X-bit labs

Western Digital Vows Faster Mobile HDDs.

Category: Storage

by Anton Shilov

[ 10/06/2004 | 12:55 PM ]

Western Digital has introduced Scorpio hard disk drives lineup, addressing performance, reliability and power requirements of users on the go. The move will add more options for notebook makers and will also improve WD’s position as a manufacturer of mobile HDDs.

WD Offers Advanced Performance, Power Consumption

Currently shipping in volume, WD Scorpio delivers fast 5400rpm spin speed and 12ms seek time, yet operates with power requirements comparable to 4200rpm drives yielding lower power consumption for longer battery life and increased long-term reliability. WD Scorpio mobile hard drives are offered in capacities of 40, 60 and 80GB and feature standard 2MB cache and optional 8MB cache with EIDE interface and a three-year warranty.

WD Scorpio’s lower power consumption leads to a cooler running drive, an important factor contributing to increased hard drive reliability. Testing performed by Western Digital’s Functional Integrity Testing Lab (FIT Lab) shows WD Scorpio runs cooler than competitors’ drives.  

More Reliable Than Previously, Says WD

WD’s exclusive WhisperDrive technology with SoftSeek algorithms helps make WD Scorpio the quietest 2.5” drive available on the market regardless of spin speed. Leading-edge ShockGuard technology combines firmware and hardware advancements to protect the drive mechanics and delicate platter surface to meet the highest combined shock tolerance specifications – 250 Gs while in operation, 900 Gs while idle – of any 2.5” drive in its class.

Additional shock protection by locking the heads off the disk is provided with DuraStep Ramp, which uses the most technologically advanced material available on the market to allow the drive to execute a minimum of 600 thousand load/unload cycles without contamination. A rigid stainless steel cover withstands greater than 5 pounds of pressure - nearly 1.5 times the industry average – without pinching the motor hub or other internal components.

WD Scorpio complements the company’s enterprise and desktop products including WD Raptor Serial ATA, the recently announced large capacity WD Caviar RE (RAID Edition) hard drives, the flagship WD Caviar product family and WD Dual-option and WD Essential external hard drives.

Mobile computers with WD Scorpio inside are expected to emerge shortly.