WD Black^2, 120 GB SSD + 1000 GB HDD

[Mats]

Finally. Would be a nice upgrade for some laptops.


Model number WD1001X06XDTL.

http://www.techpowerup.com/194988/we...ual-drive.html

http://www.wd.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1190

[Mats]

Newegg $299: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=WD1001X06XDTL

[Manicdan]

feels like a $100 premium for that ssd partition

the seagate momentus xt (now called something else, i forget) has been doing this for years, and their success was from keeping the price rather low. the nand to disk space is 12% in the WD version, in seagates it was about on average, 1% of the size. We already know that performance increases were there with the seagate version. would be nice to see how this one compares and if a higher allocation to ssd vs disk makes a worthwhile difference.

[LordEC911]

feels like a $100 premium for that ssd partition

the seagate momentus xt (now called something else, i forget) has been doing this for years, and their success was from keeping the price rather low. the nand to disk space is 12% in the WD version, in seagates it was about on average, 1% of the size. We already know that performance increases were there with the seagate version. would be nice to see how this one compares and if a higher allocation to ssd vs disk makes a worthwhile difference.

I just read some of the launch info, didn't see how they are actually implementing it.
The Momentus was interesting because it was using the NAND as a cache, which is why it could keep the cost low and the performance was pretty much in between a performance HDD and a SSD.

Just from the initial press release, it sounds like the WD Black^2 is setup more traditional.

[RVWinkle]

Just from the initial press release, it sounds like the WD Black^2 is setup more traditional.

What is more traditional? Two separate partitions? I don't think that would give you the best performance on a 'serial' bus.

Edit: Yup, 2 partitions with a multiplexer inbetween...and a jmicron controller.

http://techreport.com/review/25690/w...d-with-1tb-hdd

[ajaidev]

I bought a 960GB SSD for around $500 mark yes its $200 more than this but with no movable parts and more speed its much better of the two. I wonder when we shall see a review for this....

EDIT: That was fast found a review

http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news...t-perfect.aspx

[ZX2Slow]

I just don't get why these hybrid drives exist. I don't understand how this would do anything but provide a huge amount of fast write cache for a spindle drive. The drive controller would not be part of any filesystem level IO operations so it being able to intelligently cache read information would be impossible.

I guess WD's implementation makes sense for laptops, that there are two drives in the space of one. For desktops it limits you to two mediocre drives.

[Mats]

feels like a $100 premium for that ssd partition

For many laptops who lacks mSATA or NGFF there aren't a whole lot of options.

the seagate momentus xt (now called something else, i forget) has been doing this for years, and their success was from keeping the price rather low. the nand to disk space is 12% in the WD version, in seagates it was about on average, 1% of the size. We already know that performance increases were there with the seagate version. would be nice to see how this one compares and if a higher allocation to ssd vs disk makes a worthwhile difference.

8 GB (edit: 4 GB initially) read cache isn't comparable to a 120 GB SSD. This is a first.

[Mats]

http://www.storagereview.com/wd_black2_ssd_hdd_review

[Manicdan]

For many laptops who lacks mSATA or NGFF there aren't a whole lot of options.

8 GB (edit: 4 GB initially) read cache isn't comparable to a 120 GB SSD. This is a first.

100$ premium on this could have better been used elsewhere on the laptop. our new ultrabooks at work have a port for mSATA quick swapping, the older ones had it built in. if the user needed SSD and storage space, they would pick a laptop that allows it. this solution fixes a problem that should not exist

i do agree that its different, although i say wrong. the seagate option is a performance increase over traditional HDDs without the user doing a single thing. thats worth a price premium. if the user never knew how the 120GBs of SSD were used, and the partition was a simple 1.12TB, and apps loaded as fast as most SSDs, while media is kept on the disk, THEN i would agree this is worth is premium.

by going traditional they went lazy. i honestly see only a very small niche market for this, even smaller than the seagate method. i threw my seagate drive into my PS3, cant do that with this drive.

so in summary, lower compatibility, higher price, and less features.

[zalbard]

I bought a 960GB SSD for around $500 mark yes its $200 more than this but with no movable parts and more speed its much better of the two.

HDDs in laptops feel so wrong these days.

[NKrader]

HDDs in laptops feel so wrong these days.

not everyone can have the latest and greatest.

the only ssd ive ever owned is a 16gb one for my arima cruncher.. still cant understand why somone would give up space or money for that "slight" speed increase and "better" reliabilty

EDIT: just re-read this, were you saying any harddrives? or just mechanical?

if the user needed SSD and storage space, they would pick a laptop that allows it. this solution fixes a problem that should not exist

i think this is a nice drive for people who want the "best" of both worlds and dont have to upgrade all the hardware around the drive if they dont have to.. just becuase you want an ssd doesnt nessisarily mean that you purchased a laptop with the thought of using one at a later time, some people keep computers for years and only get rid of them when it becomes unbareable to use anymore.

[AliG]

So as I understand it's literally just an SSD slapped onto a 1tb HDD right? I suppose that could make it useful for devices that only have room for one drive, but otherwise why pay the premium?

[NKrader]

[QUOTE=AliG;5218094]useful for devices that only have room for one driveQUOTE]

exactly, i could see this being a decent sized market

[Mats]

if the user needed SSD and storage space, they would pick a laptop that allows it. this solution fixes a problem that should not exist

Trust me, there are people who didn't know what mSATA was two years ago. There are decent models that lacked mSATA back then, unfortunately. Here's one example.

Your choice of ultrabooks does probably not represent the average buyers choice.

Or as AliG put it, if you don't want it, don't buy it.

[kuroikenshi]

I just read some of the launch info, didn't see how they are actually implementing it.
The Momentus was interesting because it was using the NAND as a cache, which is why it could keep the cost low and the performance was pretty much in between a performance HDD and a SSD.

Just from the initial press release, it sounds like the WD Black^2 is setup more traditional.

I have a pair of Momentus XT's as well as a few vertex 4 series SSD's.

I can really say the momentus XT's price was competitive enough for me to consider whilst being a great performer.

I am not sure how this one would fare.

[vario]

TBH i was waiting for something like this for years.Problem is price and to some degree performance.I want this, but make it half the price even with half the storage and im buying that for my laptop.

There are millions of laptops that would be great for.However not for half of a laptops price :/.

[kromosto]

TBH i was waiting for something like this for years.Problem is price and to some degree performance.I want this, but make it half the price even with half the storage and im buying that for my laptop.

There are millions of laptops that would be great for.However not for half of a laptops price :/.

[yojimbo197]

HDDs in laptops feel so wrong these days.

Small single HD's maybe. I just put a 2.5" 1Tb into my laptop to replace my old drive. I like having the space for once to have exactly what I want on the laptop.

That being said, I'm looking into replacing my optical drive with a tray containing an SSD so I can run the OS'es and critical programs off the SSD.