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Wow, when I was a wee intern at Maxtor's server division ten years ago, I vaguely remember my boss talking about helium-filled drives. I never realized the tec
by colanderman 11y ago
Wow, when I was a wee intern at Maxtor's server division ten years ago, I vaguely remember my boss talking about helium-filled drives. I never realized the technology had another decade of development to go! Though I guess it's possible the tech is purely Seagate's, and Maxtor's research was lost in the merger.
- bydo 11y agoI'm sure it's been possible for a while, but just wasn't really necessary. Hitachi's been doing it for a few years already, for what it's worth. http://www.storagereview.com/hgst_ultrastar_helium_6tb_enterprise_hard_drive_review http://www.storagereview.com/hgst_ultrastar_helium_6tb_enter...
- linker3000 11y agoCorrection: It's HGST (now merging with Western Digital), not Hitachi, and the HGST Helium-filled drives have been available for several years. Seagate is playing catch-up. Disclaimer: Works for HGST/WD
- roddux 11y agoOff-topic, but I had to ask -- do you have any information as to whether future HGST drives will be manufactured using WD shops, or visa-versa? I'd be very sad if HGST lost their prestigious lead as the most reliable drive manufacturer due to being taken over by WD.
- bydo 11y agoThanks; my mistake.
- woodman 11y agoI'm pretty sure that economics, not technology, was the hold up. Pressurized hard drives have been around for a long time, the halon filled IBM 3390 being a classic example [0]. Yes helium is more difficult to contain than halon, but it is a long solved problem. [0] (eevblog #395) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBjoWMA5d84 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBjoWMA5d84