Western Digital's SSHD Black magic revealed

Subject: Storage | May 14, 2013 - 05:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: sshd, cache, western digital, Black SSHD, Hybrid Drive

The Tech Report sat down with Matt Rutledge, Vice President of Western Digital's client computing group to discuss the software behind their new HDDs with an SSD cache.  Sandisk will be providing the hardware and WD who will be providing the custom caching software which will not be coded into the hardware but will function at the driver level.  Matt mentioned that this software can also make use of the system's memory and incorporate it into the cache as well though it was not completely clear if there will be many user editable settings.  Check the interview out.

"WD revealed that its hybrid drives will use SanDisk iSSD flash components. The announcement was devoid of details on how the caching system works, but we can now shed new light on the software-managed scheme."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Seagate SSHD Thin 500GB Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Seagate Desktop HDD.15 4TB vs WD Black 4TB Hard Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
• Toshiba MK3001GRRB 300GB SAS 6Gb/s HDD @ NikKTech
• Intel 525 Series 120GB & 180GB mSATA SSD @ Hardware Canucks
• PNY Prevail Elite 240GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• Crucial M500 480 GB @ techPowerUp
• 120GB OCZ Vertex 3.20 Solid State Drive @ Benchmark Reviews
• Seagate Desktop HDD.15 4TB Review @ Techgage
• Crucial M4 256GB SATA III SSD Review @ PCSTATS
• Corsair Neutron 128GB and 256GB (2013 Hynix Edition) @ TweakTown
• Kingston Wi-Drive 64GB @ Kitguru
• Western Digital My Book Live 1TB Personal Cloud Storage @ Tweaktown
• OWC Envoy Pro EX USB 3.0 Bus-Powered Portable SSD @ SSD Review
• PQI Tiffany 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive @ Tweaktown
• 64 GB Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G3 Flash Drive @ TechARP
• Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G3 32GB Flash Drive Review @ Legit Review
• Patriot Supersonic Magnum 256GB USB 3 Flash Drive @ SSD Review
• PQI i-mini USB 3.0 32GB @ techPowerUp
• LSI MegaRAID 9271-8i PCIe Raid Controller @ Funky Kit
• Icy Dock FlexCage MB975SP-B Tray-Less 5 x 3.5" HDD Dock @ Tweaktown
• SilverStone DS322 Dual-Bay RAID Enclosure @ Tweaktown
• Western Digital My Passport Enterprise 500GB USB3.0 External Hard Drive @ eTeknix

The evolution of hybrid drives, Seagate's new SSHD 500GB

Subject: Storage | April 19, 2013 - 07:20 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: sshd, Seagate, Hybrid Drive, 500gb

We have seen many hybrid drives come and go, most of which only benefited desktop users who were accessing certain files often enough that they were cached on the flash memory.  Seagate has introduced a new iteration of the SSHD specifically for laptops, uniting 500GB of 5400 RPM platter based storage with 8GB of MLC NAND and a 64MB cache which [H]ard|OCP recently benchmarked.  They didn't forget desktop users as they released 1TB and 2TB models at 7200 RPM but it is the laptop version which is perhaps more interesting as not many models allow the installation of a second drive like desktops do.  The testing results were mixed, with several obvious benefits interspersed with odd performance changes after multiple runs, however the small price differential between a standard HDD and a SSHD might just convince you to pick up this new breed of hybrid drive.

"Seagate has introduced the next generation of Solid State Hybrid Drives, commonly referred to as "SSHD." These drives use a small amount of MLC NAND to accelerate the performance of a 5400 RPM spinning disk. Today we test the mobile version against other available SSD caching solutions."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Crucial's M500 SSD @ The Tech Report
• SuperSSpeed S301 Hyper Gold SLC Enterprise SSD @ Tweaktown
• Consumer (Samsung and OCZ) vs. Enterprise (SMART Optimus) SSD Performance Analysis @ SSD Review
• Hardware.Info tests lifespan of Samsung SSD 840 250GB TLC SSD
• Kingston SSDNow V300 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
• ADATA XPG SX900 128GB with SandForce B02 controller SSD @ Tweaktown
• SMART Storage Systems CloudSpeed 500 Enterprise SSD @ Tweaktown
• Samsung SM843 Enterprise SSD Review (240GB) @ SSD Review
• Plextor M5M (256GB) mSATA @ AnandTech
• Samsung PM841 512GB mSATA SSD @ SSD Review
• Intel 525 120GB mSATA SSD @ Hardware.info
• Thermaltake BlacX Duet 5G USB 3.0 Docking Station @ Tweaktown
• Seagate Backup Plus 1 TB Portable Hard Disk Drive @ TechARP
• ADATA DashDrive Elite UE700 USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ Pro-Clockers
• ICY DOCK MB662U3-2S Dual Bay USB 3.0 RAID Enclosure @ Tweaktown
• Icy Dock ICYRaid MB662U3-2S Dual-HDD Enclosure Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Infortrend EonNAS Pro 510 @ Legion Hardware
• Asustor AS 602T @ Kitguru
• QNAP TS879-Pro 8-Bay NAS @ eTeknix
• Thecus N7510 7-Bay NAS @ eTeknix

Podcast #242 - AMD's new Richland APUs, Steam Box Prototypes, Seagate Hybrid Drives and more!

Subject: General Tech | March 14, 2013 - 03:36 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: Strider, steambox, steam, sshd, Silverstone, Seagate, Richland, quadro 6000, quadro, podcast, hybrid, APU, amd

PC Perspective Podcast #242 - 03/14/2013

Join us this week as we discuss AMD's new Richland APUs, Steam Box Prototypes, Seagate Hybrid Drives and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath and Allyn Malventano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!

Program length: 0:59:45

Podcast topics of discussion:

1. Week in Reviews:
   1. 0:01:30 Silverstone Strider Power supply
   2. 0:03:00 Richland Unveiled: AMD releases new A10-5750M
2. 0:14:33 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
3. News items of interest:
   1. 0:15:35 Steam Box Prototypes in the next few months
   2. 0:24:00 NVIDIA allegedly part Quadro 6000 GK110 card
   3. 0:25:30 Seagate SSHD Lineup
   4. 0:30:00 WebM now official with Google and support from MPEG LA
   5. 0:33:40 GF Actually Shipping 28 nm Product!
4. Closing:
   1. 0:42:40 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
      1. Ryan: Tranquil PC Intel NUC case
      2. Josh: Cheap and Pretty!
      3. Allyn: Automatic
      4. Morry: Edimax 150mbps wireless nano USB adapter

1. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
2. http://pcper.com/podcast
3. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
4. Closing/outro

Be sure to subscribe to the PC Perspective YouTube channel!!

Seagate Introduces SSHD Lineup with Dual Mode NAND Cache

Subject: Storage | March 8, 2013 - 09:20 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: sshd, solid state, Seagate, Intel SRT, cache, adaptive memory

Following the announcement that the company would be axing 7200 rpm notebook drives, Seagate has introduced its third generation hybrid hard drives. The new Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drives (SSHD) will initially launch with two notebook drives and a single desktop-sized drive. The hybrid drives will combine a spinning platter drive with 8GB of NAND flash with Seagate’s Adaptive Memory tech that will reportedly cache reads as well as writes.

The 2.5” notebook SSHDs include a 7mm model that combines 500GB of mechanical storage and 8GB of Adaptive Memory cache. This model will retail for around $80. There will also be a slightly larger 9.5mm  with 8GB of cache and 1TB mechanical hard drive capacity. The 1TB model utilizes two 500GB, 5400RPM platters and will retail for just under $100.

The desktop SSHDs come in 3.5” form factor and will initially use 7200 RPM platters.  Seagate will offer up to 2TB of mechanical storage with its SSHDs and 8GB of NAND flash for caching.  Seagate claims that its desktop SSHD is up to four times faster than other mechanical hard drives, (according to PC Mark Vantage) which is likely due to the Adaptive Memory technology caching frequently used data on the flash memory and the use of 1TB platters. The 1TB and 2TB SSHD will cost around $100 and $150 respectively. Naturally, the SSHDs will carry a small premium over traditional mechanical hard drives. They will still be much more price-efficient than Solid State Drives for the storage offered (though I would still like to see a larger NAND cache).

Interestingly, Tech Report was able to glean a few more details about Seagate’s third generation hybrid drives. Reportedly, the drives will be capable of writing as well as reading to/from the NAND cache. That is a major step up from previous generation’s which limited the drive’s flash storage to a read-only cache. Seagate has reportedly built the drives such that they will have enough capacitance to flush the write cache in the event of a power failure (so that you will not lose any data). The dual mode NAND term stems from Seagate’s ability to use SLC for boot data and the write cache and address the remaining NAND as MLC flash. Unfortunately, details are scarce on how Seagate is doing this.

The SSHDs will come with three year warranties, but Seagate has rated the NAND flash at a lifespan of at least five years. In an neat twist, Seagate is also allegedly working on another SSHD implementation that will combine a mechanical hard drive and a larger NAND cache. However, the flash memory will be managed by Intel’s Smart Response Technology instead of Seagate’s own Adaptive Memory tech (which doesn't need additional drives, unlike SRT). Using the port multiplexing aspect of the SATA spec, Seagate will be able to put both drives into a single 3.5” form factor hybrid drive. Admittedly, this is the Seagate SSHD that I am most excited about, despite the fact that it’s also the drive I know the least about. I’m interested to see what kind of performance Seagate can wring out of the larger cache!

CES 2013 Podcast Day 4 - AMD's upcoming APUs, 4K displays, WD Hybrid Drives and more!

Subject: General Tech | January 10, 2013 - 01:16 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: WD, video, sshd, podcast, nvidia, gigabyte, ces 2013, CES, APU, amd, 4k

CES 2013 Podcast Day 4 - 01/09/2013

Ready for even more podcast fun at CES?  Join us as we talk about our final of the show including more details on AMD's upcoming APUs, 4K displays, WD Hybrid Drives and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Allyn Malventano and Ken Addison

Program length: 53:31

Be sure to subscribe to the PC Perspective YouTube channel!!

PC Perspective's CES 2013 coverage is sponsored by AMD.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!