dtw@f.gp.cs.cmu.edu.UUCP (02/17/87)
The latest issue of The Macintosh Journal contains reviews of 13 SCSI hard disk drives for the Macintosh. Anyone considering purchasing a drive should read this issue. Considering how popular the DataFrame 20 has been, I paid special attention to how it compared with the much less expensive Jasmine Direct Drive 20. According to The Macintosh Journal the DataFrame and the Jasmine perform about the same speedwise. They did several different kinds of tests and came up with a "normalized, general-purpose speed rating". On a scale from 0 to 20 the top performers were: HardMac+ 18.03 DataFrame 20 17.23 Jasmine 16.56 DataFrame XP 16.04 Apple HD 20 SC 15.40 Notice that the older, cheaper, and faster DataFrame 20 did notably better than the newer, more expensive, DataFrame XP! The Jasmine is only a few percent slower than the DataFrame 20. The main disadvantage of the Jasmine, relative to the DataFrame, seems to be that it is noisier. The DataFrame is described as "relatively quiet" while the Jasmine is described as "rather noisy". TMJ measured peak noise levels in decibels one inch from the surfaces of each of the drives. Roughly, here are the measurements for some of the drives they tested: Ehman < 60 (didn't do well speedwise) Peripheral Land < 60 (didn't do well speedwise) Internal Floppy 60 DataFrame 60-65 Jasmine 68 HardMac+ 65-70 Apple HD 20 SC 70 Prices vary considerably, but here is what TMJ paid for some of the drives: Jasmine Direct Drive 20 $ 589 HardMac+ 20 $ 995 DataFrame 20 $1099 DataFrame XP $1299 Apple HD 20 SC $1299 Hard drives that they DO NOT recommend, for various reasons, include: Ehman Engineering Ehman HD-20 Rabbit Industries Magic 20 Mirror Technologies Magnet 20X Relax Technology MacMate 20 Although The Macintosh Journal has had a shaky publication history, they have, thus far, published the most thoughtful reviews of any of the Mac publications I've seen.
wbell@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Warren Bell) (02/19/87)
Distribution:na
Did they mention the Hyperdrive FX/20 at all?
Also, what was/were the method(s) of the speed test(s), and how do they
come up with this "normalized, general-purpose speed rating" ?
--
----
University of Toronto Computing Services Warren Bell
UUCP: {cbosgd,ihnp4,utai,utcsri,utzoo}!utgpu!wbell
New Internet syntax: wbell@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu
BITNET: wbell at utoronto, wbell at utorgpu
"Eh? Doctor *WHO*?? What are you talking about..?"
-Doctor Who (William Hartnell), "An Unearthly Child" (episode 1, 1963)julian@riacs.UUCP (02/20/87)
In article <38@f.gp.cs.cmu.edu> dtw@f.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Duane Williams) writes: > ... > Prices vary considerably, but here is what TMJ paid for some of the > drives: > Jasmine Direct Drive 20 $ 589 > HardMac+ 20 $ 995 > DataFrame 20 $1099 > DataFrame XP $1299 > Apple HD 20 SC $1299 > ... > Although The Macintosh Journal has had a shaky publication history, they > have, thus far, published the most thoughtful reviews of any of the Mac > publications I've seen. They got taken on the DataFrames, though. The going price (i.e. at ComputerWare) for a DF20 is $840 and for a DF20XP is $930. ComputerWare has had these prices since at least October. -- Scientists will study your brain to learn more about your distant cousin, Man. Julian "a tribble took it" Gomez julian@riacs.edu *** {...decvax!}ames!riacs!julian