Samsung Spinpoint F1

Samsung offers two lines of desktop hard disk drives - the high-performance Spinpoint F line, and the eco-friendly EcoGreen line.

The main difference between the two lines is the spindle speed. The Spinpoint F drives have a spindle speed of 7200 RPM while the EcoGreen drives run at a more sedate 5400 RPM.

The Samsung Spinpoint F line currently consists of the F1 family of drives which are available in capacities ranging from just 80 GB to 1 TB, and the F3 family which only has two members - a 500 GB model and a 1 TB model.

Today, we will be looking at the top model in the Samsung Spinpoint F1 family - the 1 TB Samsung HD103UJ hard disk drive. It boasts the following features :

• Improved recording stability over temperature with PMR
• Advanced dynamic FOD control for best data integrity
• Intelligent compensation of external disturbance
• SATA Native Command Queuing Feature
• Device Initiated SATA Power Management
• Staggered Spin-up Support
• Environment friendly product with RoHS compliance
• Improved performance with dual-ARM based firmware
• ATA S.M.A.R.T. Compliant
• ATA Automatic Acoustic Management Feature
• ATA 48-bit Address Feature
• ATA Device Configuration Overlay Feature
• NoiseGuard™
• SilentSeek™

Let's take a look at the drive!

Packaging

The Samsung Spinpoint F1 1 TB hard disk drive we obtained for this review was an OEM-packed unit. Like most OEM-packed hard drives, it came in just a sealed anti-static plastic packet with nothing more than a sachet of dessicants to keep it dry.

All you need to do is just cut open the plastic packet and slide out the drive. Be sure to ground yourself before handling the drive as static can damage it. In particular, you should try to avoid touching the exposed PCB located at the base of the drive.

If you need to deliver this hard disk drive by mail, be sure to pack it in a box with proper padding to ensure the drive survives a mail delivery.

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support out work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!