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TDK takes magnetic-disk densities to the extreme

by Alistair Lowe on 3 October 2012, 12:00

Tags: TDK

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Just when we think that magnetic disks have reached their per-platter density limits, TDK proves us wrong.

The firm has, through tweaking of both the header and platter structure, managed to achieve densities of 1.5Tb per square inch. Placing this into perspective, it means we could see single platter drives holding 2TB in a 3.5in form-factor or, perhaps more importantly as it opens-up options for low-height drives, 1TB in a 2.5in form-factor.

TDK Thermal Assist Head

Thermal Assist Head

The disk head utilises a thermal assist recording technique and uses near-field light to detect features typically invisible to standard optics. TDK is hoping to take the technology into mass production some time in 2014; we wonder, however, exactly how much ground Solid State Drives will have taken by then?



HEXUS Forums :: 19 Comments

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It doesn't seem like a great leap tbh.

While 2TB per platter may be possible, I doubt they will go with that right away and we will see a gradual increase just like all previous platters.

1TB platters have been in production for a while now.

And while a lot of people seem to disagree, I still say 2.5“ HDDs have an extremely limited future. Mostly used in laptops and servers. Laptops are increasingly becoming SSD-driven and with the latest price cuts, I can see server farms going SSD as well considering the price and performance difference between a 2.5” enterprise class mechanical drive and an SSD.
What about the data degradation that seems to be inherent to NAND based storage? I couldn't fill up a SSD with my precious data and expect all that data to be intact in a few years time if I haven't had the SSD powered up in the interim…. At least that's how I understand it.

HDDs have shown they can retain data for a long time with excellent integrity and so IMHO are still going to be around for a while to come yet…
so this means potentially 8tb 4 platter drives or even 10tb 5 platter drives?

a 2tb 2.5" drive would be great for me for my large laptop as i could have a fast SSD bootdrive and a large storage space. or likewise people who just want a small form factor HTPC etc
agreed, I have to back up all my data from my ssd to another hard drive as I simple don't trust it.
You shouldn't trust any storage medium. Flash, mechanical or anything else, they all can and will fail. Putting all your eggs into one basket is a recipe for disaster :)