While most PC users are running their operating systems and vast game libraries from solid state storage these days, there is still a market out there for the humble hard drive, especially when it comes to longer term storage. That's why Western Digital's latest release is a brand new HDD, with a massive capacity of 12TB.
The HGST Ultrastar He12 utilizes Western Digital's Helium-filled design, to improve the internal speed of the drive. It also enables the sheer size of the drive. By being less dense than air, the drive's interior can support the stable spinning of thinner storage platters.
The form factor is a standard 3.5-inch chassis and the drive is available with either a SATA 6Gbps or SAS 12Gbps interface. Although not an SSD, it's still rather fast too. It spins up a 7,200 RPM and with a hefty 256MB of internal cache, it can hit a sustained transfer rate of 255MB/s.
There's no word on how much the drive will cost when it launches in the near future (thanks PCGamer) though it does have a five-year warranty.
"This additional capacity provides for increased storage density, reducing associated data center infrastructure required to store a given amount of data. It also encompasses a low-power design without compromising performance, which helps reduce overall cost of ownership. The Ultrastar He12 HDD is perfect for any application that requires massive amounts of cost-effective storage," Western Digital said.
