Some time ago HGST announced, that they developed hard drives, which have helium inside the chassis instead of air. Since the density of helium is much lower than the density of air, there is going to be less friction between platters and surrounding gas. This allows for more platters in the same chassis.

Checking Geizhals these days reveals, that the new HGST Ultrastar HE6 6TB is now listed for no less than 655 Euro. This equals a price per Terabyte of approximately 109 Euro. Prices for 3 Terabyte drives are starting at 90 Euro these days, which translates into 30 Euro per Terabyte and 4 Terabyte drive offer roughly the same price per capacity.

Considering the Ultrastar He6 6 Terabyte offers unmatched capacity and also features a new technology, it is logical the manufacturer is providing the drive with a premium price. It will be interesting to see if competitors of HGST will launch similar products in 2014.




Source: Geizhals.at