Seagate integrators and OEM customers are faced with an increasing demand for thinner yet fully functional mainstream laptop computing solutions. Until recently, the only option for these thinner solutions revolved around high-priced, slow performing 1.8 inch drives and high-priced, fast solid state drives. Because both storage types were costly options, system designers had no choice but to build thinner chassis only for their high-end lines. Enter Seagate ingenuity.

Seagate designed a drive that could exploit current laptop drives in both material and product design. This successful initiative resulted in the design of the Seagate® Momentus® Thin drive, the world’s first 7mm, 2.5 inch form factor drive. The new 7mm drive is a reduced-height platform available with 16MB of cache on both the mainstream 5,400 RPM and the high-performance 7,200 RPM options.

The 500, 320, 250 and 160GB sizes align with the sweet-spot capacity points that our customers are looking for in a fully functional laptop system today.Furthermore, the addition of SmartAlign technology resolves Advanced Format 4K sector misalignment conditions and preserves performance without time-consuming software utilities — paving the way to a worry-free adoption of the 4K standard. And although the special design requires code and some component changes, it leverages Seagate expertise to deliver a much more affordable solution for thinner laptop computing needs.

Summary

•   7mm z-height form factor, which enables thin chassis design for all segments of laptop computing
•   Seagate SmartAlign™ technology, which provides a transition to 4K sectors without the need for software utilities
•   Self-Encrypting Drives that mitigate data breaches, comply with data protection regulations and preserve brand        recognition
•   Self-Encrypting Drives with FIPS 140-2 certification1 that are approved by the US and Canadian governments
• Compatible with SATA 6Gb/s and 3Gb/s designs