All posts by Elizabeth

Seagate Constellation ES.2 HDD Review

Hard Drive Reviews, Uncategorized

<![CDATA[hard drive failure rates by model
Seagate and Western Digital are commonly known as the top two HDD manufacturers in the industry today. Now while they both have similar problems, I decided to choose a Seagate HDD because they had a lower fail rate. According to the graph on the left, Seagate has five HDD’s that had some of the lowest failure rates, compared to Western Digital’s three HDDs (Backblaze).
 
Seagate Technology was created in 1978 by Al Shugart, Tom Mitchell, Doug Mahon, Finis Conner and Syed Iftikar. They produce hard drives, hybrid drives, and solid state drives. In 2015, Seagate produced around 45.9 million hard-disk drives including Samsung’s HDD output (Seagate owns Samsung’s HDD production). And in 2017, Seagate‘s annual revenue was $10.77 billion.
Image result for seagate

Seagate Constellation ES.2 HDD


Specifications:

  • Price: $79.99
  • Size: 3 TB
  • Transfer Rate: 155 MB/s
  • MTBF: 1.2 million hours
  • Warranty: 5 years
  • Speed: 7200 RPM
  • Access Time: 4.16ms
  • Read/Write Speed: 8.5/9.5MS
  • Buffer Size: 64 MB

The Seagate Constellation ES.2 is labeled as a enterprise class hard drive, which means that it is geared more towards business use (company servers, important storage arrays, etc.). The Constellation ES.2 brags about it’s low power consumption use and I was thoroughly surprised when the ES.2’s consumption was 17% less than the ES model. When tested against other models of the Constellation HDD’s read/write sequences, the 3TB SATA model triumphed reaching higher speeds (Storage Review). The price is pretty good for size/capacity with each GB costing .03 cents. Overall, this hard drive can be used for gaming, but would be fully utilized if used for business purposes.
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.
References:
<https://www.backblaze.com>
<https://www.newegg.com>
<https://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/>
<http://www.storagereview.com>
<https://en.wikipedia.org>
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Kingston Memory Review: KVR26N19S8/8

Memory Reviews

<![CDATA[Kingston Technology is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products (Kingston Technology).  Kingston manufactures flash memory products and other computer-related memory products. In 2015, Kingston generated revenues of over $7.0 billion USD (Kingston Technology).

I was looking for a Kingston memory module to fit into my MSI Z370 SLI PLUS gaming motherboard. I went to the Kingston Technology website and their website recommend several of the ValueRAM options in 16GB and 8GB memory stick. I chose the 8GB KVR26N19S8/8 as a consideration for my memory.
I then did research on the KVR26N19S8/8 to figure out if it would be worth spending my money on. A read a rating from Overclock, initially being interested in it’s cost efficiency but it’s ability to overclock for it’s rated clock speed. I ending up purchasing the KVR26N19S8/8 for it’s cost efficiency and it’s basic gaming capabilities.

Specifications of a KVR26N19S8/8 Memory Stick:

  • Amount of RAM: 1 x 8GB
  • Generation of RAM: DDR4
  • Access Time: 7.1267 nanoseconds
  • Bandwidth: 21,328 MB/S
  • Non-Parity
  • ECC/EDO/FPM: No
  • Channels: not specified
  • CAS Latency: 19
  • Warrantee: lifetime warranty

Overall I wasn’t impressed with this cost efficient memory module. The KVR26N19S8/8 has a high CAS Latency that I do not recommend for gaming purposes. If you spent more money, you could buy Kingston’s HyperX Predator series.  Kingston’s Predator series is much more impressive with a higher ability to overclock and a more efficient gaming memory module.
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.
References:
<<https://www.kingston.com/us/company>>
<<https://www.newegg.com/>>
<<http://www.overclock.net/>>
<<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Technology>>
 
 
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Intel Core i7-8700K Coffee Lake Review

CPU reviews, NT IT Reviews

<![CDATA[Intel Core i7-8700K Coffee Lake 6-Core 3.7 GHz (4.7 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series) 95W BX80684I78700K Desktop Processor Intel UHD Graphics 630
This is a review of the Intel Core i7-8700K Coffee Lake processor for gaming purpose and overall usage; it is $459.99 on Newegg. I initially found the i7-8700K processor on Tom’s Hardware when looking for the best gaming CPUs. I decided to go with Intel rather than AMD because I discovered that Intel created the x86 microprocessor that is in most computers today (Wikipedia).
Related image
Intel is an all-around technology company located into Santa Clara, California. There are two main companies that produce processors: AMD and Intel. It is a widely accepted fact that Intel produces the most efficient and high performance processors compared to their competitor, AMD. Although their costs are high, their performance level is unprecedented.
 
Specifications of the i7-8700K processor:The i7-8700K is expected to be released in October for around US$450. (Source: Intel)

  • Price: $459.99
  • Clock Speed: 3.7 GHz (Native), 4.7 GHz (Turbo Boost)
  • Cache (L1, L2, L3): around 13.9 MB
    • L1: 6 x 64KB
    • L2: 6 x 256KB
    • L3: 12MB
  • Numbers of processors: 6-cores
  • Number of threads: 12

In conclusion, if you’re looking to upgrade your CPU to greater gaming capabilities for a cheaper price than most high-end CPU’s, the i7-8700K is for you. The -8700K’s overclocking capabilities overtake AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper series, making it one of the best gaming CPU on the market right now. When overclocked the i7-8700K stays relatively cool, but you may experience problems when reaching clock speeds of up to 5.1 GHz; overall the CPU stayed relatively cool while operating normally. The verdict: the Intel Core i7-8700K is a great gaming CPU for an affordable price.

Here are other reviews for the i7-8700K:

  • Tom’s Hardware: Intel i7-8700K, a great gaming CPU.
  • TechRadar: rated the i7-8700K Coffee Lake the best CPU, beating AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 1950X.
  • PassMark: Overall, it’s CPU Mark is 16261, giving the i7-8700K a high rating for it’s lower price compared to the higher ranked CPU’s that will break your wallet (the highest CPU Mark is 27428 and the lowest is 79).

Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.

References: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/10/intel-coffee-lake-8700k-review/

                         https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/homepage.html

                         https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117827

                         https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

                         http://www.techradar.com/news/best-processors

                         http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/

                         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel]]>

MSI Z370 SLI PLUS Review: High-End Gaming Use

Motherboard reviews, NT IT Reviews

<![CDATA[

This is a review of the MSI Z370 SLI PLUS motherboard for high-end gaming use. A review by AnAndTech is what spurred my interest in the MSI Z370 SLI Plus. On Newegg, you can find this motherboard for $149.99. The  motherboard’s purpose is to fully utilize the Intel® Coffee Lake 6 core processors, ready to deliver world class performance when gaming (MSI). The MSI Z370 SLI PLUS is 12.0″ by 9.6″ with a form factor of ATX.
The MSI Z370 SLI PLUS motherboard is made by Micro-Star International, a Taiwanese multinational information technology corporation. MSI’s current global success can be credited to their computer motherboards, which made their company popular when it was established in the late 1980s (Wikipedia).
    Specifications:
  • Supports 8th Generation Intel Core Processors, and Intel Pentium and Celeron Processors for Socket LGA1151, *Not backward compatible with older generation of LGA 1151 CPUs
  • Four DDR4 slots that can support a maximum of 64GB
  • Native motherboard speed of 2667 MHz
  • Video (supported by CPU with graphics)
  • Supports NVIDIA 2-Way SLI & AMD 3-Way Crossfire
  • Integrated Audio (Realtek ALC1220, 7.1 channels)
  • Integrated LAN (Intel l219-V)
  • 3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16
  • 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots
  • 6 x SATA III ports (6Gb/s)
  • 2 x M.2 slots, can reach speeds up to 32GB/s
  • 8 USB Ports

The MSI Z370 SLI PLUS is a great motherboard for gaming; in the game Fire Strike, overclocked, the MSI motherboard hit a high score of 23902, winning first place. The two Steel Armor PCle 3.0 x16 slots ensure that the motherboard will be able to physically support the high-end graphics cards needed for a gaming PC. Not only can you use this MSI Z370 for gaming, but you can also personalize it. With the click of a mouse, you can change the variety of color schemes to one of your liking adding a flare of colors to your gaming rig. Overall, the MSI Z370 SLI Plus is an excellent choice for a quality gaming motherboard at a price that will not empty your savings.
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.

AnAndTech <https://www.anandtech.com/show/11860/z370-motherboards-asus-asrock-    ecs-evga-biostar-msi-gigabyte/28>.                                                                                                     eTeknix <https://www.eteknix.com/msi-z370-sli-plus-motherboard-review/>.                       MSI <https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/Z370-SLI-PLUS.html>.                                             Newegg <https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813144111>.    Steel Armor <https://www.eteknix.com/msi-z370-sli-plus-motherboard-review/2/>.                Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-Star_International>.
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