Ultrastar He6 HDD Uses Helium to Maximize Capacity

[Chris Bailey]

Would love to stuff a pair in a NAS.

 

[mynith]

The problem with helium, as far as I know, is that it leaks through almost everything because it's such a tiny mono-atomic molecule, so it will become more and more vacuum over time. Or at least, that's what I fear might happen. And when the pressure gets too low, the head will no longer be able to ride on top of the platter and scratch into it. I am genuinely concerned about how well these drives will perform reliability-wise.

 

[anti-painkilla]

jimmity These will be 1TB drives.

I cannot remember exactly what they do, but they don't use the slowest part of each platter to keep the access speeds faster. This will be why they went with 7 platters for a 6TB drive when one less platter would mean less heat. WD has a name for this 'feature'.