More information about the unconventional SSD used in Apple's new MacBook Air. As I discussed in my previous coverage of this new flash form factor, it resembles a PCI Express Mini Card but is much smaller. Toshiba has now proved my speculation that the device uses SATA signals rather than the PCI Express lane used by the similar AirPort card. We also know that the lauded … [Read more...] about Toshiba Offers “Blade” SSDs (Like Apple’s MacBook Air)
Toshiba
Smoking-Fast Laptops: Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid SSD Disk Drive Confirmed!
There has been much speculation that a new generation of hybrid flash/hard disk drives was right around the corner, and Provantage confirmed it today: The reseller posted a family of "Momentus XT" 2.5" laptop drives for sale on their web site, shipping in 3-4 weeks. Many other sites began listing the drives as well, and The Register got the scoop, benchmarks, and official … [Read more...] about Smoking-Fast Laptops: Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid SSD Disk Drive Confirmed!
Hybrid SSD/Hard Disk Drives: This Time For Sure!
Hard disk drive makers are adding flash storage to their conventional spinning-platter drives to improve performance and are targeting the performance PC market. Wait a second, haven't we seen this before? As Rocky eventually said to Bullwinkle, "but that trick never works!" Flash as a Cache Using flash memory as a disk cache is a pretty good idea. Flash has awesome random … [Read more...] about Hybrid SSD/Hard Disk Drives: This Time For Sure!
Lemons Into Lemonade: Seagate Repackages SATA As GoFlex
The external hard disk drive market is incredibly hot right now, but it's also ultra-competitive. Stalwarts Seagate and Western Digital battle it out with everyone from disk makers like Toshiba and Hitachi to PC hardware companies like HP, Iomega, LaCie. The latest trend is dockable multi-function drives that are friendlier to use and offer advanced features like video … [Read more...] about Lemons Into Lemonade: Seagate Repackages SATA As GoFlex
Should Home Users Buy Enterprise Hard Disk Drives?
Ask a Pack Rat: Reader Dave Emery asked a question that I'm sure many others have wondered: Are "enterprise" drives worth the extra cost in a RAID enclosure? The reason I ask is I've had 2 of 4 Seagate 'consumer' (7200.12) drives fail in my (Other World Qx2) enclosure. The two drives that failed were maybe a year old, well short of any 'MBTF' expectation. Enterprise drives … [Read more...] about Should Home Users Buy Enterprise Hard Disk Drives?