Chapter 295: Order Completion (Part 2) (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

"Fortunately, I was prepared..."

Raising the briefcase he brought, Sun Cheng gestured for them to take it, taking in all the different expressions and glances of the people around him. He couldn't help but feel a little proud.

Clearly, he had miscalculated the situation earlier, thinking that presenting a DARM device with a memory capacity of 50T would impress the Supercomputing Center and easily secure Cybertron Technology's order.

However, he had clearly underestimated the skepticism society held towards new start-up companies. It was fortunate that he had made adequate preparations; otherwise, there would have been further complications.

As for the possibility of failure, Sun Cheng hadn't even considered it from the beginning.

"Oh, Mr. Sun, did you also bring other products from your company?"

It was the same gray-haired old man who, while taking the all-metal briefcase from his hands, couldn't help but glance at it.

Opening the case wasn't difficult, in fact, it didn't even have a password lock or anything of the sort.

The old man realized this as soon as he took hold of it. With a quick press on the external latch, accompanied by a soft click, the briefcase was promptly opened, revealing four similarly-sized yet different-shaped hard disk devices inside.

Observing the old man hastily picking up one, pushing his glasses, carefully inspecting it, and then looking back at him, Sun Cheng curved his lips, refraining from saying much.

He gestured a request and then released his grip on the other side of the briefcase, indicating they could test it at will.

This self-assured display was indeed the best response to doubts. Even Zheng Jun couldn't hold his ground anymore. He glanced at Sun Cheng, only to find that the other members of the [Asian Star] project team were all looking at him, causing him to nod slightly and say, "Mr. Chen, you are the hardware expert of our project team. Since Mr. Sun has full confidence in their products, let's put them to the test. If they truly meet our procurement standards, domestic products will be given priority!"

The last sentence was naturally directed at Sun Cheng, and there was a subtle change in attitude. It was no longer as cold and distant as before.

Sun Cheng raised his hand slightly, making a casual gesture, and then remained still. He watched as "Old Chen," as Zheng Jun referred to the expert, directed the younger members of several project teams, bringing over a desk from the corner of the laboratory.

"So, you had already anticipated that I might bring new DRAM equipment..."

With a smile, Sun Cheng continued to watch their actions, maintaining his composed expression.

On the other hand, Shen Peiyuan, who had been left on the sidelines for a while, took a step forward and stood beside Sun Cheng, asking in a low voice, "Xiao Sun, is everything alright?"

"Don't worry, Principal!"

He had heard Shen Peiyuan's change in address quite clearly earlier, but he didn't react much.

His gaze followed Zheng Jun and Mr. Chen as they headed towards the office.

After getting closer, Sun Cheng could see clearly that what the young people from the [Asian Star] project team pushed over was not an office desk, but a device with wheels at the corners and metal handles on the sides for easy mobility.

From a distance, the device appeared to be similar in size to an office desk, with a closed metal enclosure at the bottom that made it impossible to understand its internal structure.

However, the desktop was quite clear. On the left side was an LCD monitor, and on the desktop in front of the monitor, there were recesses that resembled a computer keyboard, as well as seven or eight unidentified ports. On the right side, there was a fixed platform, and several different-sized cables were neatly arranged beside it.

"Let's test the memory capacity first..."

The device was pushed in front of Zheng Jun and the others. Upon Mr. Chen's command, a researcher in her mid-thirties immediately took a hard disk from his hand, walked to the fixed platform, and examined the socket type by lifting the hard disk. She then placed it on the platform and connected it to one of the various cables.

Without waiting for further instructions, another young man, who appeared to be in his early thirties, walked to the left side of the device. He pressed a few keys on the recessed keyboard on the desktop, and the LCD display in front of him immediately lit up.

Sun Cheng glanced up and saw that it displayed an XP operating interface. Squinting his eyes and looking closer, he was surprised to see well-known professional testing software like AIDA64, which was widely used both domestically and internationally.

"The hardware testing platform is running. Scanning initiated... Processing complete. The actual memory capacity of the hard disk device is determined to be 3000G... Huh..."

The man looked at the display screen in front of him with a perplexed expression. Then he turned to Sun Cheng, his eyes filled with confusion.

Unfortunately, Sun Cheng didn't respond to his query at the moment. He merely nodded and said, "Oh, it's a 30T hard disk."

Zheng Jun and Mr. Chen exchanged glances and furrowed their brows.

"Try using other tools and test again..." Mr. Chen gave the order when he saw that Sun Cheng had no intention of answering.

However, it proved futile. The man busied himself for several minutes, changing between four or five different professional testing software, but the displayed memory size remained at 3000G.

"This..."

Not only did Mr. Chen and the others realize the problem, but even Shen Peiyuan, who had limited knowledge in this area, sensed that something was amiss. Seeing that everyone's gaze in the lab was fixed on him, Sun Cheng knew it was time to explain.

He smiled and began to explain, "DRAM manufacturers typically use a base-1000 system instead of the base-1024 system. Our Cybertron Technology is no exception; we also employ the base-1000 system. However, the product I have brought with me this time is our company's latest model, which is different from ordinary hard drives. It has a dedicated independent chip responsible for system operations and does not utilize the system memory."

"An independent chip?"

Mr. Chen suddenly had an epiphany: a hard disk with a built-in system package would occupy a certain amount of memory. Generally, the actual memory occupied by an IT hard disk, excluding the system, is around 900GB.

As for the size of the gap, it depends on the conscience of the manufacturer. Among the miscellaneous brands, there are many hard disks with around 920 to 930GB, while mainstream brands have around 945 to 950GB.

But he quickly frowned again, "Won't this increase the cost?"

"No, because our costs are already very low. Even if there is an increase, it won't be much. Moreover, don't think this is a futile effort. In fact, the independently configured chips give our products performance that can surpass all similar devices on the market."

Zheng Jun gestured to continue testing other hard disks and asked, "Can you explain in more detail?"

"Inside the independent chip, besides the hard disk system, we have added two simple and practical features: the 'delayed shutdown function' and the 'self-diagnostic function.' The former ensures that after an external power failure, the device will automatically delay shutting down for about five seconds, thus preventing data loss issues. Every time the hard disk starts up, it automatically checks the hard disk status to prevent 'logical bad sectors.'"

"That's not a small feature. No wonder you have such confidence, Mr. Sun..."

Hearing this, Zheng Jun looked at him incredulously. After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief, with a slightly changed expression.

Data loss due to sudden power outages is a common problem for DRAM devices, as well as logical bad sectors.

If Cybertron Technology's hard disk, with its independent chip, can solve these two common issues with DRAM devices, it would not only extend the device's lifespan but also reduce maintenance costs.

The project team's testing is still ongoing, and exclamations continue to sound.

"The data read and write speed is nearly four times that of the Seagate hard disk we purchased. How is this possible?"

"100TB... this..."

"Strange, there's no fan, but the temperature hasn't changed..."

As the testing continues, Mr. Chen's face, who had been closely observing the entire testing process, keeps changing.

He is now certain that the hard disks in front of him, which have never appeared on the market, cannot be from well-known hard drive giants like Seagate or Western Digital. Instead, they are products manufactured by a completely new company.

Unable to contain his heavy breathing, Mr. Chen quickly returns to Sun Cheng's side and looks at him seriously as if meeting him for the first time. Then, he reveals a friendly smile, saying, "Mr. Sun, we are delighted that another DRAM giant is emerging in China, set to astonish the world. The products you have brought are excellent. If the price is reasonable, I can request Director Zheng to order a batch of equipment from your company!"

Sun Cheng looks at Zheng Jun by his side and sees no objection. He smiles slightly.

The Supercomputing Center's order is secured!

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter >>Chapter 296: Problems at Base No. 1