The VelociRaptor without the IcePack   Posted on 24/07/2008 at 14:03 by Marc

	Western Digital has just announced the availability of its VelociRaptor in 2"1/2 format, or in other words, without an IcePack radiator enabling it to fit into a 3"1/2 slot. Contrary to the version with the IcePack (WD3000GLFS), this model is available in 300 GB (2 platters) and also 150 GB (a single platter): the WD3000BLFS and WD1500BLFS. Normally, Western planned these models for 1U and 2U blade servers. As we noticed in our test of the VelociRaptor, while the IcePack improves cooling, it can also increase the drive’s noise levels. The release of a model without it fortunately means that you do not lose the warranty which would otherwise not be applicable if you separated the drive from the IcePack yourself. However, it’s recommended that you ventilate the hard drive casing as the VelociRaptor’s controller has the tendency to increase in temperature.

Seagate: 1st 1.5 Terabyte hard drive   Posted on 10/07/2008 at 23:35 by Nicolas - source: Seagate

	A year and a half after the launch of the first hard drive with a capacity of 1 Terabyte by Hitachi, it’s now Seagate’s turn to be the first in 1.5 TB drives with the Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB. All of its specifications have not yet been revealed but we do know that it has an SATA-II interface and 4 platters with a density of 375 GB (like the Hitachi 7K1000.B) giving it a sustained maximum sequential speed of 120 MB/s versus 115 MB/s or 105 MB/s for other Barracuda 7200.11. For availability, the good news is that the first deliveries will take place next month.

Samsung: 128 GB SSDs in large volume   Posted on 09/07/2008 at 23:41 by Nicolas - source: BusinessWire

	Yesterday, Samsung, one of the pioneers of the SSD, announced that mass production of several new models in 1.8" and 2" ½ format with a capacity of 128 GB and based on MLC chips has just begun. Others limited to 64 GB should also be mass produced starting this month. All use the SATA-II interface. In terms of performances, there will be reading/writing speeds of 70 MB/s and 90 MB/s which will enable them to rival certain SSDs equipped with more expensive SLC memory. Some rather good news is that power consumption was announced at 0.5W in use and 0.2W in standby. Otherwise, the Korean manufacturer took advantage of the occasion to reaffirm that a 256 GB model would enter into production at the end of the year.

Hitachi 7K1000.B : 375 GB per platter!   Posted on 09/07/2008 at 10:41 by Marc

	Hitachi, which was up until now behind the competition in terms of density, has announced a new Deskstar generation, the 7K1000.B, that will enable it to surpass Samsung, Seagate and Western with a density as high as 375 GB per platter! Offered with capacities of 160, 250 (8 MB of cache), 320, 500, 640, 750 GB and 1 TB (16 MB of cache), the 7K1000.B, however, are not entirely equal regarding this new capability. While the manufacturer does not give official details on the number of platters for each drive, they are divided into three groups for sound and voltage data: 160/250/320 GB (3.6w and 25 dBA at rest), 500/640/750 GB (4.4w and 24 dBA at rest) and 1 TB (5.2w and 27 dBA at rest). We can therefore conclude that they have a respective 1, 2 and 3 platters. The fact that the rotation sound level of the mono is higher than the dual platter can be explained by a simplified casing. Thus, only the 750 GB drive has two 375 GB platters. And the others? Given the capacities we could think that surface densities are mixed, unless, for example, certain models only partially use their platters. Therefore, is the 1 TB composed of three fully used 333 GB platters or will there be three 375 GB of which only 89% is used? This is something we have seen in the past from Hitachi and only tests will tell. Hitachi announces that the 7K1000.B as well as the professional version, the E7K1000 (differs by 32 MB of cache, a 5 year warranty and MTB announced at 1,200,000 hours) will be delivered this month to its clients.

Pioneer: 16 layer Blu-ray and 400 GB   Posted on 08/07/2008 at 21:19 by Nicolas - source: Pioneer

	Yesterday, Pioneer announced having developed a Blu-ray disk with a capacity of 400 GB thanks to its 16 layers, while now we generally find single and double layer Blu-Ray disks with capacities of 25 GB and 50 GB, respectively. Development wasn’t easy because there cannot be any interference between the 16 layers when each is being read. The Japanese giant indicates that its previous experience with DVDs was very useful and that it used a disk structure that reduces crosstalk of adjacent layers. As for the read-out system, it will use a light-receiving element that can read out weak signals at a high signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, in the future the company also plans on offering recordable Blu-ray disks based on the same technology. All of the details will be presented at the 2008 International Symposium on Optical Memory and Optical Data Storage taking place in Hawaii starting July 13th.