Hard drive makers, facing looming capacity limits with conventional, longitudinal recording technology, are turning to perpendicular recording to provide even greater storage.
The first drives to use perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology to pack more data into less space are out. They not only boost storage capacity but perform faster as well.
In related news, hard drives are set to increase storage size per sector upto 8 times by increasing the size of hard sectors from currently 512 Byte to 4096 Byte.
Overview :
PMR aligns the magnetic markers on a hard-disk surface in a different way to increase areal density so you can store more data on every platter. Existing technology was approaching its areal density limits, and drive manufacturers spent several years working to overcome the problem.
The result for you is more and cheaper room for your data--which is no small concern in a world moving to high-definition media.
How It Works :
Conventional (Longitudinal) Recording
Each bit of information is represented by a collection of magnetized particles, with their north and south poles oriented in one direction or the other. In longitudinal recording, the particles' north and south poles are lined up parallel to the disk's surface in a ring around its center. Magnetic repulsion limits how closely packed those bits can be and still maintain data integrity.
Perpendicular Recording
In this type of recording, the poles are arranged perpendicular to the disk's surface, which allows more bits to be packed onto a disk and reduces problems from magnetic interference.
Comparative Tests :
A disk using perpendicular magnetic recording technology handily outperformed an earlier generation on our copying tests and kept a slim edge on other tests.
Launch Times :
Toshiba has already shipped 40GB and 80GB, 1.8-inch PMR drives. At press time, only Toshiba's Megabeat MP3 players, sold in Japan, feature them, but they'll be in various consumer electronics devices and laptops soon.
The second taste of PMR comes courtesy of Seagate's new 2.5-inch Momentus 5400.3 line, which ranges from 30GB to 160GB. The 160GB model is now the biggest notebook drive available, surpassing the previous 120GB notebook champ. The new drive not only has more storage, it uses less energy and gives off less heat, making for quieter, cooler micro PCs and digital video recorders.
Future Of PMR :
Seagate predicts that relatively soon PMR technology will deliver at least a four-fold increase in capacity. That means 2-terabyte, 3.5-inch single-platter disks for desktops; 1TB, 2.5-inch disks for laptops; and even 50GB for tiny 1-inch drives in MP3 players in the near future.
Headroom for tomorrow is good, but how much do you gain today? The highest-capacity (500GB), 3.5-inch drives currently on the market have an areal density of 125 gigabits per square inch; the PMR Toshiba models and the Momentus 5400.3 have 133 gbpsi. That's a measurable, if marginal gain, but compared with the average drive's approximately 100 gbpsi, it's a significant improvement.
With a winning combination of more storage and greater speed, the new drives should be a welcome addition to your storage arsenal. And they cost about the same $2 per GB as current drives--you'll find the 160GB Seagate drive kit for $320 (list).
[break=Hard drives to increase storage size per sector 8x]
Hard drives to increase storage size per sector 8x[/SIZE]
According to a report published on German IT news website Golem.de, the "International Disk Drive, Equipment and Materials Association" (IDEMA) has agreed to increase the size of hard sectors from currently 512 Byte to 4096 Byte, which may result in an increased storage density and climbing hard drive storage space.
The report claims that larger sectors enable a more robust error correction. Hard drives with 4 kB sectors are expected to become available later this year. Details on which manufacturer will offer such drives as well as specific capacities of such drives were not available.
[break=Perpendicular Recording Boosts Reliability, Performance – Seagate]
Perpendicular Recording Boosts Reliability, Performance – Seagate.[/SIZE]
Seagate Reiterates Commitment to Transit HDDs to Perpendicular Tech by 2007
A representative for Seagate Technologies, the world’s largest maker of hard disk drives (HDDs), said in an interview that perpendicular recording technology not only allows to improve capacity of HDDs, but also to improve their reliability.
“Perpendicular recording technology increases areal density, allowing more data pass under the drive head, which in turn increases the data transfer rate. Keep in mind that any increase in the areal density of the disc impacts both key hard drive performance factors: positioning speed and data transfer rate. We have also found that perpendicular recording improves reliability,†said Joni Clark, a product marketing manager for Seagate’s desktop PC business unit, in an interview with Sharky Extreme web-site.
Perpendicular recording gets its name from the vertical alignment of data bits on the plane of the disk, which takes less room in contrast to the horizontal orientation of today’s longitudinal recording technology. To be accurately recorded and read, the more closely-packed perpendicular bits also require a closer association between the read/write head and the recording media. Hitachi said earlier this year it had achieved the 230Gb/in2 density by manipulating the head and media so that the distance between them is a mere 10nm.
While the benefit that the perpendicular recording brings in terms of capacity is indisputable, other industry experts have not yet noted that the technology also improves reliability of hard disk drives. Moreover, Western Digital recently claimed that its yields of the media with perpendicular recording were lower compared to traditional horizontal recording tech.
Still, Seagate looks confident about its transition to perpendicular technology and has once again reiterated that it would transit most of its products to the new type of media by 2007.
“Seagate has stated that it expects the majority of its products to transition to use perpendicular recording by 2007,†Ms. Clark said.
[break=Seagate ships first perpendicular 3.5" hard drive]
Seagate ships first perpendicular 3.5" hard drive
Seagate will announce on Tuesday the industry's first 3.5" hard drive that is based on perpendicular recording technology. Targeting enterprise applications, the new Cheetah 15K.5 doubles the capacity of its predecessor and promises 30% more performance.
With the 2.5" perpendicular drive out the door, Seagate has begun transferring the new recording technology, which promises higher capacities and improved performance, into the next form factor. The new Cheetah 15K.5 is positioned as the firm's new flagship hard drive and provides enterprise users significantly more storage space and bandwidth, the manufacturer said.
Compared to the preceding non-perpendicular 15K.4 generation, which has been offered in 36 GB, 73 GB and 146 GB versions, the new 15K.5 is available with 300 GB (four platters), 147 GB (two platters) and 73 GB (one platter). The sustained data transfer rate is up about 30% from 58-96 MB/s in the 15K.4 to about 73-125 MB/s in the 15K.5. Seagate claims that the new Cheetah is the first hard drive to break the 100 MB/s data transfer barrier.
No changes are announced to the drive's reliability, which is still rated at 1.4 million Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). Also, the platters of the enterprise drive continue to spin at 15,000 rpm; average seek time remains at 3.5-4.0 ms.
Seagate said that the 15K.5 is currently shipping to OEMs with 3 Gb/s serial attached SCSI (SAS), Ultra320 SCSI, and 4 Gb/s fibre channel interfaces. Channel shipments are scheduled for June of this year. Prices of the Cheetahs have not been announced.
[break=Seagate Leaks 750GB Barracuda 7200.10 Details]
Seagate Leaks 750GB Barracuda 7200.10 Details
A PDF accidentally showed up on Seagate's website earlier today with the latest details on perpendicular desktop hard drives
Seagate insiders contacted us early this morning with a few snippets of information (PDF) concerning the upcoming Barracuda 7200.10 series hard drives. Like other Barracuda drives, the 7200.10 series are based on 7,200RPM spindles.
Two 750GB models have already shown up on the Seagate website. The Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640A (PATA) and the ST3750640SA (SATA) will be two new models we can look forward to seeing this year. The Seagate webpage reveals dozens of other NCQ-ready 7200.10 based products ranging from 200GB on up.
Cache information was not available via the website yet, but the official Seagate PDF claims the Barracuda 7200.10 series will come with 16MB and 8MB buffers. Considering these two drives will be the best of breed for Seagate, it is fairly safe to assume these drives will have 16MB caches.
Seagate representatives have told us that the information posted was "very premature" and was not be posted on the website for several weeks. Seek time information has not been released yet, which has traditionally been considered the problem area for perpendicular recording devices. However, the 7200.10 datasheet claims all drives in the series will have a 4.16ms average latency time.
Several days ago Seagate announced its Cheetah 15K.5 series drives based on 15,000RPM platters. The Cheetah 15K.5 series also uses perpendicular recording to increase densities, but is solely limited to SCSI right now. Pricing is not available yet on either the 15K.5 or 7200.10 series. All Seagate hard drives come with 5-year warranties.
[break=Seagate Officially Launches 7200.10 Desktop Drives With PMR Ahead of Schedule]
Less than a week after information on the new desktop hard drive line was leaked Seagate announces the official launch of the Barracuda 7200.10 line
Last week we reported on some press information which was leaked on Seagate's website regarding its upcoming line of desktop hard drives in the Barracuda family. We all knew perpendicular magnetic recording was coming to the desktop domain but there was no solid date given out by Seagate representatives.
Upon contacting our Seagate press relations representative Thursday evening on the leaked information, we were informed that it was indeed a leak and it was a very premature leak at that. The new Barracuda line was not supposed to be introduced for another couple weeks according to the Seagate representative.
Today Seagate introduced the Barracuda 7200.10 line of desktop drives with a few new goodies. Not only does the 'Cuda 10' line feature perpendicular magnetic recording across all models, but the line also features a new high capacity model at 750GB. The industry's highest capacity at 750GB in a single disk drive is made possible by four 188GB platters which are written to using the perpendicular magnetic recording method.
The capacities range from 200GB to 750GB with PATA, SATA 1.5Gbps, and SATA 3.0Gbps interfaces. The 200GB and 250GB models have an 8MB buffer while the 250GB, 320GB, 400GB, and 750GB models feature 16MB buffers. The 250GB model comes in both 8MB and 16MB varieties. Seagate has also changed the way it measures the failure rate with a percentage measure called the Annualized Failure Rate which is measured to be 0.34%.
Seagate claims the 7200.10 line has a 10% performance increase over the 7200.9 line of desktop drives launched late last year. There are claims that perpendicular megnetic recording will aid in performance increases so we can't to see the benchmarks for these puppies.
A complete price list has not yet been published, however, Seagate says the 200GB model will retail at about $104 while the 750GB model will carry a price tag of $590 upon launch.
Launch will also come early, about 2 months early to be exact with the first wave of drives already shipping to distrubution channels. We should see the 7200.10 line of drives at online retailers within the next couple weeks and at brick and mortar stores within the next couple months.
The first drives to use perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology to pack more data into less space are out. They not only boost storage capacity but perform faster as well.
In related news, hard drives are set to increase storage size per sector upto 8 times by increasing the size of hard sectors from currently 512 Byte to 4096 Byte.
Overview :
PMR aligns the magnetic markers on a hard-disk surface in a different way to increase areal density so you can store more data on every platter. Existing technology was approaching its areal density limits, and drive manufacturers spent several years working to overcome the problem.
The result for you is more and cheaper room for your data--which is no small concern in a world moving to high-definition media.
How It Works :
Conventional (Longitudinal) Recording
Each bit of information is represented by a collection of magnetized particles, with their north and south poles oriented in one direction or the other. In longitudinal recording, the particles' north and south poles are lined up parallel to the disk's surface in a ring around its center. Magnetic repulsion limits how closely packed those bits can be and still maintain data integrity.
Perpendicular Recording
In this type of recording, the poles are arranged perpendicular to the disk's surface, which allows more bits to be packed onto a disk and reduces problems from magnetic interference.
Comparative Tests :
A disk using perpendicular magnetic recording technology handily outperformed an earlier generation on our copying tests and kept a slim edge on other tests.
Launch Times :
Toshiba has already shipped 40GB and 80GB, 1.8-inch PMR drives. At press time, only Toshiba's Megabeat MP3 players, sold in Japan, feature them, but they'll be in various consumer electronics devices and laptops soon.
The second taste of PMR comes courtesy of Seagate's new 2.5-inch Momentus 5400.3 line, which ranges from 30GB to 160GB. The 160GB model is now the biggest notebook drive available, surpassing the previous 120GB notebook champ. The new drive not only has more storage, it uses less energy and gives off less heat, making for quieter, cooler micro PCs and digital video recorders.
Future Of PMR :
Seagate predicts that relatively soon PMR technology will deliver at least a four-fold increase in capacity. That means 2-terabyte, 3.5-inch single-platter disks for desktops; 1TB, 2.5-inch disks for laptops; and even 50GB for tiny 1-inch drives in MP3 players in the near future.
Headroom for tomorrow is good, but how much do you gain today? The highest-capacity (500GB), 3.5-inch drives currently on the market have an areal density of 125 gigabits per square inch; the PMR Toshiba models and the Momentus 5400.3 have 133 gbpsi. That's a measurable, if marginal gain, but compared with the average drive's approximately 100 gbpsi, it's a significant improvement.
With a winning combination of more storage and greater speed, the new drives should be a welcome addition to your storage arsenal. And they cost about the same $2 per GB as current drives--you'll find the 160GB Seagate drive kit for $320 (list).
[break=Hard drives to increase storage size per sector 8x]
Hard drives to increase storage size per sector 8x[/SIZE]
According to a report published on German IT news website Golem.de, the "International Disk Drive, Equipment and Materials Association" (IDEMA) has agreed to increase the size of hard sectors from currently 512 Byte to 4096 Byte, which may result in an increased storage density and climbing hard drive storage space.
The report claims that larger sectors enable a more robust error correction. Hard drives with 4 kB sectors are expected to become available later this year. Details on which manufacturer will offer such drives as well as specific capacities of such drives were not available.
[break=Perpendicular Recording Boosts Reliability, Performance – Seagate]
Perpendicular Recording Boosts Reliability, Performance – Seagate.[/SIZE]
Seagate Reiterates Commitment to Transit HDDs to Perpendicular Tech by 2007
A representative for Seagate Technologies, the world’s largest maker of hard disk drives (HDDs), said in an interview that perpendicular recording technology not only allows to improve capacity of HDDs, but also to improve their reliability.
“Perpendicular recording technology increases areal density, allowing more data pass under the drive head, which in turn increases the data transfer rate. Keep in mind that any increase in the areal density of the disc impacts both key hard drive performance factors: positioning speed and data transfer rate. We have also found that perpendicular recording improves reliability,†said Joni Clark, a product marketing manager for Seagate’s desktop PC business unit, in an interview with Sharky Extreme web-site.
Perpendicular recording gets its name from the vertical alignment of data bits on the plane of the disk, which takes less room in contrast to the horizontal orientation of today’s longitudinal recording technology. To be accurately recorded and read, the more closely-packed perpendicular bits also require a closer association between the read/write head and the recording media. Hitachi said earlier this year it had achieved the 230Gb/in2 density by manipulating the head and media so that the distance between them is a mere 10nm.
While the benefit that the perpendicular recording brings in terms of capacity is indisputable, other industry experts have not yet noted that the technology also improves reliability of hard disk drives. Moreover, Western Digital recently claimed that its yields of the media with perpendicular recording were lower compared to traditional horizontal recording tech.
Still, Seagate looks confident about its transition to perpendicular technology and has once again reiterated that it would transit most of its products to the new type of media by 2007.
“Seagate has stated that it expects the majority of its products to transition to use perpendicular recording by 2007,†Ms. Clark said.
[break=Seagate ships first perpendicular 3.5" hard drive]
Seagate ships first perpendicular 3.5" hard drive
Seagate will announce on Tuesday the industry's first 3.5" hard drive that is based on perpendicular recording technology. Targeting enterprise applications, the new Cheetah 15K.5 doubles the capacity of its predecessor and promises 30% more performance.
With the 2.5" perpendicular drive out the door, Seagate has begun transferring the new recording technology, which promises higher capacities and improved performance, into the next form factor. The new Cheetah 15K.5 is positioned as the firm's new flagship hard drive and provides enterprise users significantly more storage space and bandwidth, the manufacturer said.
Compared to the preceding non-perpendicular 15K.4 generation, which has been offered in 36 GB, 73 GB and 146 GB versions, the new 15K.5 is available with 300 GB (four platters), 147 GB (two platters) and 73 GB (one platter). The sustained data transfer rate is up about 30% from 58-96 MB/s in the 15K.4 to about 73-125 MB/s in the 15K.5. Seagate claims that the new Cheetah is the first hard drive to break the 100 MB/s data transfer barrier.
No changes are announced to the drive's reliability, which is still rated at 1.4 million Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). Also, the platters of the enterprise drive continue to spin at 15,000 rpm; average seek time remains at 3.5-4.0 ms.
Seagate said that the 15K.5 is currently shipping to OEMs with 3 Gb/s serial attached SCSI (SAS), Ultra320 SCSI, and 4 Gb/s fibre channel interfaces. Channel shipments are scheduled for June of this year. Prices of the Cheetahs have not been announced.
[break=Seagate Leaks 750GB Barracuda 7200.10 Details]
Seagate Leaks 750GB Barracuda 7200.10 Details
A PDF accidentally showed up on Seagate's website earlier today with the latest details on perpendicular desktop hard drives
Seagate insiders contacted us early this morning with a few snippets of information (PDF) concerning the upcoming Barracuda 7200.10 series hard drives. Like other Barracuda drives, the 7200.10 series are based on 7,200RPM spindles.
Two 750GB models have already shown up on the Seagate website. The Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640A (PATA) and the ST3750640SA (SATA) will be two new models we can look forward to seeing this year. The Seagate webpage reveals dozens of other NCQ-ready 7200.10 based products ranging from 200GB on up.
Cache information was not available via the website yet, but the official Seagate PDF claims the Barracuda 7200.10 series will come with 16MB and 8MB buffers. Considering these two drives will be the best of breed for Seagate, it is fairly safe to assume these drives will have 16MB caches.
Seagate representatives have told us that the information posted was "very premature" and was not be posted on the website for several weeks. Seek time information has not been released yet, which has traditionally been considered the problem area for perpendicular recording devices. However, the 7200.10 datasheet claims all drives in the series will have a 4.16ms average latency time.
Several days ago Seagate announced its Cheetah 15K.5 series drives based on 15,000RPM platters. The Cheetah 15K.5 series also uses perpendicular recording to increase densities, but is solely limited to SCSI right now. Pricing is not available yet on either the 15K.5 or 7200.10 series. All Seagate hard drives come with 5-year warranties.
[break=Seagate Officially Launches 7200.10 Desktop Drives With PMR Ahead of Schedule]
Less than a week after information on the new desktop hard drive line was leaked Seagate announces the official launch of the Barracuda 7200.10 line
Last week we reported on some press information which was leaked on Seagate's website regarding its upcoming line of desktop hard drives in the Barracuda family. We all knew perpendicular magnetic recording was coming to the desktop domain but there was no solid date given out by Seagate representatives.
Upon contacting our Seagate press relations representative Thursday evening on the leaked information, we were informed that it was indeed a leak and it was a very premature leak at that. The new Barracuda line was not supposed to be introduced for another couple weeks according to the Seagate representative.
Today Seagate introduced the Barracuda 7200.10 line of desktop drives with a few new goodies. Not only does the 'Cuda 10' line feature perpendicular magnetic recording across all models, but the line also features a new high capacity model at 750GB. The industry's highest capacity at 750GB in a single disk drive is made possible by four 188GB platters which are written to using the perpendicular magnetic recording method.
The capacities range from 200GB to 750GB with PATA, SATA 1.5Gbps, and SATA 3.0Gbps interfaces. The 200GB and 250GB models have an 8MB buffer while the 250GB, 320GB, 400GB, and 750GB models feature 16MB buffers. The 250GB model comes in both 8MB and 16MB varieties. Seagate has also changed the way it measures the failure rate with a percentage measure called the Annualized Failure Rate which is measured to be 0.34%.
Seagate claims the 7200.10 line has a 10% performance increase over the 7200.9 line of desktop drives launched late last year. There are claims that perpendicular megnetic recording will aid in performance increases so we can't to see the benchmarks for these puppies.
A complete price list has not yet been published, however, Seagate says the 200GB model will retail at about $104 while the 750GB model will carry a price tag of $590 upon launch.
Launch will also come early, about 2 months early to be exact with the first wave of drives already shipping to distrubution channels. We should see the 7200.10 line of drives at online retailers within the next couple weeks and at brick and mortar stores within the next couple months.
p) loong ago.