Momentus XT Hybrid - Surprising results

[Wozza63]

ok so i expected only a small improvement over a standard 7200RPM SATAII laptop drive, but it seems there is much more to it than that
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3734/seagates-momentus-xt-review-finally-a-good-hybrid-hdd

here is the main picture which shows the results and is up against a velociraptor that PCS sell and a standard SSD, the improvement over the velociraptor is amazing considering the huge price difference

 

[tom_gr7]

sounds good, how much are these seagate momentus XT's?

 

[Wozza63]

PCS prices
500GB Momentus XT Hybrid - £108
600GB Velociraptor - £226

 

[tom_gr7]

looks like they are only available in laptops.

 

[Tom DWC]

They're very nice little drives, I got mine for my netbook before the recent HDD price surge and it was great value, somewhere between a regular HDD and SSD.

Now, If raw speed and portability is what you want the 80GB Intel SSD is only a bit more (£5) and alot faster, however for increased capacity it's still got that covered.

I dunno how the technology works, bit hit and miss I reckon but better that than nothing.

 

[Wozza63]

im definitely considering buying one, PCS definitely need to consider these as a solution for PCs i would probably have got it instead of my SSD tbh

 

[Tom DWC]

They won't even approach SSD levels or anything like that, and remember it doesn't do anything for writes, only reads. Really it just helps Windows boot a bit faster on portable laptops and load frequently used apps a bit quicker.

Boots San Andreas in a few seconds though, runs very nicely native at medium settings. And before anyone scoffs at that, not bad for an 18W CPU with graphics included. If you look at it that way then it's really quite impressive performance.

 

[Wozza63]

They won't even approach SSD levels or anything like that, and remember it doesn't do anything for writes, only reads. Really it just helps Windows boot a bit faster on portable laptops and load frequently used apps a bit quicker.

Boots San Andreas in a few seconds though, runs very nicely native at medium settings. And before anyone scoffs at that, not bad for an 18W CPU with graphics included. If you look at it that way then it's really quite impressive performance.

yeh, im definitely thinking about it now as i definitely need a big drive thats a bit faster

for reads then, this is probably quite a bit faster than a caviar black

 

[Tom DWC]

yeh, im definitely thinking about it now as i definitely need a big drive thats a bit faster

for reads then, this is probably quite a bit faster than a caviar black

A bit, and without the gargantuan power draw and AK-47 reloading sounds while it works.

 

[tom_gr7]

they do meet a good balance between speed and storage.

although for less than hundred quid you can pick up a fast ssd.

for someone who is being a new system it may be a good solution.

 

[Wozza63]

they do meet a good balance between speed and storage.

although for less than hundred quid you can pick up a fast ssd.

for someone who is being a new system it may be a good solution.

yes but bear in mind the smallest of SSDs will put you back £50 and then a 500GB HDD SATAII is probably another £60

and £50 would be a 40GB one or something the 64GB Kingston is about £70-80

 

[mishra]

I'm very happy with my Momentus XT.
Wanted SSD in first place but price/size is the deciding factor, and I am not willing to skimp on space on my system drive. So until prices go down, SSDs have no room in my world. Meanwhile Momentus XT is just right as a system drive. Obviosuly, not as quick as SSD but quick enough for my day-to-day PC routine. Worth the price IMO...