The MK1401GRRB is a “high-performance” 2.5″ SAS model, continuing Toshiba’s presence in the enterprise drive segment. In the modern day, SAS drives of this nature are increasingly less common, yet this example from 2013 fortunately another good drive to look at in good health.
Toshiba tout these as their first drive to feature a dual-stage head positioning actuator.
Drive Attributes ------------------------------------- Toshiba MK1401GRRB ------------------------------------- Capacity 147GB Mfc Date 2013-11-30 Format 2.5" Height 15mm Interface SAS Platters 1 Heads 2 Cache 32MB RPM 15000 Protocol SAS-2/600 Origin Philippines (TDSC) -------------------------------------
With only a single platter, this drive is only 147GB in capacity. Toshiba released a 300GB two-platter variant in tandem, being the MK3001GRRB.
As with any Toshiba drive produced under their TDSC branch, this unit was produced in the Philippines. The label is as nifty as ever, with relatively few points of useful information.
A blue PCB on the rear is all that’s special, logic faces inwards unlike with earlier Fujitsu SAS 2.5″ models.
Removing the PCB, the base of the drive bears nothing as expected. The spindle motor has no clear branding! Boo.
The heart of this drive logically is the Marvell 88i9131-BKY2. Winbond supply the 32MB of cache available on this model.
The MK1401GRRB is a fun little 2.5″ drive from the early 2010’s, with this example having had quit the staggering life. Nonetheless, it still functions fine. While the performance isn’t bad as expected, there’s little reason to use this small thing in service. Well, a high-RPM SAS drive is often somewhat entertaining, even if their service may have reached an end.
Toshiba MK1401GRRB – Disk Health Report (.html, opens in new tab)
Toshiba MK1401GRRB/MK3001GRRB Advanced Review Coverage (.pdf)
Fujitsu MAY2073RC Model Specifications (.pdf)
Fujitsu MAY2073RC Installation Guide (.pdf)
If you missed the video I made on this drive, you can find it here: