Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid HDD w/ built-in 4GB SSD

I use this to restore my SSD after SE often. I had a system with Linux and Grub but it would no longer work with Windows 7's restore., this was with a HDD though.

So long as you are a Windows 7 only system the default works wonders, get complicated though and it is time to look else where................

 

Ah that's true, probably wreaks havoc on other bootloaders. Thanks for pointing that out!

 

Just installed this drive. Performs very well. Have not ran any official benchmarks yet. I don't really plan to. I'm just enjoying the quick bootups and software loads.

 

The first xt came out may last year. Anyone hear any rumors of a refresh, preferably with more nand.

 

Wow, almost 10 months already...............

 

so what?
Release price was $159. I paid $89cdn with free shipping.
Came preloaded with latest firmware. No issues, no headaches and a heck of a lot cheaper.

 

alot of people would like to see a 16GB version with the new 750GB platters. 16GB would store much more to the NAND before kicking stuff out making the drive more consistent in performance. Increase in storage size goes without saying and moving from the 7200.4 platters and related issues goes without saying as well...............

Edit; also some of us love to upgrade, even if there is no real need.............

 

16gb on a 750 would be the sweetspot for me too

 

I wouldn't mind a single platter 375gb drive, more space for NAND.

 

im revising my sweetspot.
since ill be using a dual drive setup, a 375 (as above) or 500 gb single platter with 16gb nand would be the best for me.

 

I agree. Thanks to 25nm NAND prices of SSD's are coming down. Seagate could include 32GB or 64GB of NAND and still remain very competitive in pricing. They would also have performance closer to an actual SSD. If Seagate used a SF-2000 controller and included SATA 3 support, that would be fantastic. Probably won't happen, but it will be interesting to see what Seagate decides to do, hopefully soon. Currently I'm planning on purchasing a 256GB SSD this summer, unless Seagate does something really great in an update.

 

Well, maybe not if they continue to use SLC as they did in the Momentus XT. I'm not sure if they're even producing 25 nm SLC.

 

Question-I've had mine for about a month. No complaints. But, I am getting a new copmuter with 1.5TB RAID 0 (2x750Gb) so I really don't need the hybrid anymore for speed. Will it benefit me in an external in any way? Or is it better to just sell it? I mean, the SSD portion is for when it is installed, correct? So an external would be kinda useless. Ideas?!?!?!?

 

It should still cache your most used files/data even while used as an external, but then it'll probably be bottlenecked by the interface (unless you're using eSATA or USB 3.0). And while the RAID 0 drives will be faster for sequential reads/writes, the XT will probably still boot faster, and might be more responsive as well.

 

Upgrading from R2 to R3 already?

 

Pretty much no choice. Had some charging issues with mine and the tech ran some tests, had the engineers look at the log and told me they are going to have to do a system replacement. Kinda bummed-I loooooove my R2-the RGB, aluminum, duals GPU's. But the R3 does have a better CPU, USB 3.0, HDMI in (not that I will use it), better battery, lighter weight. Kinda 50/50, you know?

 

That sucks. I thought you were upgrading because you wanted more performance. I was going to say the R2 is quite the beast already.

 

It does suck-but doesn't at the same time. Oh well. Anyone want a Momentus XT?

 

Me pmassey! Pick me!

 

Just got mine and fresh installed today.

Tips?

 

Update to SD25? It lowered my temps 4-6C from SD23.

 

Didn't know they released another one. Links to release note or anything like that? Performance gains?

 

Where do they post the updates?

 

I found it here: Momentus XT Firmware Update

A simple Google search will yield similar results in the future should they release an SD26 or something. I didn't use SD23 long enough to measure any performance differences but it's definitely not any slower.

 

Thanks. I hope they release a more stable firmware that can max out the performance of these drives.

 

Once the cache fills does it stay the same? Or does it update itself?

 

How do you guys like SD25? Is it worth updating from SD24?

The Seagate forums have many people complaining but it always was like that; mostly macbook problems anyways.

 

I've noticed no problems... but I also was only on SD24 for about an hour =p

 

I never had any excessive clicking or vibrations on SD24 so I never bothered to update.

 

That's basically how I've interpreted problems with this drive, 80-90% of people with issues seem to be running Apple hardware. I have had zero problems, sleep and resume are both much faster, no vibrations and SD25 runs very cool.

 

^Yeah, I heard S23 had issues with sleep... I've put it to sleep multiple times and it's very quick to come out. No problems with that.

It was very loud when installing but it's basically silent now, something I Wasn't expecting. I don't know if that was the firmware upgrade but it really is quite.

I've also noticed my fan hasn't been revving up as much but it's possible that that's just me not doing anything intense.

 

It would be nice for the commenters to put down what system they are using. While it seems that most problems are with MacBook users, I'd like to know more definitively since I use both systems.

 

So does anyone know about the nand cache replacement policy? IF it continues to check most used files after being filled?

 

I am not sure what you are asking. Obviously, it will continue to keep tabs on which blocks (the disk doesn't know anything about files) are used most, and will cache those. If it didn't do that, the cache would be entirely useless.

 

That's pretty much what I figured.

 

How long will it keep history?

 

I assume it keeps history until it has to be replaced. Like if it sees you're no longer using x (stored in cache, least used) but you are using y (not stored in cache) you lose x and gain y.

 

by the fact running HDTune starts caching right away on subsequent runs my guess is the cache is circular. Again this is from an observation, I highly doubt Seagate wil give it up............

 

So, is this even quieter than a 5400rpm 3.5" drive? I've been thinking about replacing a desktop drive with this.

 

Mine's very quiet. I was expecting it to be louder than my 2.5in 5,400rpm drive and I'd heard that it had issues back with S23. It's basically silent.

 

Its pretty much silent inside my notebook too.
(Specs inside Raptr profile)

Think i use firmware 25 something.

 

What is your AAM setting now as opposed to before the upgrade? I know that SD24 set it to quiet (128) from performance which results in a quieter drive but also less performance.

 

Where do I check AAM?

 

I'd be interested in knowing this as well. Debating whether to upgrade to SD25 from SD24.

 

Settings stayed at the lowest after fw 25 for me. (Verified with both CDI and HDTune)

 

You can use HDTune, QuietHDD and many others.

 

you need HDTUNE pro for it. QuietHDD only seems to set AAM and not check it.

 

Do you notice any differences from SD24 and SD25?

 

You might want to use hdparm then. Here is my post about it:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...brid-hdd-w-built-4gb-ssd-130.html#post7009249

 

Good news! I've decided to save my money (I have a momentus XT 500 laying around) and not buy an SSD....and instead use the hybrid drive instead as my main drive in my PC.

This way I get to keep the Optical drive...though I might take it out just to have 1TB of space

Mr. Mysterious