Review: Seagate Momentus XT

Solid-state hard drives have evolved into the premier storage choice for many top-name notebook computers. With excellent read/write speeds and low power requirements, SSDs can be a great match for almost any mobile workstation. However, the technology is still in its infancy so the price per gigabyte can quickly put this option out of reach for many budget-conscious buyers.

This is what makes the Seagate Momentus XT such an incredible piece of hardware engineering. Representing much more than a standard 7200 rpm drive, this hybrid drive comes equipped with 4 gigabytes of solid-state storage controlled by a proprietary algorithm dubbed Adaptive Memory Technology.

Put simply, as the hard drive reads the information that is accessed most often, it caches it into the 4GB onboard SSD for quick retrieval. This includes any applications that are frequently opened, the entire boot process and even documents that are commonly used. The Seagate Momentus XT combines the prowess of a solid-state drive with the cost savings of a standard spindle hard drive.

End-User Advantages

From an end user’s point of view, nothing is more pleasing and productive than speed. Fast application loading, quick file access and reduced boot times all equal a smooth and enjoyable user experience.

The Momentus XT showcases itself each time information from the internal SSD is loaded by displaying it almost instantaneously after a user has requested it. The Adaptive Memory system is always running, always analyzing the user’s patterns and changes as quickly as the data does.

This is all done internally in the drive itself, so no interaction is required. The drive is quite possibly the quietest 7200 rpm drive available with this level of performance. Any road warrior will appreciate the lack of hard drive crunching while loading up spreadsheet files during a meeting.

Another distinct advantage this product offers is the low power requirements. Using the built-in SSD storage space, the spindle can power down and reduce power usage to less that 1 watt. This hybrid hard drive makes being unplugged for long periods of time completely possible.

Why It Works for IT

IT departments need to understand the cost savings involved when purchasing the Momentus XT versus purchasing a complete solid-state drive, which can cost as much as $4 per gigabyte compared with the hybrid Momentus at 31 cents per gigabyte. As capacities expand, SSDs climb in price much faster than comparable hybrid drives.

The warranty is also important to any business looking to protect their investment. A standard five-year warranty comes with each Seagate Momentus, which is nearly double the three-year warranty that covers most SSDs. Because a standard spindle design is at the heart of the Momentus, technology teams know that reliability will not be an issue and the chances of using the warranty are slim.

Disadvantages

The Adaptive Memory Technology employed in the Momentus can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. For users who have Macs and boot-camp partitions, every time a different operating system is loaded, the onboard cache must relearn the commonly opened applications. This can add to application load times and a longer boot process.

Updating the firmware is also extremely important. Seagate is always working to improve the Adaptive Memory algorithm, included in firmware updates that must be applied frequently.

Additionally, the Seagate Momentus has an enormous amount of potential that seems limited by having only 4GB of onboard SSD, whereas an 8GB or 16GB option could keep the spindle drive at idle for greater periods of time.