ben@tasis.utas.oz (Ben Lian) (07/18/88)
I would be grateful for any reports on the Supermac Dataframe XP60
hard disk drive. It was suggested to me as an alternative to the
Rodime 60 drive, but all I know about the XP60 at this stage is that
it is less expensive and slower. Other than that I would like to
know if the two drives are comparable in reliability and robustness.
(The drive is going to do a lot of travelling between home and uni.)
I don't need to know about dealers, unless you are writing about
Australia. If you had a choice, which drive would you take?
A quick reply from you would be welcome. I am really strapped for
disk space and I want to make a decision as soon as possible.
Thanks in advance,
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Benjamin Y H Lian ACSnet: ben@tasis.utas.oz
Dept. of EE & CS ARPA : ben%tasis.utas.oz@uunet.uu.net
University of Tasmania BITnet: munnari!tasis.utas.oz!ben@
GPO Box 252C uunet.uu.net
Hobart, Tasmania 7001 UUCP : {enea,hplabs,mcvax,uunet,ukc}!
Australia. munnari!tasis.utas.oz!benMark_Peter_Cookson@cup.portal.com (07/22/88)
I have not done a lot of research on drives that were less than 80 meg, but the Rodime drive has a MTBF of 20,000 hours while the SuperMac uses a drive that has a MTBF of 40,000. That should say something... Mark Cookson
ben@tasis.utas.oz (Ben Lian) (07/25/88)
In article <7572@cup.portal.com> Mark_Peter_Cookson@cup.portal.com writes: >I have not done a lot of research on drives that were less than 80 meg, but >the Rodime drive has a MTBF of 20,000 hours while the SuperMac uses a drive >that has a MTBF of 40,000. That should say something... > >Mark Cookson I am told that Rodime is the OEM for Supermac, i.e., they supply Supermac with the raw drives. It seems strange then that Rodime should use a less reliable (whatever that means) mechanism. There have been a rash of power supply failures in Dataframes recently. Again I heard this on the grapevine. True? Even the local dealer has gone cold on Dataframes because of alleged reliability problems. Ben --------------------------------------------------------------------- Benjamin Yin-Hon Lian ACSnet: ben@tasis.utas.oz Dept. of EE & CS ARPA : ben%tasis.utas.oz.au@uunet.uu.net University of Tasmania BITnet: munnari!tasis.utas.oz!ben@ GPO Box 252C uunet.uu.net (I think) Hobart, Tasmania 7001 UUCP : {enea,hplabs,mcvax,seismo,ukc}! Australia. munnari!tasis.utas.oz!ben
Mark_Peter_Cookson@cup.portal.com (07/28/88)
I don't know what controller they use for there smaller drive (I only looked at the large drives, 120+), but on there XP 150 they said that they use the Control Data Wren-3 (along with Jasmine, and NuData). They also use Sputtered thin-film for there media where as CMS and Rodime use Plated thin-film. I have no idea which is better here, but I would be willing to guess that since SuperMac uses a better controller that they also use a better media, but that is only a guess. Mark Cookson
Fabian@cup.portal.com (08/02/88)
Ben, To my knowledge, SuperMac has never used any Rodime mechanism in any DataFrame or XP hard disk. The earlier models, the DataFrame 20s and the XP20s, were a mixture of Lapines, Seagates, and MiniScribes; whereas the XP40s were almost exclusively NEC mechanism. The XP60 uses a RLL certified, Microscience mechanism with an OMTI 3127 controller. With regards to reliability problems that happened in the past, it's been since last August, when the XP30/60 were introduced, and there were problems with the initial controller board...that have since been diagnosed and fixed. SuperMac has never had any problems with the actual drive mechanism. With regards, to some dealers no longer carrying our products. That's true. During that period of time, when SuperMac put a manufacturer's hold on all of its mass storage product, SuperMac did not ship any product for approximately three months. This caused alot of headaches for dealers, end users and for SuperMac...no product to ship, no product to sell, and "where's my order!" But at the end of this period, SuperMac did fix the problem and started to ship product. Those dealers that, because of a personal decision, choose not to carry our products will miss out. SuperMac has since instituted a SuperMac Authorized Dealer program and those that stuck it out..."through thick and thin"...will benefit. But then that's the real world and we all have to life with our decisions. From a personal perspective, I've had a XP60 since 09/30/87 and have never had a problem. Fabian Ramirez SuperMac Technology fabian@cup.portal.com sun!cup.portal.com!fabian