Possibility of 2TB Laptop HDD?

[visim91]

Is there any possibility we will be seeing a 2 TB laptop HDD between winter - summer 2012?

I want to go ahead and install a 1 TB - and probably will - but, I find it odd that after the 2009-2010 introduction of 1 TB 2.5" drives the steady increase in capacity tapered off.

Hell - with the flooding in Thailand - will any and all potential upgrades continue to be postponed indefinitely?

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[warvanov]

I wouldn't count on any big leaps forward in hard drives in the next 6-12 months. I definitely wouldn't make any plans or delay making purchases you need based on speculation of larger drives in the next few months.

I don't know how closely tied hard drive production is to the advancement of hard drive capacity. I also don't know if the flooding in Thailand has affected the latter as much as it obviously has the former. It could be the case that hard drive technology will advance steadily while production ramps back up over the next year, so that by the time hard drive production is back to normal we'll be seeing much larger drives on the market.

However, I do think that 2TB laptop drives by this summer is reaching quite a bit. Even if the flooding in Thailand had never occurred, I think the biggest we would have seen in this time frame would be 1.25-1.5 TB. Whether we'll even see that at this point seems unlikely.

 

[visim91]

Right, I was worried any advancements in HD capacity were being offset by present production difficulties. Can't be sure. Probably not.
I am inclined to think you are right in that there should have been a 1.5 TB iteration by now - especially if a 2 TB update was in the near future.
I will take the absence of the former as validation that I certainly should not wait on the basis of a "what-if" scenario; they never work out.

 

[thundersteele]

I think that there won't be many further advances in laptop HDD technology. I even think that the 2.5'' format will be abandoned.

The reason is that a SSD in the format that the MBA uses gives up to 500 GB of storage on a device that is smaller than a RAM bar. Once could probably put two of those in a laptop (the Lenovo Thinkpad already offers this possibility), and provide 1TB or more storage while still using less space than a 2.5'' format drive.

What would also be nice is a 2.5'' size enclosure that can take two or four of those SSD bars... but this might be more complicated than it sounds

 

[bimmerfreak0]

I think that there won't be many further advances in laptop HDD technology. I even think that the 2.5'' format will be abandoned.

The reason is that a SSD in the format that the MBA uses gives up to 500 GB of storage on a device that is smaller than a RAM bar. Once could probably put two of those in a laptop (the Lenovo Thinkpad already offers this possibility), and provide 1TB or more storage while still using less space than a 2.5'' format drive.

What would also be nice is a 2.5'' size enclosure that can take two or four of those SSD bars... but this might be more complicated than it sounds

Anything can replace a similar item...the ultimate question is cost. No one is buying 1tb SSD's right now for a reason...

They are well over 1k...really around 2k. And two 500gb sticks of SSD...even more...and then remember...it's Apple...a company that charges $50 to upgrade from 320gb to 500gb on a standard hdd.

 

[GermanyChris]

It would probably be possible with the newish 500GB platters..

in a 12.5mm drive just run 4 of them, just like it used to be 4 333 for the TB drive..

 

[dusk007]

I think research is independent of such production problems. Also it didn't hit all the manufactures and thus it is probable that the next density increase shows up regardless of that in whatever timeframe they need.

As for hdd sizes.
500GB platter is the current tech. The last was 333-375 GB per platter.
That meant 3 platter 12.5mm 1TB drives.
What we are still missing is 12.5mm 3 platter 1.5TB drives based on the new densities. They will probably show up in the next months, depending on where the shortage is greatest (platter, heads, cases, engines ...)
I am too lazy to confirm it but I think 1.5TB 2.5" already exist but not in retail only bundled as an expensive external drive from Seagate or WD.

I think the only 4 platter 2.5" drives came from seagate and measured 15mm. I doubt they are practical and they probably won't fit into a MBP. They are also louder and often more prone to failure.

 

[grahamnp]

Samsung and Seagate are now shipping 1tb per platter 3.5" drives. The previous max was was 600gb per platter so that would make it a 400gb boost in platter density and therefore a 67% increase in storage for a given number of platters when using my not so scientific calculations. Assuming that the technology will trickle down eventually. I'm guessing that a similar jump in density can be expected on mobile drives. All speculation on my part btw.

 

[dusk007]

Samsung and Seagate are now shipping 1tb per platter 3.5" drives. The previous max was was 600gb per platter so that would make it a 400gb boost in platter density and therefore a 67% increase in storage for a given number of platters when using my not so scientific calculations. Assuming that the technology will trickle down eventually. I'm guessing that a similar jump in density can be expected on mobile drives. All speculation on my part btw.

The problem is not that your calculations are too fuzzy. The problem is your data is bad. Compareing 3.5" to 2.5" and assuming that the 3.5" are ahead is the big error you make.
A current 1TB 3.5" platter as about an areal density of 630 Gb/sqin some even less.
A 500GB 2.5" platter has an areal density of 744 Gb/sqin.

The 2.5" have always been ahead and before they make the next jump the 3.5" will catch up. Also there have been 750GB platters in 3.5" thus the increase in density was not 67% from one generation to the next.

 

[grahamnp]

I have been assuming that the technology wasn't directly comparable and that was why 3.5" has always been behind if looking at areal density alone. Anyway, I see my mistake now. Thanks for putting me straight.

 

[Philflow]

1.5 TB is already possible in a 12.5mm drive. I guess it won't take long before we see it.

It would probably be possible with the newish 500GB platters..

in a 12.5mm drive just run 4 of them, just like it used to be 4 333 for the TB drive..

Actually there's 3 platters in a 12.5mm drive.