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Quantum Slashes HDD Speed to 4,400rpm
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Quantum Corp of the US has begun production of a hard disk drive (HDD) for desktop personal computers (PC) with a speed of only 4,400 rpm. The retail price in the US will probably be about US$259 for a 30-Gbyte drive. "Most PC users are really not demanding high speed in hard disk drives anymore," explains Sheila Tolle, director of Product Marketing, Desktop Division, Quantum. "This is the first model designed to match the result revealed by user surveys, and we're confident that the PC makers back up our decision."
Quantum has gambled quite a lot on the Fireball lct 15, the new 3.5-inch HDD design, assigning top priority to reduced costs (see Fig). Similar 3.5-inch HDD designs have been released to the market in the past, such as a 4,500 rpm model from Seagate Technology Inc in 1998, but it was built in a special product line, quite different from the line for existing 5,400rpm drives. The Seagate drive was manufactured specifically for the "sub-US$1,000" PC market, the firm later returned the disk speed to the average 5,400rpm level.
Quantum, on the other hand, plans to adopt the 4,400rpm speed for all of its mainline models. Tolle stresses that this is the new company policy, stating flatly that the firm "...will not develop 5,400rpm 3.5-inch HDD, and will phase out existing models in favor of 4,400rpm designs."
Design Changes
The adoption of a low-rpm policy by Quantum effectively means that the firm has decided to stop the pursuit of HDD speed for low-priced PC platforms. Disk speed is directly related to performance factors which affect speed, such as data transfer rate and data access time.
Until now, manufacturers have not only boosted storage capacities sharply, they have also improved speed significantly. The basic strategy in the industry has been to offer highest speed and capacity for both high-end and low-end models.
This latest HDD, however, offers a per-platter capacity of 15 Gbytes, which is an increase over prior models, coupled with lower data transfer rate and an average seek time of 284 Mbits/s and 12ms, respectively.
As part of the product development effort, the firm started running a PC user trend survey about a year ago. "About 50% of all PC users only actually use word processor, e-mail and Internet browser applications," said Tolle. "Our new hard disk will result in slightly longer boot times for PC and applications, but only on the order of a second or so. We don't really expect most people to care much about one second."
Lower Prices Priority
The overriding reason that Quantum decided to drop disk speed, switching its policy from the pursuit of higher performance, is to be ready to handle demand for lower prices. The company said that in 1999, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) price for an internal-mount 3.5-inch HDD with one platter and two heads dropped to US$69; US$60 to US$70 is most likely to become standard. At the same time, a range of new audio/visual (A/V) applications like HDD video recorders and HDD music servers are beginning to emerge, and in these sectors the demand for lower price is certain to be a factor.
The merits of a lower disk speed are more than just cost reduction, there are also advantages to be gained in the new AV equipment sector. For example, it will be easier to reduce noise and power consumption. In fact, the latest Quantum design has a noise level 5dB better that the firm's prior model with the same seek time, and a power consumption 1.3W lower.
The adoption of dynamic pressure bearings to replace conventional ball bearings can further reduce noise level. Fujitsu Ltd has already announced a model using the new bearings, and their listed noise level is significantly better than the Quantum models.
Tolle responded with confidence, "We do not plan to switch to the new bearings at this time for cost reasons. I would be very interested to know what price Fujitsu will offer the drive at." She believes the lower disk speed will present few real problems, mentioning that the data transfer rate is capable of handling, for example, two simultaneous Moving Picture Coding Experts Group Phase 2 (MPEG2) data streams.
by Fumitada Takahashi
Websites:
Fujitsu: http://www.fujitsu.co.jp
Quantum: http://www.quantum.com
Seagate: http://www.seagate.com
(June 2000 Issue, Nikkei Electronics Asia)
Quantum has gambled quite a lot on the Fireball lct 15, the new 3.5-inch HDD design, assigning top priority to reduced costs (see Fig). Similar 3.5-inch HDD designs have been released to the market in the past, such as a 4,500 rpm model from Seagate Technology Inc in 1998, but it was built in a special product line, quite different from the line for existing 5,400rpm drives. The Seagate drive was manufactured specifically for the "sub-US$1,000" PC market, the firm later returned the disk speed to the average 5,400rpm level.
Quantum, on the other hand, plans to adopt the 4,400rpm speed for all of its mainline models. Tolle stresses that this is the new company policy, stating flatly that the firm "...will not develop 5,400rpm 3.5-inch HDD, and will phase out existing models in favor of 4,400rpm designs."
Design Changes
The adoption of a low-rpm policy by Quantum effectively means that the firm has decided to stop the pursuit of HDD speed for low-priced PC platforms. Disk speed is directly related to performance factors which affect speed, such as data transfer rate and data access time.
Until now, manufacturers have not only boosted storage capacities sharply, they have also improved speed significantly. The basic strategy in the industry has been to offer highest speed and capacity for both high-end and low-end models.
This latest HDD, however, offers a per-platter capacity of 15 Gbytes, which is an increase over prior models, coupled with lower data transfer rate and an average seek time of 284 Mbits/s and 12ms, respectively.
As part of the product development effort, the firm started running a PC user trend survey about a year ago. "About 50% of all PC users only actually use word processor, e-mail and Internet browser applications," said Tolle. "Our new hard disk will result in slightly longer boot times for PC and applications, but only on the order of a second or so. We don't really expect most people to care much about one second."
Lower Prices Priority
The overriding reason that Quantum decided to drop disk speed, switching its policy from the pursuit of higher performance, is to be ready to handle demand for lower prices. The company said that in 1999, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) price for an internal-mount 3.5-inch HDD with one platter and two heads dropped to US$69; US$60 to US$70 is most likely to become standard. At the same time, a range of new audio/visual (A/V) applications like HDD video recorders and HDD music servers are beginning to emerge, and in these sectors the demand for lower price is certain to be a factor.
The merits of a lower disk speed are more than just cost reduction, there are also advantages to be gained in the new AV equipment sector. For example, it will be easier to reduce noise and power consumption. In fact, the latest Quantum design has a noise level 5dB better that the firm's prior model with the same seek time, and a power consumption 1.3W lower.
The adoption of dynamic pressure bearings to replace conventional ball bearings can further reduce noise level. Fujitsu Ltd has already announced a model using the new bearings, and their listed noise level is significantly better than the Quantum models.
Tolle responded with confidence, "We do not plan to switch to the new bearings at this time for cost reasons. I would be very interested to know what price Fujitsu will offer the drive at." She believes the lower disk speed will present few real problems, mentioning that the data transfer rate is capable of handling, for example, two simultaneous Moving Picture Coding Experts Group Phase 2 (MPEG2) data streams.
by Fumitada Takahashi
Websites:
Fujitsu: http://www.fujitsu.co.jp
Quantum: http://www.quantum.com
Seagate: http://www.seagate.com
(June 2000 Issue, Nikkei Electronics Asia)
