Seagate could release the first 20TB hard drive by 2019

By Brad Jones November 6, 2017

Robert Scoble/Flickr

In October, Western Digital unveiled a new version of its helium-filled high capacity hard drive with a 14TB capacity. Now, Seagate has announced plans to release a 20TB hard drive by 2019, establishing the next battleground for the two companies as they jockey for position in terms of storage space.

Seagate has developed a new technology that is being referred to as Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR). It uses a minuscule laser — smaller than a grain of salt — to heat the recording surface, drastically reducing the amount of energy it takes to magnetize the necessary components, according to a report from Tom’s Hardware.

HAMR is apparently very scalable, with Seagate being able to increase its areal density by 30 percent annually over the last nine years. It currently stands at two terabytes per square inch, which is twice the density of leading hard disks that use Perpendicular Magnetic Recording technology.

Conversely, Western Digital uses a technique called Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording, which uses microwaves in the place of lasers, according to a report from Tech Radar. The absence of lasers makes its drives more reliable, according to the manufacturer.

Of course, Seagate has good reason to take a bet on HAMR — it could potentially allow the company to get ahead of its rival Western Digital. The former expects to be fielding 40TB drives as early as 2023, while the latter expects it will be at least 2025 before it can do similar.

Both companies are obviously going to maintain that their own implementation of the technology is the best available, and so these projections might turn out to be more optimistic than realistic. Still, it seems clear that both Seagate and Western Digital are confident that they can continue to push the limits on hard drive technology over the next few years and beyond.

Western Digital remains on top for the time being, but Seagate is already prepping a 16TB hard drive that is set to make its debut in 2018 – and competition will no doubt remain fierce from there on out, as neither company wants to let the other establish a clear lead.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

Computing

The next big Windows 11 update has a new hardware requirement

Windows 11 device sitting on a stool.

Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 11 24H2 update is expected to arrive with yet another hardware requirement. Centered around SSE4.2 or Streaming SIMD Extensions 4.2, a crucial component for modern processors, the new Windows 11 24H2 with build 26080 will only boot on CPUs that support the instruction set.

This information comes from Bob Pony on X (previously known as Twitter), following earlier reports in February where he claimed that CPUs lacking support for the POPCNT instruction were no longer compatible with Windows 11. The updated requirement is essentially the same, except that they now mandate the entire SSE 4.2 instruction set instead of just the POPCNT instruction within it, as was previously required.

Computing

How to choose the best RAM for your PC in 2024

RAM inside the Starforge Navigator.

If you want to choose the best RAM for your PC, you'll be faced with a lot of terms that may not sound familiar at a glance. DDR? DIMM? CAS? XMP? When you just want something that goes well with the rest of your PC, having to pull out a dictionary before you shop can be pretty daunting.

Fortunately, picking RAM is fairly straightforward once you understand what you're looking for and what it means. In our RAM buying guide, we'll walk you through the process so that you can be happy with your choice.
Understanding RAM
The thing about RAM is that you don't need to fully get what each and every spec is responsible for -- not unless you want to. If you're building a barebones office PC, even sub-optimal RAM will make it run; the problem is that it won't run nearly as well as it could.

Computing

This HP laptop is discounted from $519 to $279

HP 14 laptop with intel Celeron on desk.

There are laptop deals for top-of-the-line machines, but if you only need a basic device for your day-to-day needs, don't spend more than you should by taking advantage of Walmart's offer for the HP 14-inch Laptop. Instead of $519, you'll only have to pay $279 for savings of $240. That's an extremely affordable price for a brand new laptop, but we don't think it will last long. To make sure that you don't miss out on the discount, it's highly recommended that you proceed with the transaction as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the HP 14-inch Laptop
The HP 14-inch Laptop will never be able to match up to the speed of the best laptops, which is expected because of its price. However, if you're thinking about using the device for simple tasks like browsing the internet, watching streaming shows, and typing documents, then its 13th-generation Intel Core i3-N305 processor, integrated Intel UHD Graphics, and 8GB of RAM will be enough. The laptop also ships with Windows 11 Home pre-installed in its 256GB SSD, for an operating system that will be familiar for most people.