14 DAY TRIAL // Not long after confirming that it has a 3TB hard drive in the making, Seagate was reported to have almost finished developing a certain new kind of storage solution which, while based on an older idea, was ready to set a fresh standard on the notebook front. Essentially an HDD/SSD hybrid, the concept tried to define a storage unit with as much capacity as an HDD and the speed of an SSD. The first attempts to create such a drive were made in 2006, and failed. Now, however, by means of the Adaptive Memory technology, Seagate aims to show the true potential of such storage solutions.
The new solid state hybrid drive is known as the Momentus XT and comes in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities. It is a 7200RPM hard disk with 32MB cache and 4GB of solid state storage built into it. The Adaptive Memory technology identifies patterns in how often digital data is used, after which the most frequently used information is moved to the embedded SSD memory. This leads to faster access that, in turn, allows the OS to boot faster (by 100%) and programs, including games, to load more quickly (about 25%-46% faster according to benchmarks).
Of course, one may immediately jump and say that a regular SSD is more than capable of bringing these benefits. The true value of the Momentus XT is that it enables a comparable performance boost while staying within the limits of affordability. Whereas a 128GB SSD costs about $300, the 500GB hybrid, while boasting the same 2.5-inch form factor, is priced at only $156.
“For notebook PC users looking forward to faster PC performance without sacrificing storage capacity or affordability, now there’s an option,” according to John Rydning, IDC’s research director for hard disk drives. “Seagate’s new Momentus XT drive is the first storage device for notebook PCs that raises the bar for affordable capacity and performance.”
Reviewers were quick to take the drive for a spin and they found that the praise its maker brought was largely justified.
“We see the Momentus XT drive as a game changer, a product heralding a new generation of hard drives that combine SSD and HDD capabilities so that laptop users don’t have to make trade-offs on speed, cost or capacity,” said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management. “The feedback we’ve received from customers, industry experts and early reviews has been overwhelmingly positive, and Seagate will continue to drive innovation that provides more value and a better computing experience to consumers.”
Seagate will hold a live webcast, on May 26, along with ASUS, whose ROG G73JH gaming notebook will soon be configurable with a pair of Momentus XT drives. In the meantime, consumers can also take a look at the 750GB Momentus hard drive designed for mainstream and high-end computing and external backup enclosures.