We're all looking forward to the days of low-cost SSDs, but if you're not prepared to wait, and don't mind sticking to noisy moving parts, Toshiba has an interim solution.
Pictured below is Toshiba's 1.8in 5,400rpm hard disk, available in 80GiB and 160GiB flavours. According to Toshiba, this is the world's first drive to offer the aforementioned specification along with a SATA interface.
The 160GiB and 80GiB drives, model numbers MK1617GSG and MK8017GSG, respectively, will enter mass production in August.
Toshiba will be hoping the drives will offer a lower-cost alternative to the solid-state drives currently used in the majority of netbooks. Its dimensions, however, measure 54.0 x 78.5 x 8.0mm, meaning it won't be able to squeeze into devices such as Apple's MacBook Air.
The key features of both new drives, as listed by Toshiba, are as follows:
- Industry's largest storage capacity:160GB (MK1617GSG)
The new MK 1617GSG brings the industry's largest capacity of 160GB to a 1.8-inch HDD with a serial ATA interface.
- Improved energy consumption efficiency (MK1617GSG)
Compared to the MK1216GSG (Serial ATA, 120GB, 1.8-inch HDD), the new MK1617GSG raises energy consumption efficiency, as defined under the Japanese legal standard, to 0.00281W/GB, a 25% improvement.
- Lighter weight (MK8017GSG)
The new 80GB drive weighs only 60g, 3% lighter than the MK8016GSG (serial ATA, 80GB, 1.8-inch HDD).
- Higher rotational speed (MK1617GSG and MK8017GSG)
The serial ATA interface supports an interface speed of 1.5Gbps, surpassing the performance of drives with a parallel ATA interface. The drives also operate at a maximum rotation speed of 5,400 rpm, 29% faster than Toshiba's current MK1214GAH (parallel ATA, 120GB, 1.8-inch HDD), supporting much faster data transfers. The disk's higher areal density improves the maximum internal data transfer rate by approximately 17%, and supports faster data access in reading and writing that enhances overall performance.
- High vibration and shock resistance (MK1617GSG and MK8017GSG)
Compared to current 2.5-inch HDD (MK1652GSX), the new drives offer the higher levels of vibration and shock resistance needed in mobile PCs.
- Environmentally conscious products offering efficient power consumption (MK1617GSG and MK8017GSG)
Alongside capacity improvement, Toshiba has also achieved a power consumption efficiency of 0.00281W/GB for the MK1617GSG, and 0.00563W/GB for MK8017GSG, as defined in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Energy Conservation Law, assuring a more environmentally friendly design. The new drives also comply with the EU's RoHS directive
