Have you ever wondered why 10,000+ RPM hard drives didn’t become popular, even though they were faster than regular ones?
A discussion on Reddit talked about this, and people shared some interestnig technical, economic, and market-related reasons.
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Why High-Speed Hard Drives Faced Problems
1. Noise and Heat
One big issue with high-speed drives was that they were noisy and got hot quickly. The faster spinning needed tougher bearings, which made a loud, high-pitched sound. Plus, these drives used more power, making them run hotter.
For regular users, this wasn’t practical, especially in places where keeping things cool was already hard.
2. Delicate Design
High-speed drives were also fragile. They weren’t great for laptops or setups where they could get bumped or moved around. In offices or data centers with controlled environments, this wasn’t a huge problem, but it made these drives less appealing for everyday users.
3. Small Performance Boost
Even though these drives were faster, the improvemnet over the more common 7,200 RPM drives wasn’t huge. For most people, the extra speed didn’t really make up for the extra cost and drawbacks.
Money Matters and Market Changes
1. Too Expensive
These drives cost a lot to make and buy. For example, one participant pointed out that enterprise models 15,000 RPM drives like the Seagate Cheetah were not only pricey but also needed special equipment to work. This made them even less practical for regular users.
2. Competition with SSDs
When solid-state drives (SSDs) entered the market, they quickly started replacing high-speed hard drives. SSDs were faster, used less power, and lasted longer. Even though SSDs were expensive at first, they were clearly the better choice for most people.
3. Low Storage Space
High-speed drives usually didn’t hold as much data as standard drives. For many consumers, having more storage was more important than slightly faster speeds. In the business world, smaller, faster drives worked better because they focused on speed and efficiency.
Where High-Speed Drives Did Well
1. Servers and Data Centers
High-speed drives found a place in business environments. Servers, for example, used these drives to quickly access frequently needed data. They worked well for systems that prioritized speed over storage size.
2. Special Applications
Drives like the Seagate Cheetah were used in high-performance setups, like databases or data centers. Here, the fast speeds outweighed the costs and other downsides.
Progress and the Rise of SSDs
1. Engineering Advances
When Western Digital released the VelociRaptor in 2008, it showed how far hard drive technology had come. However, it wasn’t a completely new invention. It was more like an updated version of earlier enterprise-grade drives.
2. Rapid Evolution of SSDs
Around the same time as the VelociRaptor, in less than a year, the first consumer SSDs hit the market. SSDs weren’t just faster—they also used less power and didn’t heat up as much. It didn’t take long for SSDs to become the go-to option for most people.
Conclusion
High-speed hard drives didn’t fail because of one problem but because of a mix of technical challenges, high costs, and changes in what the market wanted.
While they found a niche in enterprise settnigs, their drawbacks made them impractical for most consumers. The rise of SSDs sealed their fate, pushing these drives into the background.
Source: Reddit
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