14 DAY TRIAL // The hard disk drive market has some life in it still, as LSI is all too eager to prove through its LSI TrueStore system-on-chip devices (SoCs).
Lsi's TrueStore SoCs are the industry's first HDD SoCs to be constructed using the 28nm manufacturing process technology.
According to the company, they not only increase the amount of data that can be stored on an HDD, but they also do it while not affecting the price tag.
More precisely, the data density of platters is increased, and so is yield, thanks to better signal-to-ratio performance.
Furthermore, since the TrueStore SoCs integrate all the core components of HDD electronic systems into a single chip, they boost reliability while simplifying disk drive development processes. Not only that, but even power consumption is reduced.
The first in the chip line is called LSI TrueStore RC5100 and boasts third-generation LSI low-density parity check (LDPC) iterative decoding architecture.
"The explosion of digital content driven by rich media such as high-definition video and photography is challenging HDD manufacturers to deliver higher-capacity, more energy-efficient drives," said Phil Brace, senior vice president and general manager, Storage Peripherals Division, LSI.
"By being first to sample 28 nm SoC technology, we're offering HDD manufacturers a low-risk, time-to-market advantage in meeting next-generation HDD capacity points while staying within the power envelope."
Some people used to say HDDs were doomed and that SSDs were the road to the future, but then scientists found a way to make the former about 100 times faster than they are now.
To add fuel to the fire, Microsoft conducted a study that solid state drives, as they are today, aren't going to survive much more than a decade or so.
It is unfortunate that platter spinners are and will continue to be so very expensive, despite a faster than expected recovery after the Thai floods.