the very first time you copy
all of your data to the drive. During
normal use and even when moving
around a couple hundred GB of
data the 4TB GoFlex Desk kept to
51C and below. I'm happy to see
that Seagate redesigned the
chassis, but I'd still feel more
comfortable with even more
ventilation or at least a cooler
running drive inside.
The internal Barracuda + USB 3.0
dock consume 11.9W at idle and
13.7W under load. The drive whine
is audible when on but it's not
overly loud. If you're using
anything other than a very quiet
notebook you'll likely not be too
bothered by the drive.

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Processor Specifications

Processor Number	Cache	Clock Speed	# of Cores/ # of Threads	Max TDP	Memory Types	Graphics
Intel® Core™ i7-2920XM Processor Extreme Edition (8M Cache, 2.50 GHz)	8.0 MB	2.50 GHz	4 / 8	55	DDR3-1066/1333/1600	Intel® HD Graphics 3000

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processor

Processor Number	Cache	Clock Speed	# of Cores/ # of Threads	Max TDP	Memory Types	Graphics
Intel® Core™ i3-2330E Processor (3M Cache, 2.20 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.20 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Processor (3M Cache, 2.20 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.20 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	No
Intel® Core™ i3-2357M Processor (3M Cache, 1.30 GHz)	3.0 MB	1.30 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i3-2340UE Processor (3M Cache, 1.30 GHz)	3.0 MB	1.30 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i3-2100 Processor (3M Cache, 3.10 GHz)	3.0 MB	3.10 GHz	2 / 4	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i3-2100T Processor (3M Cache, 2.50 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.50 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i3-2120 Processor (3M Cache, 3.30 GHz)	3.0 MB	3.30 GHz	2 / 4	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i3-2310M Processor (3M Cache, 2.10 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.10 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i3-2102 Processor (3M Cache, 3.10 GHz)	3.0 MB	3.10 GHz	2 / 4	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i3-2312M Processor (3M Cache, 2.10 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.10 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Processor Graphics
Intel® Core™ i3-2310E Processor (3M Cache, 2.10 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.10 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i3-2105 Processor (3M Cache, 3.10 GHz)	3.0 MB	3.10 GHz	2 / 4	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000

Intel Core i5 Processor Specifications

Processor Number	Cache	Clock Speed	# of Cores/ # of Threads	Max TDP	Memory Types	Graphics
Intel® Core™ i5-2557M Processor (3M Cache, 1.70 GHz)	3.0 MB	1.70 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2467M Processor (3M Cache, 1.60 GHz)	3.0 MB	1.60 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2540M Processor (3M Cache, 2.60 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.60 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2520M Processor (3M Cache, 2.50 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.50 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2390T Processor (3M Cache, 2.70 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.70 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2510E Processor (3M Cache, 2.50 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.50 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2515E Processor (3M Cache, 2.50 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.50 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor (3M Cache, 2.30 GHz)	3.0 MB	2.30 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2537M Processor (3M Cache, 1.40 GHz)	3.0 MB	1.40 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2300 Processor (6M Cache, 2.80 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.80 GHz	4 / 4	95	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2400 Processor (6M Cache, 3.10 GHz)	6.0 MB	3.10 GHz	4 / 4	95	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2400S Processor (6M Cache, 2.50 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.50 GHz	4 / 4	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2500 Processor (6M Cache, 3.30 GHz)	6.0 MB	3.30 GHz	4 / 4	95	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2500K Processor (6M Cache, 3.30 GHz)	6.0 MB	3.30 GHz	4 / 4	95	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i5-2500S Processor (6M Cache, 2.70 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.70 GHz	4 / 4	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2500T Processor (6M Cache, 2.30 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.30 GHz	4 / 4	45	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2310 Processor (6M Cache, 2.90 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.90 GHz	4 / 4	95	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i5-2405S Processor (6M Cache, 2.50 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.50 GHz	4 / 4	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Specifications

Processor Number	Cache	Clock Speed	# of Cores/ # of Threads	Max TDP	Memory Types	Graphics
Intel® Core™ i7-2677M Processor (4M Cache, 1.80 GHz)	4.0 MB	1.80 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2637M Processor (4M Cache, 1.70 GHz)	4.0 MB	1.70 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2655LE Processor (4M Cache, 2.20 GHz)	4.0 MB	2.20 GHz	2 / 4	25	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2610UE Processor (4M Cache, 1.50 GHz)	4.0 MB	1.50 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2620M Processor (4M Cache, 2.70 GHz)	4.0 MB	2.70 GHz	2 / 4	35	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2629M Processor (4M Cache, 2.10 GHz)	4.0 MB	2.10 GHz	2 / 4	25	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2649M Processor (4M Cache, 2.30 GHz)	4.0 MB	2.30 GHz	2 / 4	25	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2657M Processor (4M Cache, 1.60 GHz)	4.0 MB	1.60 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2617M Processor (4M Cache, 1.50 GHz)	4.0 MB	1.50 GHz	2 / 4	17	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM Processor (6M Cache, 2.20 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.20 GHz	4 / 8	45	DDR3-1066/1333/1600	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2600 Processor (8M Cache, 3.40 GHz)	8.0 MB	3.40 GHz	4 / 8	95	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i7-2600K Processor (8M Cache, 3.40 GHz)	8.0 MB	3.40 GHz	4 / 8	95	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2600S Processor (8M Cache, 2.80 GHz)	8.0 MB	2.80 GHz	4 / 8	65	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM Processor (6M Cache, 2.00 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.00 GHz	4 / 8	45	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM Processor (8M Cache, 2.30 GHz)	8.0 MB	2.30 GHz	4 / 8	45	DDR3-1066/1333/1600	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2635QM Processor (6M Cache, 2.00 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.00 GHz	4 / 8	45	DDR3-1066/1333	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2710QE Processor (6M Cache, 2.10 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.10 GHz	4 / 8	45	DDR3-1066/1333/1600	Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Intel® Core™ i7-2715QE Processor (6M Cache, 2.10 GHz)	6.0 MB	2.10 GHz	4 / 8	45	DDR3-1066/1333/1600	Intel® HD Graphics 3000

AMD Radeon HD 6990 And Nvidia GeForce GTX 590

In March of 2011, both AMD and Nvidia showed us their ultra high-end dual-GPU flagships. The Radeon HD 6990 has a total combined 3072 ALUs, an 830 MHz core clock, and dual-2 GB banks of GDDR5 memory at 5 GT/s. The GeForce GTX 590 features a total 1024 CUDA cores, a 607 MHz core, an independent 1215 MHz shader clock, and two banks of RAM at 3412 MT/s. These cards trade blows, depending on the application and settings, and were released at darn close to the same time. Some folks (like our editor-in-chief Chris Angelini) might argue that the GeForce GTX 590 should win based on the Radeon HD 6990's overly-loud cooling fan (Ed.: Actually, I'd skip both cards, personally), but we'll keep raw performance as the main criteria for this list and call this one a tie. Unfortunately, these cards quickly sold out, and we're seeing dismal availability of both flagships.
At this point, it's up to Nvidia or AMD to change the status quo with their next-generation graphics chipsets, and as always, we're looking forward to report what the future will bring. We hope you enjoyed our trip through graphics card history as much as we did; it stirred up a lot of good memories.
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Best cpu for gaming/games 2011

5-2500k is the best for best bang for your buck by far. You will not see an improvement in performance if you bought the I7-2600k unless you were going to utilize hyper threading. But I would recommend the I5-2500K

Best per budget lowest 1st
Athlon x3
Pentium GXXX series
i3 2100
i5 2500
I can't see anyone disagreeing with this list