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Momentus XT with 4GB of SLC on the side
A few years back Samsung pioneered the hybrid hard drive concept, but the idea failed to catch on with OEMs and consumers alike. However, the concept seems sound, and Seagate seems eager to give it another go. The company has prepared a new series of hybrid drives and this time around they sound a bit more tempting than a couple of years back.
The 2.5-inch Momentus XT series will ship with 4GB of fast SLC NAND. In addition, all drives will feature 32MB of cache and they will run at 7200rpm, but they are limited to SATA 3Gbps. It appears Seagate will offer three capacities: 250GB for €92, 320GB for €100 and 500GB for €124. Sounds a bit pricey, as regular 2.5-inch 7200rpm drives are usually 40 to 60 percent cheaper depending on their capacity.
However, we still like the concept. Due to major advances in flash storage, hybrid drives probably have a better chance of finding buyers than two or three years ago. We would like to see some cheaper 3.5-inch drives with a bit more SLC in the mix, as 4GB doesn't sound like much for a high performance desktop.
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Seagate readies next generation hybrid drives
Momentus XT with 4GB of SLC on the side
A few years back Samsung pioneered the hybrid hard drive concept, but the idea failed to catch on with OEMs and consumers alike. However, the concept seems sound, and Seagate seems eager to give it another go. The company has prepared a new series of hybrid drives and this time around they sound a bit more tempting than a couple of years back.
The 2.5-inch Momentus XT series will ship with 4GB of fast SLC NAND. In addition, all drives will feature 32MB of cache and they will run at 7200rpm, but they are limited to SATA 3Gbps. It appears Seagate will offer three capacities: 250GB for €92, 320GB for €100 and 500GB for €124. Sounds a bit pricey, as regular 2.5-inch 7200rpm drives are usually 40 to 60 percent cheaper depending on their capacity.
However, we still like the concept. Due to major advances in flash storage, hybrid drives probably have a better chance of finding buyers than two or three years ago. We would like to see some cheaper 3.5-inch drives with a bit more SLC in the mix, as 4GB doesn't sound like much for a high performance desktop.