David Flynn30 July 2009, 2:52 PM
So you need 1,000GB to go? Western Digital has just launched the first 1TB notebook hard drive, and Seagate is set to follow...
Sales of laptops continue to outstrip their deskbound cousins, and ever-beefier multicore processors are closing the performance gap.
But at least one compromise still rankles those who would adopt a notebook as their one-and-only PC, and that’s the size of the hard drive. Notebook hard drives currently top out at 500GB, compared to four times that on a desktop PC.
However, that constraint is set to be shattered with the arrival of 1TB notebook drives. (Okay, that’s still only half as much as a desktop, but it can be argued that 1,000GB is more than enough for almost any notebook user).
Western Digital is first out of the gate with the
Scorpio Blue, which is available in both 750GB (US$190) and 1TG (US$250) versions. Both are built around new high-density platters which pack 333GB into each disc and spin at 5,200rpm. And that’s
not a typo – WD rates them as just behind the standard 5,400rpm of most notebook drives.
Each drive is fitted with 8MB cache and runs through a SATA 3Gb/s pipeline. The 1TB model is also available in WD’s My Passport Essential SE portable USB drive.
WD's 1TB Scoprion Blue notebook drive (shown slightly larger than in real life)
However, these supersized spinners aren’t suitable for every notebook. While built to the standard 2.5 inch size, the thickness of 12.5 mm instead of the 9.5 mm profile required by many slim notebooks will limit them to the larger breed of laptops. But as WD has already gotten this far, we’re sure a skinnier drive is in the works.
Seagate will soon follow suit with a 1TB version of its Momentus notebook hard drive, with a company spokeswoman confirming to APC that “Seagate will deliver a 1TB 2.5-inch drive during the current quarter”.