Following WD and Seagate’s announcements, Toshiba has also launched its next-generation 18 TB mechanical HDDs for desktop PCs and NAS. Part of the X300 and N300 series, these drives feature flux-control microwave-assisted magnetic recording (FC-MAMR) technology along with improved performance and reliability.
Based on the same platform as the MG09-series HDDs, the X300/N300 18 TB HDDs feature a total of nine aluminum platters paired with microwave-emitting components near the heads to improve the magnetic properties of the drive, thereby improving reliability. The platters have a rotation speed of 7200 RPM and leverage Toshiba’s 3rd Gen helium-sealed platform. (camperlife.co)
The exact performance figures haven’t been disclosed just yet, but going by the specs of the MG09 series, you can expect a maximum sustained write speed of 281 MB/s. The N300 18 TB drives will feature the SATA interface, a cache size of 512 MB, MTTF reliability of up to 1.2 million hours, and the capability to write 180 TB of data per year. The 18 TB X300 drives, however, don’t support 24×7 operation, and the warranty has been reduced from 3 to 2 years, with an MTTF reliability of 600,000 hours.
The X300 18 TB drives feature an improved stabilization mechanism for improved stability (in addition to the micro-wave components) along with advanced caching to improve performance. This makes the X300 the world’s first HDD for desktop with energy-assisted magnetic recording technology. There are multiple products from WD and Seagate in this range, but none of them are positioned for desktop PCs.
Both the X300/B300 18TB hard drives should land in retail by the end of this year, and as of now, the prices have not been announced.
