Seagate's New SSHD Hybrids Have Dual-Mode Flash Caches 141
crookedvulture writes "Seagate's has revealed its next-generation hybrid drives, and for the first time, there's a 3.5" desktop model in the mix. The new family of so-called SSHDs includes standard and slim notebook variants with 500GB and 1TB capacities, plus 1TB and 2TB desktop versions. All of them combine mechanical platters with 8GB of NAND in a dual-mode SLC/MLC configuration. The SLC component is largely reserved to cache host writes, while the MLC portion is filled with frequently accessed data to speed read performance. Despite MLC NAND's lower write endurance, Seagate claims the SSHDs have more than enough headroom to last at least five years with typical client workloads. More impressively, the mobile SSHDs are supposed to be faster than the old Momentus XT hybrid even though they have slower 5,400-RPM spindle speeds. The mobile models are slated to start selling shortly at $79 for 500GB and $99 for 1TB, while the 1TB and 2TB desktop flavors are due in late April for $99 and $149, respectively. Unlike other NAND caching solutions, Seagate's tech requires no software or drivers, making it compatible with any OS."
Re:What is the point? (Score:5, Insightful)
2. Less headaches while configuring.
Bonus: All your data will be cached, not only what's on the SSD (OS + core programs). That includes the games you have installed on the HDD. (When you have a 120 GB SSD +1 TB HDD setup you typically do not install games on the SSD.)
Re:SSD's only speed up the startup times (Score:5, Insightful)
Spoken like someone who hasn't actually used a latest gen SSD yet. I used to be on your bandwagon, thinking my striped raid was good enough.
There is just no getting around the fact that essentially zero seek times and 400MB+ reads and writes are just so much better than platters can manage.
I will never build another computer without at least a small SSD for the OS and related software.
Re:The disk is never accessed SSD or not (Score:4, Insightful)
"Once your RAM file cache is more than the files you load, file access is essential zero seek and 2GB+ reads and writes. Don't forget here we're talking about RAM. The disk is NEVER touched once its cached, there's no possibility for a disk that isn't being accessed to speed up a read from the RAM cache, and no benefit from speeding up a deferred write that's done in the background."
You don't know how writes in a filesystem work. It isn't just the data that gets written and not every write can be deferred.
If your "disk light never blinks" you aren't using your computer.
Re:Sure of course (Score:5, Insightful)
>How about those typical client workloads where almost every day is needed to manage 16-30 gigabytes of new data,
That's not a typical client workload. Go buy a large SSD or some type of SSD accelerator. Quit bitching this product doesn't fill your needs when it's better then the previous product at the same price point. If you want fast speeds with large data sets, open your wallet not your mouth.