HGST Launches Endurastar J4K320 Automotive Hard Drive

[RedundantInk]

The HGST Endurastar J4K320 is a family of single-platter hard drives designed for automotive use.

HGST Launches Endurastar J4K320 Automotive Hard Drive : Read more

 

[Stimpack]

I'm going to be 80 years old before I can afford a car with a hard drive in it.

 

[mouse24]

Anyone know why they don't just use an SSD? I mean a car with a HDD in it and an actual use for such capacities is probably going to cost enough to make a 256gb hdds price irrelevant.

 

[smeezekitty]

I agree. Cars are expensive enough that I think they could use an SSD and not worry about shock etc.

 

[firefoxx04]

I used to have an external hard drive (2.5inch) plugged into my head unit. Worked great and the car took a beating. Actually works to this day after about 2 years of daily abuse on the roads.

 

[CaedenV]

Anyone know why they don't just use an SSD? I mean a car with a HDD in it and an actual use for such capacities is probably going to cost enough to make a 256gb hdds price irrelevant.

Agreed, if I was in a position to get a car with an internal HDD (which may be a fairly common thing in 10 years with self driving vehicles) then I would demand a high quality SSD. A HDD may last in a car environment for a good 2-5 years, but a typical car is going to last ~3x that. Even with SSD tech I would demand that they use a standard replaceable style drive like SATA or mSATA because even a high end SSD is not going to last 15 years in a daily driver.

I mean, how many people would scrap their car after 7 years when the HDD/SSD drive dies? A 7 year old car with over 100,000mi on it is going to start having other repair issues, so a $2,000+ bill to replace the head unit, or the HDD in it, would make it much easier to justify purchasing a new(er) vehicle.

 

[CaedenV]

Even embedded flash memory which is used in most vehicles is going to have better random IO for thing like maps than a HDD... I guess it is a good thin the general public is uninformed. The more I think about using a HDD on the road, the more it seems like a terrible idea!

I used to have an external hard drive (2.5inch) plugged into my head unit. Worked great and the car took a beating. Actually works to this day after about 2 years of daily abuse on the roads.

Yes, it is an external HDD with it's own case, with its own anti-vibration stuff inside, and it is likely kept on a padded floor, or an even more padded seat. A HDD used inside of a car is going to be in a much more confined space, with a much more direct connection with the frame of the vehicle.

I mean heck, it is hard to get a reliable drive from any HDD company these days without the requirements of being in a vehicle.

 

[danwat1234]

320GB? You have to wonder why 7 series BMWs and Rolls Royce Phantoms only have ~40GB hard drives, and the 2011-2012 Chevy Volt, etc. It's not such a low capacity to save cost.

 

[photonboy]

7mm SSD that can be easily replaced. That should be standard for a vehicle.

 

[bl00dyMurd3r]

Why do you need a hard drive in your car exactly?

 

[bl00dyMurd3r]

Why do you need a hard drive in your car exactly?

 

[Carey34]

I still can not afford to buy a car

 

[danwat1234]

I still can not afford to buy a car

What about a used car? A good regular 4 cylinder car with a full maintenance history and good engineering can be had for $3k, at least, that's ~ the KBB on my '99 Civic

@bloodymurder, some people have huge music collections, others like to watch movies in the center screen when parked. It'd be nice to have a large capacity hard drive, and there are no downsides.