*HOT* Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM Hard Drive for $50 at Staples.com!

[TheWizard]

Got this deal from Fatwallet.com:

http://www.staples.com/catalog/search/S ... rds=471535

Original price = $99.94

Add something cheap like a Sharpie marker ( http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/S ... U=SAN30007 ) to bring the price above $100 then use this coupon code to receive $30 off $100: 61884.

Total online price = $70

Minus $20 mail-in rebate = $50

NOTE: I, and others, had a very hard time adding the hard drive to the shopping cart. It requires you to sign up for an account (unless you already have one) and click the "Add" button many many times, so be prepared! You can order this over the phone by calling 1-800-3STAPLE, but I don't know if the rebate will qualify because it says explicitly for Staples.com only. Even without the rebate, $70 is a GREAT price for an 80GB 7200RPM hard drive!

[BuddhaTB]

Seems like retail stores are clearing their IDE Hard Drives to make room for Serial ATA hard drives that are expected to hit stores at the end of the year. Can't beat this deal or the Western Digital 80GB SE Hard Drive on sale this week at Compusa.

[sonyman]

I find it quite amusing that manufacturers are promoting Serial ATA while Serial ATA II sounds more promising and should be put on new drives instead. Serial ATA is going to end up just like BetaMax.

-Scott

[BuddhaTB]

What's the difference between Serial ATA and Serial ATA II?

[sonyman]

Here you go: http://www.serialata.org/collateral/zipdownloads/S2P1_100%20Gold.ZIP

-Scott

[jaymz668]

Here you go: http://www.serialata.org/collateral/zipdownloads/S2P1_100%20Gold.ZIP

-Scott

Anywhere have a concise list of differences in HTML, in a short list or something, as opposed to a huge PDF?

[cfitz]

Anywhere have a concise list of differences in HTML, in a short list or something, as opposed to a huge PDF?

According to the Seiral ATA Working Group site's front page ( http://www.serialata.org/ ), Serial ATA 1 is geared towards desktop applications and Serial ATA II is geared towards enhancements for servers and networked storage. They also have a useful FAQ section:

http://www.serialata.org/about/index.shtml

cfitz

[Kennyshin]

Serial ATA II is geared for BOTH desktop and (low-end) servers.

[aviationwiz]

This HDD is $140 original price.

[TheWizard]

Apparently they have pulled the link from Staples.com, my guess is because they really have no stock yet. All hope is not lost, though, the rebate is good until December 28, so they may get more stock in between now and then.

[cfitz]

As near as I can tell, it was the L01J080G (with 2MB cache) that could be had for $99.98 less the $20 rebate. That drive (SKU 471535) is now not listed on staples.com. It has been replaced with SKU 499949 - the L01P080 Ultra series with 8MB cache (claimed to be 20% faster). This new drive is the one that lists for $139.98. I don't think the $20 rebate applies to this new drive - the part number isn't on the rebate form.

cfitz

[BuddhaTB]

When did Maxtor start coming out with Hard Drives that have the 8MB buffer? I never realized they made hard drives with such a large buffer.

[cfitz]

I didn't either until I saw it on the Staples web-site today. I guess they wanted a product to stand up to the Western-Digital SE drives. Let's hear it for competition!

cfitz

<edit for spelling - yes I know the difference between "here" and "hear">

[BuddhaTB]

Maxtor And Western Digital are the World's top 2 hard drive manufacturers. So no surprise that Maxtor is following what Western Digital did with the 8MB buffer drives. Good competition should equal higher quality drives and cheaper products for the consumer.

On a side note, has Western Digital signed on to manufacture Serial ATA drives like Maxtor and Seagate have done?

[cfitz]

I haven't heard any product announcements yet, but I'm sure they will. They demonstrated a serial ATA drive at COMDEX last year:

http://www.westerndigital.com/company/r ... lease=1346

cfitz