Are hard drives back? WD promises 800% speed increase.

  • Published In: PCWorld, 2026, v. 44, n. 3. P. 14 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: JACOBI, JON 3 of 3

Abstract

The article discusses the future of hard disk drives (HDDs) and the advancements that Western Digital (WD) plans to implement over the next decade. Despite perceptions of obsolescence, HDDs remain relevant due to their capacity advantages over solid-state drives (SSDs) at affordable prices. WD aims to enhance HDD technology through methods such as Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR), Energy-Assisted Magnetic Recording (eAMR), Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR), and Energy-Assisted Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (ePMR), with projections of a 40TB HDD soon and a potential 100TB model in ten years. The company also anticipates significant improvements in sequential transfer performance and a reduction in power requirements, while acknowledging that random access performance will likely remain inferior to SSDs. [Extracted from the article]

Additional Information

  • Source:PCWorld. 2026/03, Vol. 44, Issue 3, p14
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Science
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:0737-8939
  • Accession Number:191789323
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