HGST unveils Helium-filled HDDs - 40% larger & cool running

**Seán** · 14-09-2012

I just posted the article HGST unveils Helium-filled HDDs - 40% larger & cool running.

Quote:

With thinner platters and platter spacing due to the advantages of a Helium gas filling, this allows for up to 7 platters (instead of 5), giving 40% more additional capacity. By using today's 1TB platters, 7 platters would give a hard disk capacity of 7TB. See the story for further features.

Click to read the full article here: http://www.myce.com/news/hgst-unveil...running-63767/

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**olyteddy** · 14-09-2012

Does the Helium make them 40% lighter too? Maybe make your MP3s sound a little like Donald Duck? Sounds pretty complicated to implement...

yojimbo197 · 14-09-2012

Given that there's an impending Helium storage, this sounds like a bad idea.

**Liggy** · 14-09-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by yojimbo197

Given that there's an impending Helium storage, this sounds like a bad idea.

Impending Helium storage? Sure you don't mean a shortage? At least that's what I heard.

Isn't that somewhat crazy, considering the fact that Helium is the second most abundant element in the observable universe?

*DukeNukem* · 14-09-2012

We're running out of helium. This is a great idea, but it's also a bad one.
Go back to the drawing board, guys. I'm amazed at how many uses helium has. I'd rather we save it for medical/scientific research instead of hard drive production or birthday party balloons. Don't get me wrong, I'd sell my grandmother for a 7TB hard drive.

*tmc8080* · 14-09-2012

This just adds fuel to the fire that HAMR technology is not ready for prime time, and neither is this R&D grasping at straws for a releaseable product in less than 2 years.. at which time the 7 BILLION DOLLAR chip plant samsung is building will be making 10nm flash chips capable of superceding all current hard drive technology in FLASH SSD!! So, the hard drive industy is really at a crossroads.. either gamble on HAMR technology & pony up the 5 billion to build a plant OR seek financing to go TOE TO TOE with the 10nm chip process and just make SSDs... all of which WILL be more expensive at first, so.. $450 4tb SSD drives are not out of the question (at least the ones that can get 500 - 700MB/second transfer rate). We'll expect drives to be made which are "SLOWER" in the range of 125mb to 250mb to be about half price... as this will be more reasonable and able to pay off the R&D cost over 5 years..

BTW, there is massive rampant speculation on which way the hard drive companies will go.. besides, if HAMR hard drives are going to be upto 40% more expensive to make going forward.. is it really worth it? The only glitch in going SSD is there will be competition beyond the current hard drive companies so that could create competitive problems for companies who only know hard drives. The consumer doesn't care who gets there first at a cheaper price & highest quality.

Promises of 6 - 40TB hard drives with HAMR technology are just that promises.. there's nothing that says flash chips can't achieve the same densities in the 10nm process at speeds and reliability that put HAMR to shame. Only R&D can tell which path is worth the gamble.

14-09-2012	#2
olyteddy Senior Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the present, the past was so long ago... Posts: 6,596	Does the Helium make them 40% lighter too? Maybe make your MP3s sound a little like Donald Duck? Sounds pretty complicated to implement... __________________ It's been at least 20 weeks since I had a sig...

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14-09-2012	#3
yojimbo197 MyCE Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 453	Given that there's an impending Helium storage, this sounds like a bad idea.

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14-09-2012	#5
DukeNukem MyCE Resident Commenter Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ajax, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,606	We're running out of helium. This is a great idea, but it's also a bad one. Go back to the drawing board, guys. I'm amazed at how many uses helium has. I'd rather we save it for medical/scientific research instead of hard drive production or birthday party balloons. Don't get me wrong, I'd sell my grandmother for a 7TB hard drive.

14-09-2012	#6
tmc8080 MyCE Resident Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 980	This just adds fuel to the fire that HAMR technology is not ready for prime time, and neither is this R&D grasping at straws for a releaseable product in less than 2 years.. at which time the 7 BILLION DOLLAR chip plant samsung is building will be making 10nm flash chips capable of superceding all current hard drive technology in FLASH SSD!! So, the hard drive industy is really at a crossroads.. either gamble on HAMR technology & pony up the 5 billion to build a plant OR seek financing to go TOE TO TOE with the 10nm chip process and just make SSDs... all of which WILL be more expensive at first, so.. $450 4tb SSD drives are not out of the question (at least the ones that can get 500 - 700MB/second transfer rate). We'll expect drives to be made which are "SLOWER" in the range of 125mb to 250mb to be about half price... as this will be more reasonable and able to pay off the R&D cost over 5 years.. BTW, there is massive rampant speculation on which way the hard drive companies will go.. besides, if HAMR hard drives are going to be upto 40% more expensive to make going forward.. is it really worth it? The only glitch in going SSD is there will be competition beyond the current hard drive companies so that could create competitive problems for companies who only know hard drives. The consumer doesn't care who gets there first at a cheaper price & highest quality. Promises of 6 - 40TB hard drives with HAMR technology are just that promises.. there's nothing that says flash chips can't achieve the same densities in the 10nm process at speeds and reliability that put HAMR to shame. Only R&D can tell which path is worth the gamble.