I'd rather not support WD as the company that submarined SMR drives into their RED line, which are more expensive than the base consumer lines, and were misleading with the RPM of their drives, changing the SMART to 5400rpm on some HDDs when they were actually 7200rpm and trying to word it as a performance 'class'.
But sure, I can see why people still have brand loyalty with their own anecdotal experiences, and in this case with HAMR/EAMR, being the company with some experience in shipping these types of drives. Those are the reasons ... right?
One of my drives still in use is a 1TB WD Black purchased back in 2010. Eleven years later, it's got over 92,000 power-on hours and I'm just keeping it around out of curiosity. It wouldn't surprise me if it outlives all of us.
There's only like 3 real hard drive manufactures... it's not really an open market so your point is mostly mute. Your high horse has been to beaten to death...
My aim was to understand the reasons for preference of one brand over another, I don't think it's apparent from the initial short comment. I understand my comment shows a brand preference as well. It was a bit of a reactionary reply but I hope the reasoning was clear.
Having said that, I'd base my purchasing decisions primarily on the price/performance of individual products. It is great seeing the price/TB and storage density improvements.
I'd like to understand your point though. Having only 3 HDD manufacturers sure is limited, but it's not a monopoly. I don't see the need to be silent on practices, from any manufacturer, that are detrimental to consumers. Many people really haven't heard about those issues yet.
In addition to making a lot of sense having a second source of HAMR platters, I can't help wondering if this deal isn't also about preempting possible IP lawsuits? As mentioned, Showa Denko has accumulated substantial IP through its own development work on HAMR, and by making them a key supplier, Showa Denko is much less likely trying to get money from Seagate in the courts; selling stuff is usually easier for companies that aren't patent trolls.
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ads295 - Friday, June 11, 2021 - link
Very cool that we can expect to see significant drops in price/GB if HAMR takes off. I'd still prefer WD drives with HAMR over Seagate, though.desiredusernamestring - Friday, June 11, 2021 - link
I'd rather not support WD as the company that submarined SMR drives into their RED line, which are more expensive than the base consumer lines, and were misleading with the RPM of their drives, changing the SMART to 5400rpm on some HDDs when they were actually 7200rpm and trying to word it as a performance 'class'.But sure, I can see why people still have brand loyalty with their own anecdotal experiences, and in this case with HAMR/EAMR, being the company with some experience in shipping these types of drives. Those are the reasons ... right?
flyingpants265 - Saturday, June 12, 2021 - link
I'm almost about to stop buying spinning hard drives out of principle. I bought a 3TB drive for $90 in like 2012. Prices haven't changed..Slash3 - Saturday, June 12, 2021 - link
One of my drives still in use is a 1TB WD Black purchased back in 2010. Eleven years later, it's got over 92,000 power-on hours and I'm just keeping it around out of curiosity. It wouldn't surprise me if it outlives all of us.yetanotherhuman - Monday, June 14, 2021 - link
That's really nothing, I have a 245MB Seagate that still works. It's noisy, ancient, and spends its life powered off in a box, but it still works.Spunjji - Monday, June 14, 2021 - link
The droning/whining sound those old ball-bearing units make hurts my ears but has so much nostalgia value attached 😅StevoLincolnite - Monday, June 21, 2021 - link
Samsing Spinpoint's "power up whine".Or the Quantum Bigfoot drives...
Been lots of noisy spinning rust over the years.
Skeptical123 - Saturday, June 12, 2021 - link
There's only like 3 real hard drive manufactures... it's not really an open market so your point is mostly mute. Your high horse has been to beaten to death...eddman - Saturday, June 12, 2021 - link
"mute"? Seriously?Tomatotech - Sunday, June 20, 2021 - link
Take it easy, cowboy. There’s no edit function on AnandTech.eddman - Tuesday, June 22, 2021 - link
One cannot mistype "moot" as "mute".desiredusernamestring - Saturday, June 12, 2021 - link
My aim was to understand the reasons for preference of one brand over another, I don't think it's apparent from the initial short comment. I understand my comment shows a brand preference as well. It was a bit of a reactionary reply but I hope the reasoning was clear.Having said that, I'd base my purchasing decisions primarily on the price/performance of individual products. It is great seeing the price/TB and storage density improvements.
I'd like to understand your point though. Having only 3 HDD manufacturers sure is limited, but it's not a monopoly. I don't see the need to be silent on practices, from any manufacturer, that are detrimental to consumers. Many people really haven't heard about those issues yet.
eastcoast_pete - Sunday, June 13, 2021 - link
In addition to making a lot of sense having a second source of HAMR platters, I can't help wondering if this deal isn't also about preempting possible IP lawsuits? As mentioned, Showa Denko has accumulated substantial IP through its own development work on HAMR, and by making them a key supplier, Showa Denko is much less likely trying to get money from Seagate in the courts; selling stuff is usually easier for companies that aren't patent trolls.RSAUser - Sunday, June 20, 2021 - link
The most interesting bit will be how they'll handle moving away from SATA/AHCI.