Offering 250GB, 320GB and 500GB options, Seagate's hybrid Momentus XT HDD is allegedly the world's fastest 2.5-inch drive for laptops (breaking their previous record), and comes in at a shade over 100 bucks.
The hybrid drive is 80 per cent faster than the usual 7,200rpm drive, and up to 100 per cent faster than a 5,400rpm one, with 4GB of SSD capacity and 32MB of DDR3 cache memory. It's not quite as fast as straight SSDs, but are a heck of a lot faster than the usual HDD—and at that price, you can't complain.
Full details are below in the press release, but if this model does tickle your fancy, OverClockersClub has already done a full review of the 500GB model, saying that while it's not an SSD killer, they "would call it an HDD killer. The Momentus XT beats out traditional hard drives in just about every test." [Seagate]
Image Credit: StorageReview
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. - May 24, 2010 - Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) today announced channel and OEM shipments of the Momentus ® XT drive, the world's fastest 2.5-inch laptop PC hard drive, combining SSD-like performance with the massive capacity and much lower cost of HDDs. The Momentus XT drive also features Adaptive Memory™ – a groundbreaking new technology from Seagate that learns and optimizes the drive's performance to each user by moving frequently used information into the flash memory for faster access. The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive boots up to 100 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives, the mainstream spin speed for laptop PCs, and sets new benchmarks for real-world system performance for laptops and gaming systems.
Today's high-performance SSDs for mobile computing cost as much as 10 times more than hard disk drives of the same capacity, with the price of a 250GB SSD outstripping even the cost of many laptop PCs. As a result, most consumers and system builders are unwilling or unable to pay the high price for the greater speed and quiet operations of SSDs. Additionally, SSDs offer fewer capacity options than hard disk drives.
Momentus XT, 2.5-inch Solid State Hybrid Drive
The Momentus XT drive is a best-of-both-worlds solution that combines a 7200RPM spin speed, 4GB of solid state memory and Seagate's Adaptive Memory technology to deliver unprecedented hard drive performance. The unique Adaptive Memory technology works by identifying patterns in how often certain digital data is used, and then moving the most frequently used information to the embedded solid state memory for faster access – effectively tailoring hard drive performance to each user and their applications.
"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."
"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."
Momentus ® XT Drive Brings Unprecedented Speed to New ASUS Gaming Laptop PC
ASUS has also announced that it will offer the Momentus XT drive as an upgrade option for its new Republic of Gamers (ROG) G73Jh notebook. The system is powered by an Intel i7 720Qm quad-core processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and DX11 capable ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870.
"With the Momentus ® XT drive, ASUS gives gaming customers who prefer the ASUS ROG G73 the capacity they need and the performance they crave," said PC Wang, vice president of the ASUS Systems Business Group. "Seagate's innovative solid state hybrid drive hands down delivers the best value, capacity and SSD-like performance to a wide audience."
The Momentus XT drive installs as easily as a traditional 9.5mm-high notebook drive for new systems or laptop upgrades and, unlike early hybrid drives, operates independently of the operating system and the motherboard chipset.