Toshiba to Enable 14 TB, PMR HDDs as Soon as 2018

[Raevenlord]

Toshiba has announced they will begin commercializing HDDs based on Showa Denko K.K.'s (SDK) 9th generation perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) platter technology. This latest technology brings about improved storage areal densities in both the 2.5" and 3.5" platters, increasing storage capacities without having to resort to Shingled Magnetic Recording 8SMR), which typically reduces performance. The increased areal density of the new generation technology enables 1 TB 2.5" platters and up to 1.8 TB 3.5" platters, opening the door for PMR HDDs with up to 14 TB capacity sometime in 2018.

The first Toshiba drive to make use of this technology is aimed at ultra-portable laptops that require lots of storage space: the MQ04ABF Series features 5,400 RPM spindle speeds, 1TB of data storage capacity in an ultra-compact 2.5-inch 7.0 mm height form factor. This news is particularly interesting for enterprise-class solutions, however. Today's top-of-the-range enterprise-class 3.5" HDDs can store up to 12 TB of data (14 TB solutions have to make use of SMR). These 12 TB HDDs are based on 8x 8th generation PMR platters featuring ~1.5 TB capacities. With the arrival of the 9th gen PMR platters in 2018, hard drive makers will be able to increase capacities of 8x platter models to 14 TB, while designs with 7x platters can go up to 12 TB.



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[Prima.Vera]

Can we please have real cheap 6TB drives now?

 

[jsfitz54]

Can we please have real cheap 6TB drives now?

Double, Plus1...^^^

 

[Octavean]

Can we please have real cheap 6TB drives now?

Define cheap,....

 

[trparky]

The larger the capacity the longer you're going to cry when it bites the dust because you lost all of your data.

I know, people are going to tell you to backup your data but as your data storage requirements increase the more expensive it is to do said backups.

 

[StrayKAT]

Define cheap,....

$150-200?

 

[xorbe]

The first Toshiba drive to make use of this technology is aimed at ultra-portable laptops that require lots of storage space: the MQ04ABF Series features 5,400 RPM spindle speeds, 1TB of data storage capacity in an ultra-compact 2.5-inch 7.0 mm height form factor.

Um, just use ssd tech for 1TB, it's not that expensive or that much space.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Define cheap,....

OK. Same as 2TB prices now

 

[yotano211]

I can get a 1tb 7mm 2.5 inch drive for years now, I've had 2tb 9.5mm for over 3 years now.

 

[Renald]

$150-200?

It's already 200€/200$.
More like 20€/TB (edit : TB not GB ^^). We are like stuck for ages at 33€/TB...

It's damn cool to increase capacity but, it should lower price per GB, at least on "small" capacities like 4-6TB ones. Currently, it's more profitable to have many 3TB than one 6TB : if one fails, you still have 1 HDD ^^ and it's the same price per TB.

 

[StrayKAT]

It's already 200€/200$.
More like 20€/TB (edit : TB not GB ^^). We are like stuck for ages at 33€/TB...

It's damn cool to increase capacity but, it should lower price per GB, at least on "small" capacities like 4-6TB ones. Currently, it's more profitable to have many 3TB than one 6TB : if one fails, you still have 1 HDD ^^ and it's the same price per TB.

Is it? I suppose it depends on the drive. I was in the market for a 6tb wd black. It's was around $220 last I checked. But I suppose these would be a little pricier.