Seagate Breaks Areal Density Barrier, Unveils First HDD with 1 TB per Platter

[erocker]

Whats so wow about it? That we use the same mechanical technology for more than 30 years and they are still "improving it" lol.

I think the whole needle on a spinning disc has been around much longer than that.

 

[sy5tem]

yay i can't wait to backup those 3TB frive to 5 spindle of dvd! because you know they can fail fast after 1 year!

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The problem with having more than 3 platters is that they hit the height limit of the drive.

3.5" drives have held 5 platters before and 2.5" drives can hold up to 4 platters. As far as I know, the vertical height requirements hasn't changed for perpendicular recording.

 

[newtekie1]

3.5" drives have held 5 platters before and 2.5" drives can hold up to 4 platters. As far as I know, the vertical height requirements hasn't changed for perpendicular recording.

I didn't think it was possible to put more than 3 traditional platters in a 3.5" drive and maintain the 1" height standard, I know 4 platter 2.5" drives exceed the 9.5mm height standard for sure.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

3.5":

http://www.pcworld.com/article/200031/big_seagate_3tb_drive_ups_storage_ante.html

the 3tb drive has five platters, each with 600gb.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/1tb-hdd-storage,2563-2.html

Hitachi simply stayed with its proven, but not necessarily optimal five-platter design, which had been used on the previous generation, the Deskstar 7K500.

2.5":

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/revie...gent_goflex_ultra-portable_drive_1_5tb/362043

seagate achieved the drive's notable total capacity by increasing the capacity of the platters--375gb per platter, instead of 333gb per platter--and by adding a fourth platter inside the drive.

Generally speaking, the heavier the HDD, the more platters it has.

 

[Red_Machine]

Height limit? I thought full height meant two 5,25" bays. ie four Bigfoots stacked.

Indeed. Winchester HHD, anyone? Full-height 5 & 1/4" floppies?

 

[newtekie1]

3.5":




2.5":


Generally speaking, the heavier the HDD, the more platters it has.

The Hitachi is interesting, I hadn't seen that drive before, it does seem like they have managed to squeeze 5 platters into a standard 1" hieght drive. The two seagates though, are definitely taller than standard. The 3.5" GoFlex is about 1.5" high, and the 2.5" GoFlex is 12.5mm.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Wonder how much having only 2 drive makers will effect prices.

 

[digibucc]

Wonder how much having only 2 drive makers will effect prices.

lol... that is probably the understatement of the year... cleverly disguised

 

[Completely Bonkers]

Generally speaking, the heavier the HDD, the more platters it has.

I thought drives got heavier the more data you recorded on it! LOL ;-)

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The Hitachi is interesting, I hadn't seen that drive before, it does seem like they have managed to squeeze 5 platters into a standard 1" hieght drive. The two seagates though, are definitely taller than standard. The 3.5" GoFlex is about 1.5" high, and the 2.5" GoFlex is 12.5mm.

Got a source for that? As far as I know, all GoFlex drives are standard height for their width.

5 platters to 3.5" bays goes way back.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Inside the GoFlex Desk 3TB was a standard 3.5” Seagate Barracuda XT drive.

- Anandtech

 

[theJesus]

Wonder how much having only 2 drive makers will effect prices.

It might end up like gasoline prices. lol

 

[makwy2]

Considering over the past year I've averaged 4-7 gigs of new data per day added to my system, I'm always happy for improvements to drive capacity and speed (as well as price).

The reason this news excites me is that portable and external drives are finally getting all caught up with the massive amount of information a person can amass. Want those 1080p videos I recorded at your graduation? want the image for that disc you scratched up? Here ya go... on my portable drive.

 

[TheGuruStud]

Yay, even more data for Seagate to lose for you. It's maxtor all over again (but less severe maybe).

 

[newtekie1]

Got a source for that? As far as I know, all GoFlex drives are standard height for their width.

5 platters to 3.5" bays goes way back.

Having taken both apart, they are larger than normal drives.

http://www.youtube.com/user/LinusTechTips#p/u/23/nHBg0mrHXOQ

There is a youtube video with the GoFlex taken apart at the end, it is clearly bigger than a normal 2.5" drive.

- Anandtech

The problem is they don't say how height the drive is. Yes, they say standard 3.5" drive, but they could just mean that it is 3.5" and not bother with the height of the drive. From the pictures, there is no padding between the drive and the plastic case, the case measures 44mm, a standard height 3.5" drive is 26mm, I don't think the plastic on both sides is 9mm thick, and I don't think Seagate would purposely virtually double the size of the drive for nothing.

Plus, the Barracuda XT in the GoFlex I pulled apart was definitely not standard height.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I wish he measured the height of that drive. 9.5 mm = up to 2 platters, 12.5 mm = up to 3 platters. 9.5 mm is the industry standard but 12.5 mm is growing in use. If it is over 12.5 mm, then yeah, 2.5" 4-platter drives are proprietary.


In externals though, "standard" really doesn't matter. They could have easily gone with proprietary HDDs just to capture the title of "largest capacity."

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Talk about standing in someone elses spotlight. It was samsung who came up with the 1TB/platter technology.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/08/samsung-hdd-manages-1tb-per-platter-areal-density-enthusiasts-r/

Seems Seagate picked the right time to buy Samsung

 

[Deleted member 3]

Wonder how much having only 2 drive makers will effect prices.

Seagate, WD, Hitachi, that makes three?

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Been out of the loop? http://www.wdc.com/en/company/pressroom/releases.aspx?release=ba433e4b-bff8-4d99-b60f-7f02aa42f444

 

[Deleted member 3]

Ah, missed that one. So both Samsung and Hitachi are gone then. That leaves little space on the market.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

My hope is that quality improves. Right around the time samsung got crazy popular and drove prices down I started being more and more dissatisfied with the new drives available on the market. Though the realist in me knows they'd rather bask in the increased profits than increase spending.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

IBM -> Hitachi -> Western Digital
Quantum -> Maxtor -> Seagate
Samsung -> Seagate

Did I forget any? Profit margins are too small for the little guys to be profitable anymore.

 

[Deleted member 3]

IBM -> Hitachi -> Western Digital
Quantum -> Maxtor -> Seagate
Samsung -> Seagate

Did I forget any? Profit margins are too small for the little guys to be profitable anymore.

There were tens if not hundreds of harddisk manufacturers if you go back further. 15-20 years ago I came across the weirdest brands. Conner being the most common back then, I think they are now Seagate as well. It's sad really.

 

[blibba]

Wonder how much having only 2 drive makers will effect prices.

Probably not at all. It'll still be highly competitive (unless WD and Seagate choose to illegally collude), and I suspect that both WD and Seagate were already big enough to gain little economy of scale from the takeover. So the drives will cost them the same amount to produce and be sold in a competitive market, just like now.

Both makers also have SSDs to indirectly compete with - if HDDs can't substantially outstrip SSDs for $/GB then they obviously won't sell.