Need a PS3 HDD that uses 512kb Sectors

[Googer]

My PS3 is out of space. What is the largest laptop HDD that does not use the new 4kb ADVANCED FORMAT?

 

[mfenn]

You mean 512B sectors?

The 500GB Hitachi Z5K500 has 512B sectors. Western Digital's site implies that the Scorpio Black uses 512B sectors, but doesn't say it straight out.

 

[Googer]

You mean 512B sectors?

The 500GB Hitachi Z5K500 has 512B sectors. Western Digital's site implies that the Scorpio Black uses 512B sectors, but doesn't say it straight out.

Yes, of course 512b. It's gonna be a long time before we see 512kb.

 

[Googer]

I've been thinking 500GB is going to be the largest available. I read something about Western Digital's 512b emulation mode via a jumper or software. How well does this work?

 

[bryanl]

The Hitachi 2TB 5K3000 and 7K3000 drives use 512B sectors, and all Seagate drives with 4KB physical sectors have transparent alignment for 512B sectors.

WD drives with 4KB sectors have a jumper that aligns only the first partition, but it does nothing for any other partitions on the drive.

 

[mfenn]

The Hitachi 2TB 5K3000 and 7K3000 drives use 512B sectors, and all Seagate drives with 4KB physical sectors have transparent alignment for 512B sectors.

This is for a PS3, so 2.5" drives only. From what I've read about Seagate's 512B emulation, while it allows communication with 512B-speaking devices, it doesn't solve the performance problem of misaligned sectors.

WD drives with 4KB sectors have a jumper that aligns only the first partition, but it does nothing for any other partitions on the drive.

As far as I'm aware, this is a kludge for WinXP wherein logical LBA 1 is mapped to physical LBA 0. Not knowing how the PS3 handles this situation, it's probably best not to enable that feature.

 

[Googer]

I did find this on WD's site. I havent found anything similar for Seagate or Hitachi.
http://support.wdc.com/product/install.asp?wdc_lang=en&fid=wdsfScorpioBlack
http://support.wdc.com/product/install.asp?modelno=WD10JPVT&x=0&y=0


Western Digital Scorpio Black (7200 rpm)
BEKT, BEJKT are 512b drives, are highlighted in red. An X next to the buffer size indicateds 4k advanced format, BPKT are 4k sector formatted.

Specifications	Capacity	Interface	RPM	Avg. Seek	Buffer	Adv.
Format
WD7500BPKT	750 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	x
WD5000BPKT	500 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	x
[COLOR="red"]WD5000BEKT	500 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD3200BEKT	320 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD3200BJKT	320 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD2500BEKT	250 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD2500BJKT	250 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD1600BEKT	160 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD1600BJKT	160 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD1200BEKT	120 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD1200BJKT	120 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD800BEKT	80 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB	 
WD800BJKT	80 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	7200	12 ms	16 MB[/COLOR]

Western Digital Scorpio Blue (5k rpm) An X next to the buffer size indicates advanced format.
BPVT indicates a 5k rpm 4k sector advanced format All others 512b of varied 5k rpm speeds between 5200 and 5400 rpm 512b drives marked in red.

Specifications	Capacity	Interface	RPM	Avg. Seek	Buffer	Adv.
Format	Additional Info
WD10JPVT	1 TB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD10TPVT	1 TB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5200	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD7500BPVT	750 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD7500KPVT	750 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5200	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD6400BPVT	640 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD5000BPVT	500 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD3200BPVT	320 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD2500BPVT	250 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
WD1600BPVT	160 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	N/A	8 MB	x	Jumper Settings
[COLOR="Red"]WD10TEVT	1 TB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5200	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD7500KEVT	750 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5200	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD6400BEVT	640 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD5000BEVT	500 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD4000BEVT	400 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD3200BEVT	320 GB	SATA 3 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD400BEVS	40 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD600BEVS	60 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD800BEVS	80 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD1000BEVS	100 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD1200BEVS	120 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD1600BEVS	160 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD2000BEVS	200 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD2500BEVS	250 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	8 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD400BEAS	40 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD600BEAS	60 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD800BEAS	80 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD1000BEAS	100 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD1200BEAS	120 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD1600BEAS	160 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD2000BEAS	200 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings
WD2500BEAS	250 GB	SATA 1.5 Gb/s	5400	12 ms	2 MB	 	Jumper Settings[/COLOR]

 

[Googer]

I've wondered if it were possible to perform a 512k low level format on a 4k Advanced Format drive?

 

[mfenn]

I did find this on WD's site. I havent found anything similar for Seagate or Hitachi.
http://support.wdc.com/product/install.asp?wdc_lang=en&fid=wdsfScorpioBlack
http://support.wdc.com/product/install.asp?modelno=WD10JPVT&x=0&y=0

Nice table! Any of the non-advanced format drives would be good for you.

I've wondered if it were possible to perform a 512k low level format on a 4k Advanced Format drive?

You mean 512B? No, that is not possible because the drive electronics expect everything to be positioned in 4K increments.

 

[Googer]

Nice table! Any of the non-advanced format drives would be good for you.



You mean 512B? No, that is not possible because the drive electronics expect everything to be positioned in 4K increments.

yes, bytes.

 

[Googer]

As far as I'm aware, this is a kludge for WinXP wherein logical LBA 1 is mapped to physical LBA 0. Not knowing how the PS3 handles this situation, it's probably best not to enable that feature.

From what I have read, PS3 does not handle 4k well. Poor performance and shuddering

 

[mfenn]

From what I have read, PS3 does not handle 4k well. Poor performance and shuddering

I agree. I was referring to the LBA 0 hack that the WD drives use.

 

[Googer]

You mean 512B sectors?

The 500GB Hitachi Z5K500 has 512B sectors. Western Digital's site implies that the Scorpio Black uses 512B sectors, but doesn't say it straight out.

From HGST

Travelstar™ Z5K500 is the second generation 7mm, 5400 RPM 2.5-inch hard drive from Hitachi, with capacities ranging from 250GB to 500GB, and the second generation Advanced Format drive. Advanced Format increases the physical sector size on HDDs from 512 bytes to 4,096 (4K) bytes, which improves drive capacities and error correction capabilities. The 500GB per platter, one-disk models are designed as a direct replacement for standard 9.5mm HDDs, for use in notebook PCs, external storage and gaming consoles, as well as new, thinner and more robust device designs. The Z5K500 carries the EcoTrac classification due to its low-power consumption and eco-friendly, halogen-free production. Travelstar Z5K500 delivers the right balance of capacity, power-management and design flexibility to meet the needs of mobile applications

it does say it straight out.

 

[mfenn]

I was referring to the Western Digital website not the Hitachi one. Also, the Hitachi spec sheet that I linked clearly says that it has 512B sectors.

 

[Googer]

I belive the Hitachi 7K500 is a 512b "standard format" drive.

http://www.hitachigst.com/internal-drives/mobile/travelstar/travelstar-7k500


EDIT:
I suspect all of these drives (and their respective families) are of the same generation and should all be of the 512b format.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/notebook-hdd-750gb,2832-9.html

 

[mfenn]

I belive the Hitachi 7K500 is a 512b "standard format" drive.

http://www.hitachigst.com/internal-drives/mobile/travelstar/travelstar-7k500


EDIT:
I suspect all of these drives (and their respective families) are of the same generation and should all be of the 512b format.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/notebook-hdd-750gb,2832-9.html

I agree. It looks like they go up to 500GB.

 

[Googer]

Compuvest has the WD5000BEKT for $54. Newegg had it in stock, placed it in my cart went to bed and got up in the morning only to find it was discontinued. Seems like they may be getting rid of their existing stocks of legacy drives.


EDIT:
Nearly all the 512b WD drives i looked at last week on newegg which were in stock have been deactivated.

EDIT #2: More 512b drives are deactivated from newegg.

 

[Googer]

I agree. It looks like they go up to 500GB.

Desktop drives are also a possibility if you use a 3rd party PS3 e-sata kit. (ill pass on that idea)

Hard drives for the ps3 must be 9.5mm in Height (Z). 1tb drives are 512b but too thick to fit in the PS3, however one Brit on youtube managed to hack his ps3 with a saw and fit one in. 640 or 750 gigabytes is the largest a ps3 may take if you choose a 5400 rpm drive. But the 750 was almost $100 and that's almost too much to spend on a drive for a PS3. Looking forward I wonder what Sony is going to do in future PS3s, firmware updates for 4kb support? I hope so.

 

[mfenn]

I would imagine so because Sony has to buy these drives somewhere. If 4KB sector drives start to beat the old ones in price, so can justify spending the money to update firmware because it will drive down their costs overall.

 

[Googer]

I would imagine so because Sony has to buy these drives somewhere. If 4KB sector drives start to beat the old ones in price, so can justify spending the money to update firmware because it will drive down their costs overall.

My 60GB PS3 came with a Seagate marked "Oem Use", I have heard other models used Toshiba Hard Drives. Sony may have a contract to custom order X number of drives for OEM purposes which does occur a lot in the computer industry for big names like dell, hp, lenovo, etc.

A few more places, this week have run out of older high capacity 512b drives, something must be up.

 

[vailr]

HDD Low Level Format Tool 4.12

http://www.majorgeeks.com/HDD_Low_Level_Format_Tool_d7110.html

 

[mfenn]

HDD Low Level Format Tool 4.12

http://www.majorgeeks.com/HDD_Low_Level_Format_Tool_d7110.html

Won't do jack if the firmware is expecting to work with 4K sectors.

 

[Googer]

Won't do jack if the firmware is expecting to work with 4K sectors.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[vailr]

Won't do jack if the firmware is expecting to work with 4K sectors.

Are you sure about that?
I recall from several years ago (when IDE drives were the standard) that Partition Magic would allow selecting the sector size from among several sector size options. I'm sure the HD firmware could function with whichever sector size was selected (but confined to certain limits in relation to the partition size) and then formatted (using Partition Magic).
The HD firmware also doesn't "care": whether the drive is formatted as FAT32, NTFS, Mac HFS Plus Journaled, or some other HD format.

 

[mfenn]

Are you sure about that?
I recall from several years ago (when IDE drives were the standard) that Partition Magic would allow selecting the sector size from among several sector size options. I'm sure the HD firmware could function with whichever sector size was selected (but confined to certain limits in relation to the partition size) and then formatted (using Partition Magic).
The HD firmware also doesn't "care": whether the drive is formatted as FAT32, NTFS, Mac HFS Plus Journaled, or some other HD format.

We're talking about the sector size of the drive, not the allocation unit on the filesystem.