If you’re always struggling to find extra storage for stuff on your PC, Seagate looks to have what could be the ultimate answer with its new Exos M – a 32TB HDD that provides huge storage capacity. This new HDD is based HAMR technology, which stands for heat-assisted magnetic recording. Seagate has been working on this tech for several years and is finally getting ready to start shipping its first product that utilizes it.
According to the company, HAMR is the answer to the ever-growing need for greater storage capacity. The main problem now, Seagate says, is that current solutions cause two issues. One, increasing the bit capacity on a disk causes thermal instability. To get around this, you can use different materials the manufacture the disk platters that improve this thermal stability. The other issue is caused by this material change. It becomes harder to force bits that are very stable to change magnetic direction. This is where HAMR technology comes in.
Built on the Mosaic 3+ platform, HAMR “requires a new media magnetic technology on each disk that allows data bits to become smaller and more densely packed than ever, while remaining magnetically and thermally stable,” Seagate says. These drives also use lasers to rapidly heat small spots on the disk, which allows the bits to flip their magnetic polarity. This happens one bit at a time and bits are heated and cooled in a nanosecond, resulting in more reliable, as well as quick and thermally stable storage expansion.
The Seagate Exos M comes in 30TB and 32TB options
Spotted by Tom’s Hardware (via Engadget), the new drive from Seagate was quietly posted to its main website through a dedicated product page. The company hasn’t officially announced the drive yet. Both drives also use different types of magnetic recording. As Tom’s Hardware notes, the 32TB model uses “Shingled Magnetic Recording” while the 30TB model uses “Conventional Magnetic Recording.”
Because of the HAMR technology, it has allowed Seagate to produce an HDD that stores up to 3TB per disk platter. This allows for huge gains in storage capacity without increasing the footprint of the drive. So you not only get more space to store files, but you don’t take up more space with the drive in gaining that capability.
Seagate has not announced availability or pricing
While the drive does have its own product page, it’s not clear yet how much it will cost. It’s also unclear when you can buy one. At the moment Seagate is only offering consumers the option of staying informed on its release. So if this sounds like something you want to add to your own setup, you’ll have to wait a bit. That being said, the largest HDD capacity Seagate currently offers is 24TB. Seagate offers a few different options here, with the most expensive retailing for $479.99. So expect a significant increase in price with these new Exos M HDDs.
