2.5" / 9.5mm hard drives OVER 1TB

Have there been any developments recently that might indicate higher capacity laptop hard drives in the near future?

I see that WD has the WD20NPVT 2TB 2.5", but the height is 15mm (could I somehow fit this in the HDD / optical bay of a Sager NP9170?).

When do you think we will see 1.5Tb / 2TB in a 2.5" 9.5mm form factor?

 

The height of the optical drive itself is 12.7 mm, so no, that's not going to fit. Those drives are more for enterprise/server applications.

 

Not anytime soon. The 1TB drives came out a few years ago. Since then, there has been more focus on SSDs. I doubt you'd see a 1.5TB laptop drive anytime soon.

 

Not exactly what you were hoping for, but the Panasonic road map includes 2TB SDXC cards within the next couple of years:



In my case, I have limited space on my primary drive (2x160GB), so I have found 64GB SDXC cards very useful for storage.

 

I'm betting technical limitations as well as the focus on SSD. 1TB 3.5" platters are pretty recent and laptop drives can't have that many platters and they are smaller. I'm no expert, but over 1TB at 7200 RPM doesn't look like something that's easily accomplished in a laptop's hard drive format.

 

I feel that the driving force behind hard drives favors speed over capacity, so right now SSDs rule the trends. It doesn't help that usb 3.0 and thunderbolt offer external hard drive options with very fast transfer rates.

 

Yeah i just got my 1TB 5400 RPM drive, the upside is that iti ns't slow and runs like a 7200 rpm drive due to density. if i upgrade it will be a 1.5tb 7200rpm notebook drive.

I think we might start seeing some bigger note book drives in the next 2 years. the HDD industry has been making some break troughs in way to increase platter density, I've also been seeing more 1+tb - 2tb 12-15mm 2.5 inch drives.

 

Well I hope we get 1.5TB 2.5" 9.5mm by 2014. 3TB 2.5" would be nice too... just got the 2TB 2.5" WD external and it's so nice not having that extra power cable!

 

How thick is that 2TB drive though?

 

that's like saying HDD's will have 50TB's in the future. ofc they'll have. it's moore's law. That 2TB refers to the SDXC theoretical maximum. Also for that storage you need to have good speeds, current 10mb/s would be a pain. Also it doesn't say WHEN they'll have those cards. it could be 2015 or 2020 or 2111.
True flash storage doesn't have size limitations like HDD's. you could very easily fit 2TB or even more in a 9.5mm 2.5" size. But the cost would be insane. Actually there's a few models with much higher densities. The cost is not just 512gb X 4. in order to achieve higher density you need chips with more memory and those cost way more then current chips. also you would probably need more controllers since currently they are limited to a certain amount of memory. since the cost would be high the market for those is also scarce so the demand isn't that high and that limits production and limited productions also increase price. so that's why you don't see many +1tb SSD's around. also that's why very high density SSD's are more seen in 3.5" flavour then 2.5".
example: 512GB (128GB X 4) SD cards are much more expensive then 512GB (32GB X 16).

 

15mm nearly double a normal 2.5" drive but, it shows that they are making progress even though it is double or triple platter.

 

Actually, I'd bet it is a 4 platter drive maybe. I mean if you consider that 7mm would have to be 1 platter, 9.5mm is likely 2 platters,m 12.5 would be 3 and 15mm would be 4 platters. That would add up to 500GB per platter in a 2.5" form factor. The surface area of a 3.5" platter being close to the double of a 2.5" platter, 500GB per platter also makes sense. That is just speculation since i didn't check on google or open any notebook drives, but the math does seem to add up.

 

The external enclosure is 21mm so I assume the drive inside is 15mm.
Newegg.com - Western Digital My Passport 2TB USB 3.0/USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive WDBY8L0020BBK-NESN

 

In that case it sounds like matter of time (not much) before they implement >500 GB platters.

 

The main issue is that we are reaching the limits of what Perpendicular Magnetic Recording can achieve. We may see 750 GB 2.5 platters with PMR, but anything beyond that will require a new technology. Even 500 GB is relatively new, and my guess is that's why there's only 5400 RPM drives available with that density.

HAMR is probably the most promising technology going forward, but who knows how soon it will be commercialized.
TDK Finally Crams 2TB on One 3.5-inch HDD Platter

My guess is that area density will probably plateau for the next year.

 

Thanks for the link. Hopefully this higher density doesn't mean lower reliability.

 

Any reason that no-one is mentioning this one:

HDD INT MQ01ABC150 HDD 2.5 1.5TB PX1830E-1HK0 | PC World Business for all your IT needs

2.5 ins, 1.5 Tb, 9.5mm, 5400rpm

 

Interesting, though being a toshiba i bet performance isn't as good as it could be.

I have also noted they broke a density barrier not to long ago with salt (sodium?)

 

I agree, performance not likely to great but I will usually accept this for the capacity. My MBP has a 512 SSD for OS and user data, and a 1Tb Samsung in the optical bay with my photos on it. I would really like more than 1Tb.

I can't even find any reviews of it. I would have expected the first 1.5Tb 9.5mm drive to make a bit of a splash.

 

Is pcworldbusiness a legit retailer? I can't find this drive anywhere outside of this site.

 

It is the business arm of PC World, very big in the UK and quite legit, I believe.

If you google "MQ01ABC150" and "shopping" it comes up at about 25 places.

 

Looks like this is a fairly new drive, but everywhere else I'm reading says it's 12.7mm high not 9.5mm. Would I be able to fit this into the optical bay of the Sager NP9170 (same height but no room for caddy) ?
ASCII.jp
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOSHIBA-MQ0...Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item564fef7478

 

I can't do Japanese, but these links have it at 9 or 9.5mm

Cleverboxes - MQ01ABC150 | Toshiba MQ01ABC150 2.5 inch 1500GB (5400rpm) 8MB Serial II Hard Drive (Internal)

http://www.morecomputers.com/spec.aspx?pn=MQ01ABC150

Toshiba PX1830E-1HK0

But this one has it at 12.5mm

The NEW MQ01ABC150 TOSHIBA 2.5" 1.5TB 5400RPM SATA available from BlueGoose

So something fishy going on.

 

it is 9.5mm!
Options and Accessories individual page - Toshiba

 

Thanks for finding that...I shall have to do some serious thinking now.

 

I ordered one from Morecomputers, and it came today.

It is 12.5mm !!

The MoreComputers web site says it is 9mm, as in the link I posted earlier, so no problem returning it.

I think the confusion is in the exact model number. The link you have given above is for model PX1830E-1HK0.

The one I have bought and originally suggested in the PC world link is MQ01ABC150

Haven't searched yet to see if the PX1830E-1HK0 is available yet.

There seem to be three part numbers for Toshiba 2.5in 1.5 TB drives which variously claim to be 9.5mm:

1. MQ01ABC150. This is what I received from MoreComputers and is definitely 12.5mm. The invoice also mentioned PX1830E-1HK0 which is probably why they are marketing it as a 9mm drive, believing they are the same thing. Other sellers seem to think that the MQ01ABC150 and PX1830E-1HK0 are the same thing.

2. PX1830E-1HK0. This what is in the link that "__-_-_-__" posted above, where it says 9.5mm, so presumably is correct since it is an actual Toshiba web page. Some of the confusion in 1. is probably because the Toshiba page describes the PX1830E-1HK0 as "MQ Series".

3. MQ01ABD150. I found this at Pixmania where it is definitely stated as 9.5mm. However the OWC site for the same part number has it as 12.5mm. I phoned Pixmania who spent an hour doing their own checks and came back to me saying they were now confused as well, having found half of their sources saying 9.5mm and half 12.5mm.

The above is what I think are the facts but I could be wrong. I have given up trying to buy one for now, believing that when the larger-than-1Tb barrier really is broken in a 9.5mm drive it won't be surrounded by this much confusion and misinformation.

 

ATM 94.00 USD, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136927

 

I purchased the PX1830E-1HK0. This is the one that Toshiba's website have as 9mm so I' m waiting with baited breath. I won't get it for a while though as its being posted to family in the UK then they will be forwarding it to me in Australia.

Kikatek.com: (PX1830E-1HK0) Toshiba MQ01ABC150 2.5 inch 1500GB (5400rpm) 8MB Ser

Options and Accessories individual page - Toshiba

PS Was the drive itself labelled as "PX1830E-1HK0"? If so it could be that a 9.5mm version simply doesn't exist.

 

No, "PX1830E-1HK0' was not on the actual drive itself....but it was on the MoreComputers invoice etc. It seems that they (and other places) think that PX1830E-1HK0 is the manufacturer's part number for the MQ01ABC150 and MQ01ABD150, which is why they are describing it as 9.5mm.

I think you are right that the PX1830E-1HK0 doesn't exist yet. Presumably not far away in view of the Toshiba web page

 

I'll let you know how I go with my purchase. Relative should get it within the week. I'll get him to check the height before shipping it to me. Lets keep our fingers crossed!

 

Interesting...what exactly have you ordered from whom?

 

Kikatek.com: (PX1830E-1HK0) Toshiba MQ01ABC150 2.5 inch 1500GB (5400rpm) 8MB Ser

 

When there are conflicting specs, 12.7mm is more likely to be correct because 9.5mm could be just wrong copy-and-paste. e.g. read this:

ASCII.jp

According to Google Translate:

"But care must be taken to a point that is not a common type 9.5mm thickness of the body is 12.7mm."

So don't hold your hopes too high.

On the other hand, WD is able to squeeze 500G into 5mm height and 1TB into 7mm, so 1.5TB in 9.5mm should be viable if they can/are willing to put 3 platters into the drive. (Maybe not, heat dissipation may be an issue, also not if they have some higher density in the works.)

What makes the 500G/2.5" platter barrier so hard to break? I wonder.

 

Good Luck, but I am not optimistic!

 

I'm not either but it's worth a go. Worst case scenario is I send it back for a refund. It's a pain though because Toshiba's website is very clear that it should exist.

http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe....122762&oldCategory=1122762&service=EU&tab=1#1

Having said that though I remember there being a 6-8 month lag between WD announcing one of the first 1TB 2.5 drives and it actually being available. Annoying though that the model number situation is so confusing.

 

That Toshiba link is about the PX1830E-1HK0, and mentions the "MQ"series. It doesn't mention the MQ01ABC150.

Hope you are lucky!

 

PX1830E-1HK0 is what I've ordered though. On Kikatek's site it says "Manufacturers SKU: PX1830E-1HK0".

Every website I saw that sold the PX1830E-1HK0 also had somewhere in the listing MQ01ABC150 be it in the title or somewhere else.

 

I hope I am wrong, but so far only ascii.jp has a photo of the actual drive, and they say it is 12.7mm

 

To be fair they had a photo of the MQ01ABC150. Not the PX1830E-1HK0 and no where in that link could I see "PX1830E-1HK0" mentioned.

I'm 95% sure that it'll be the 12.5mm model but as long as the SKU on the site I'm buying it from says PX1830E-1HK0 which matches the Toshiba model with the 9.5 height then it's worth a shot. Like you guys though, I'm not overly optimistic.

 

Does the PX1830E-1HK0 specs say it is 9.5mm? Even if they have said so it is still entirely possible for Toshiba Europe to have made a mistake.

If this is a member of the MQ series, it is rather inconceivable to have a sudden density increase. It is more likely to remain 500G/platter like the rest of the MQ series members, and thus 3 platters won't fit within 9.5mm.

A real density increase (no pun intended) would have embarked upon a new series.

 

If you check the specs that's provided on Tosh's website they do indeed say its 0.9cm.

Unfortunately as far as I'm concerned this has all become moot as I discovered that a 12.5mm height drive will fit my MacBook Pro just fine so I cancelled my UK order and ordered a 1.5TB from OWC today.

My suspicion, like yours, is that in fact Toshiba have made a mistake and that the 9mm 1.5TB drive simply doesn't exist. If it did then why this ridiculous confusion over specs and model numbers.

 

I realized we may be asking for technology that does not exist yet, given how we have been previously spoiled by 40%/yr capacity increases, but there is hope for a 1.3TB hard drive in 2013. This is interesting read!

Showa Denko Set to Begin Roll-Out Seventh-Generation PMR Platters for High-Capacity HDDs in 2013 - X-bit labs

 

i want a 1.3-1.5 TB 7200rpm 9mm drive.

 

Glad you are sorted!

I know some (maybe all) MBPs can take a 12.5mm in the HDD bay. I need mine to go in the OWC Data Doubler which is limited to 9.5mm

 

Fitted my 12.5 drive today and it fits and operates fine. Now of course I'm hankering for a 2tb 12.5mm 2.5.

Good luck with the elusive 9.5mm. Sorry I wasn't able to help.

 

Does anyone know if a 12.5mm drive will fit in the DVD drive bay of the Sager NP9170? The drive bay is 12.5mm but I don't know if the SATA ports would line up with a 12.5mm hard drive.

 

First 1TB 7200RPM 9.5mm drive for those interested:

HGST Gives Consumers the Industry's First 1TB, 7200 RPM, 2.5-inch Mobile Hard Drive | 2013

 

Okay, now this has me interested - Hitachi comes through again (yeah, even if they're bought by WD).

 

Kingston Announces World's First 1 TB Flash Drive
1750$ for 512Gb. 1Tb price still unknown. proves my point.

I contacted hitachi just to confirm that it was 9.5mm. After several calls and some time on the phone they told me it really is a new 9.5mm model. it's targeted for the business market and that's why it didn't had any advertising.

 

$1750 for a thumb drive!?!?! That's more than most of our computers. How easy are thumb drives to lose?