[NEWS] - X-bit reviews Seagate's Momentus 2.5" HDD

[CougTek]

The drive comes in two capacities – 20 or 40GB (that’s the size of our sample). Physically, it means the drive uses one 40GB platter and one or two read/write head(s). The spindle rotation speed is 5400rpm, this value becoming a de-facto standard for 2.5” form-factor models. The default buffer size for Momentus drives is 2MB; an 8MB buffer comes as an option (our sample was one). In the latter case, the drive performs much faster in a variety of tasks. The interface supported is Ultra ATA/100.

The drive was tested both inside a notebook and in a USB2 enclosure. It shows performances that are on par with those of desktop drives about three years ago. So it would be enough for a low-end SOHO box.

I can't wait to see 2.5" drives inside desktop computers.

News Source

 

[blakerwry]

why exactly would you want to puta 2.5" drive inside a desktop?

I could see in racks because you can fit more in the same space... adn I can see for external.. and I can see for anything portable... but for desktops I just don't see the point...

 

[Jan Kivar]

They're smaller, so the case can be smaller. Think how much smaller SFF's could be with slim-line (=laptop) CD drives and 2,5" HDs.

Jan

 

[Stereodude]

They're smaller, so the case can be smaller. Think how much smaller SFF's could be with slim-line (=laptop) CD drives and 2,5" HDs.

Jan

Until you can make the 5.25" optical drive smaller I don't see how you're going to make things much smaller than they already are.

 

[Jan Kivar]

Until you can make the 5.25" optical drive smaller I don't see how you're going to make things much smaller than they already are.

The media dictates the drive size, unfortunately.

Jan

 

[Drakantus]

You wouldn't need an optical drive in every computer were it not for the idiotic "copy protection" schemes every game seems to have these days, where it requires you to have the CD-Rom in the computer while playing. Otherwise, you could just use an external USB 2.0 CD-Drive for installation, and for the most part you could run the computer without an optical drive.

 

[blakerwry]

some people could.. not a SIMS addict...



good points though...

 

[Howell]

Why couldn't you attach a USB/FW cd drive to the external port on the computer?

For that matter you could attach it only long enough to make an ISO of the disc and then you could disconect and mount the ISO with Daemon Tools.

 

[blakerwry]

not everything works with daemon tools... ala SIMS

and having an external drive would make the computer even less portable than having a "large" optical drive

 

[Fushigi]

I would think the advantages would be in reduced manufacturing costs, lower power consumption, and less heat generation. Some small formfactor PCs nowadays already use 2.5" drives.

 

[Howell]

not everything works with daemon tools... ala SIMS

and having an external drive would make the computer even less portable than having a "large" optical drive

I'll have to defer to you on whether it works or not, but these folks seem to have some success with SIMS products.

I do have to disagree about an external drive making a computer system less portable. I'd think about one for a laptop if I had one.

 

[Howell]

Besides I don't think the context was portability; but smaller footprint for a stationary case.

 

[Platform]

I can't wait to see 2.5" drives inside desktop computers.

That day is coming, but it's still a little ways off (erm... maybe 2006).

First (sometime in 2004) will be the 2.5-inch enterprise-class SCSI (Ultra-320 parallel), SAS, and F-C hard disc drives. At some point after that, we should see higher-end SATA2 hard drives for enterprise use in the new 2.5-inch form factor. Eventually, once the production ramps up with 2.5-inch enterprise hard drives, we'll start to see a large scale conversion from 3.5-inch to 2.5-inch form factor with mass-market / consumer storage (by then, SATA only). Internal 2.5-inch hard drives in notebooks will not change as much as their desktop brothers over the next few years, though, but we should see an adoption of the SATA (or SATA2) channel for notebooks.

2.5-inch notebook computer hard drives are engineered with a lot of emphasis on operational ruggedness, as opposed to the emphasis on performance and capacity that desktop hard drives have always enjoyed. Let us not forget what the Seagate 15K.3 really is in its "disguise" (i.e. -- its 3.5-inch housing)!

 

[Tea]

Three inch, yes. 2.5 inch, though, seems to rob performance rather than add it, at least thus far. Have to wait and see, but on their showing to date, 2.5 inch drives suck. They have a long, long way to go before they will be an acceptable desktop unit. For starters, some decent RPM.

 

[Fushigi]

First (sometime in 2004) will be the 2.5-inch enterprise-class SCSI (Ultra-320 parallel), SAS, and F-C hard disc drives. At some point after that, we should see higher-end SATA2 hard drives for enterprise use in the new 2.5-inch form factor. Eventually, once the production ramps up with 2.5-inch enterprise hard drives, we'll start to see a large scale conversion from 3.5-inch to 2.5-inch form factor with mass-market / consumer storage (by then, SATA only). Internal 2.5-inch hard drives in notebooks will not change as much as their desktop brothers over the next few years, though, but we should see an adoption of the SATA (or SATA2) channel for notebooks.

2.5-inch notebook computer hard drives are engineered with a lot of emphasis on operational ruggedness, as opposed to the emphasis on performance and capacity that desktop hard drives have always enjoyed. Let us not forget what the Seagate 15K.3 really is in its "disguise" (i.e. -- its 3.5-inch housing)!

I agree. While we commonly think of servers as having TBs of data and all, the truth is that many servers don't need that much in the way of storage. Or they will access a SAN/NAS for content. Many basic web servers only have a few MBs of actual content; the rest (if there is a 'rest') will come from queries to back-end database servers. Practically every special-purpose server I run across is there to host an app that uses a small database (measured in MB not GB) or a hook to SQL Server or somesuch.

That leaves a boot drive, normally mirrored. Swap goes on that drive as well. Small capacity is fine; 18GB is plenty. Design goals would include fast, reliable, reduced heat output, reduce power requirements, reduced form factor, and finally, optionally, reduced cost. SATA or SAS would be ideal for the reduced cable sizes, although those connectors could be troublesome. The goal overall is to maximize the density of the servers in the racks. Reducing heat and power helps just as much as reducing the form factor since it reduces the load on the UPS and AC systems.

 

[Platform]

Hitachi readies industry's fastest mobile-class hard drive for 24x7 applications
7200 RPM drive designed for "always-on" and high availability

• SAN JOSE, Calif., July 23, 2003 – Hitachi Global Storage Technologies is today the first to offer customers an enhanced-availability 7200 RPM mobile-class hard drive for 24x7 environments. The combination of speed and endurance on Hitachi’s new Travelstar E7K60 gives users an industrial-strength 2.5-inch hard drive to take on demanding data-access cycles typical of blade-server, Internet data center, Web hosting, server pre-processing and telephony applications.
  
  Users who require high data-availability can take advantage of the “always on” characteristic of Hitachi’s new drive to access their data more quickly and readily. Users will also benefit from the E7K60’s more aggressive read/write duty cycle of up to 50 percent – which represents more than twice the usage cycle of standard mobile drives.
  
  “The Travelstar E7K60 is a unique and powerful blend of precision and function, which makes it a critical component for an emerging class of performance- and data-intensive applications,” said Bill Healy, general manager, Mobile Business Unit, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.
  
  The E7K60’s 2.5-inch footprint provides added benefits to users, including minimal heat emission for optimal performance, low-power consumption, and small form factor for compact environments. The drives begin shipping to customers today.
  
  [list:39282e52a4] Technical Specifications
  Travelstar E7K60
  60 GB
  9.5 mm in height
  7,200 rpm
  50 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
  2 glass disk platters
  4 GMR recording heads
  1000 G/1ms non-operating shock,
  200 G/2ms operating shock
  4.2 ms average latency
  10 ms average seek time
  ATA-6 (IDE) 100 MB/sec maximum interface transfer rate Ultra DMA (mode-5)
  115 weight in grams
  2.7 Bels typical idle acoustics
  3.3 Bels typical operating acoustics
  Ambient temperature (operating) 5-40 deg C
  732 power-on hours per month
  50 percent duty cycle

[/list:u:39282e52a4] http://www.hgst.com/about/news/20030723.html