Momentus XT Partitions

Hey about to build a machine with the hybrid XT drive.

I want to partition the drive into two, but wanted to make sure there is nothing crazy with the drive if you do this like some kind of loss of performance due to the hybrid SSD portion not function properly if the drive is not used in a normal fashion.

Also I suppose I should update the firmware on the drive correct? Is this the newest one: http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=215451

Can this be done via USB externally or must the drive be installed as a SATA device?

 

Shouldn't matter. The drive manages the cache itself completely independent of filesystems from what I understand.

As for firmware updates, I'd suggest natively connecting the drive. USB connections are very scary when doing anything low-level. At best they won't work, at worst they'll brick the drive.

 

Just like Pitabred says, firmware updates really need to the done through the devices native connection. Any less and you risk bricking the drive.

In the case with the Momentus XT, the SD24 firmware DRASTICALLY improves the performance for most users. Stock drives have some nasty lag from a quick spindown idle timer. Firmware update fixes that.

 

And I heard some problems arising with the SD24 firmware too, regarding idle states of the drive.

“Most of these anomalies have already been resolved by the current SD24 firmware upgrade located on the Seagate support forum or through our technical support team,” a Seagate spokesman said. “The few remaining concerns include beeping sounds, no spin down in power saving modes and intermittent hangs, most notably on MacBook Pro systems. Seagate remains focused on resolving these issues as well.”

Source:
Seagate’s hybrid storage drive causing frustration for users | MyCE – My Consumer Electronics

http://www.ssdfreaks.com/content/564/seagate-momentus-xt-freezingstuttering-workaround

 

Well, if it's mostly affecting Apple stuff, then no harm done. At least 'real' computers are okay.

 

The Seagate forums had a number of users ranging from Macs to "real" computers . I have an XT so maybe I'll try the new firmware after my caddy arrives...see if it pose any real problems .

 

My XT started to stutter after a long gaming session. (Playing King's Bounty-08') The battles you would get would load up extremely quickly. Then the loading bars and movement started to stutter.

Long story short, I used the default method to flash the drive and its been running fine ever since. I'm not sure about any performance increase as I don't get the instant loading speed in that game anymore. However, it IS still faster than my old 7200 rpm drive.