Samsung's 500GB 2.5-inch drive arrives, alongside 22X DVD burner

Samsung promised it was coming in March, and here she blows. The Spinpoint M6 is the first standard-height 500GB 2.5-incher available, at a lean 9.5mm, meaning you can cram it into most existing laptops unlike the 2.5-inch 500 giggers from Fujitsu and Hitachi. Samsung's using some Perpendicular Magnetic Recording tech to cram everything in, stuffing three 167GB platters into the 5400rpm drive. The M6 goes for $299 and is shipping now. If DVD burning is more your pace, Samsung also just announced an "industry fastest" 22X DVD burner, the SH-S223. The SATA drive can stamp a 4.7GB disc in 12 minutes, and does dual-layer discs at a respectable 16X. No word on price yet for that one.

[Totalfixation @ Mar 9th 2008 7:18AM]

Shweetttt!!!

[E71 @ Mar 9th 2008 10:01AM]

Yes! Very! I want that in the next Archos PMP! Got 100s of 720p MKVs needing a new portable home.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 9th 2008 3:48PM]

The Samsung 22x DVD has a special feature that records low speed media at 22x speeds.

"Super-WriteMaster SH-S223 is the industry’s fastest DVD burner that enables burning of data at high speeds - even on low-speed media."







I tipped Engadget off to this news the other day and do not get credit for it. Thanks.

[Kurian @ Mar 9th 2008 7:33AM]

Now for the PS3 ISO Loader...

[Jevanzz @ Mar 9th 2008 8:03AM]

I'm guessing this would work in a PS3 ok? If so, that'd be SO sweet! :)

[engadgetier @ Mar 9th 2008 10:13AM]

I thought that the PS3 uses a 3.5 inch drive. I know someone who put in a 500gb HDD. I dont know how but they did.

[Kurian @ Mar 9th 2008 10:20AM]

No the PS3 uses a 2.5 inch SATA drive, which you slide into the side slot. You can attach a 3.5 inch drive using the HyperDrive converter which you stick between the 3.5 inch drive and the PS3.

[Ayman @ Mar 9th 2008 7:42AM]

Yes .... the age of ruling the world has come at last...hahahaha...

[DJPaul @ Mar 9th 2008 7:44AM]

Where can I order one of these from, or are they direct to manufacturers only?

[Ayle @ Mar 9th 2008 8:05AM]

Only the 320gb version is available now... I guess stores will start selling the 500gb next week.

[rento @ Mar 9th 2008 8:09AM]

Crap when I saw the headline I almost thought it was about SSD arrrrrrrrgh!!!

[Eugene @ Mar 9th 2008 8:17AM]

Correction, it takes 12 minutes to burn 4.7GB to DVD-RAM. It takes 4.5 minutes to burn DVD-R/DVD+R

[Daza @ Mar 9th 2008 8:21AM]

"The SATA drive can stamp a 4.7GB disc in 12 minutes" - is it just me or is something wrong with that? Shouldn't it be closer to 4 minutes? According to another source, "[SH-S223] enables consumers to burn 4.7GB on a DVD±R disc in approximately 4 minutes and 26 seconds".

More than likely just firmware hacks though, with DVD media still being rated at 16x there's going to be a lot more errors when burning with 22x.

[Mike @ Mar 9th 2008 10:39AM]

not to mention dual layer being burned at 16x wtf....most of that is rated at 2.4x and 4x.....

is this drive for real or are engadget's stats just messed up....

[DssTrainer @ Mar 10th 2008 10:20AM]

That DVD Burner speed:time ratio struck me as odd as well. 8x DVD can burn 4.7G from HD to Disc in about ~9 or ~10.5 min on-the-fly.

[Seung-Hwan @ Mar 9th 2008 8:27AM]

I was hoping to upgrade my recently outdated MacBook Pro in one year with a 500 GB HDD, but it seems that I will have bigger drives to upgrade to in one year.

Too bad it's such a pain in the ass to upgrade it.

[Homeboy @ Mar 9th 2008 8:38AM]

...........and in one year it will be even more outdated.

[Seung-Hwan @ Mar 9th 2008 8:41AM]

Thanks for your insightful comment.

[Kelmon @ Mar 9th 2008 9:58AM]

But on the plus side it costs practically peanuts to have the drive fitted by the professionals. My MacBook Pro tops out at 160GB so a 500GB will be something nice to upgrade to. If they keep increasing the size of such drives in the meantime then all the better and the overall performance will no doubt increase even at the same 5,400RPM. Marvelous.

[Jesse S @ Mar 9th 2008 11:08AM]

In most every other laptop, it costs nothing as you can easily do it yourself.

[Mikey @ Mar 9th 2008 1:21PM]

Pain in the ass to upgrade? I've upgraded the HDD in mine like three times, now. I'd say it's a cinch to upgrade.

Have you actually tried it before?

[bobartig @ Mar 9th 2008 2:34PM]

I just did mine from a 120 > 250. I also agree that it is not that hard. Just look up a take-apart guide from mac fixit, and have the appropriate tools on hand. It helps to have a nylon probe/ plastic spudger to keep from damaging your top case.

[AlphaTeam @ Mar 9th 2008 2:43PM]

After playing around, it would seem it's just like 20 screws and a magnetic (so you don't loose the screws). It's not much. Trust me. I've disassembled laptops and there are harder things.

[Trini @ Mar 9th 2008 9:48AM]

Correct me if i'm wrong... but didn't Sony say the PS3 will only recognize up to 250 gig hard drives? Anything higher than that will be usable but, the playstation can only see 250 gig so the remaining 250 gig will be unusable and a total waste to get this for a PS3. This is more suitable for a notebook.

[Jevanzz @ Mar 9th 2008 10:33AM]

Do you have a link or something? I'd like to know before I plunge for a bigger drive :) Cheers.

[jubjubju @ Mar 9th 2008 12:53PM]

you are corrected, because you are wrong...

[tanjim @ Mar 9th 2008 1:36PM]

yes youre right, ps3 doesnt suport beyond 250gb at the moment, you can put more on the drive but the system will only recognize teh first 250gb. the link is here:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071201125651AAY6XTM&show=7

if you'll scroll down to the coment by -R "n" D- you will see this. now, i know this isnt an official sony press release, but my line of thinking is that if you wenre the only person who mentioned the 250gb limit, then youre probably right as of now. i do, however, fully expect sony to release a firmware update sometime over the course of the year which will up the limit. hope this helped :)

[The Aggie CEO @ Mar 9th 2008 6:11PM]

I have a 320GB in my PS3 now..........

the page people keep getting that from says that the largest size currently out that can fit in the PS3 is 250....that page is over a year old...........

[engadgetier @ Mar 9th 2008 10:15AM]

I thought that the PS3 uses a 3.5 inch drive. I know someone who put in a 500gb HDD. I dont know how but they did.

[pulverz @ Mar 9th 2008 11:29AM]

They couldn't have used a 3.5" drive - the PS3 uses a 2.5" SATA

Here's a guide though on how to do it: http://asia.cnet.com/digitalliving/tips/0,3800004921,62032875,00.htm

You can use an external drive, which can certainly be a 3.5" whatever, but it wouldn't be internal (obviously)

Just pointing you in the right direction is all :)

[AutoTom @ Mar 9th 2008 10:50AM]

awesome! i love samsung!

that is freaking amazing..

[-gonz- @ Mar 9th 2008 11:30AM]

yeahhhhhhh can't wait to shove it in my fat macbook!!

[taha.rana @ Mar 9th 2008 12:18PM]

Why does engadget always put samsung's "world's first" claims in inverted commas ??

[Sam Winter @ Mar 10th 2008 4:09AM]

inverted commas?? WTF ? You did NOT just say that. My god, you are an American, too I bet. What is our country coming to????

[Katosen @ Mar 9th 2008 12:34PM]

Interesting. Wouldn't be a bad upgrade. Now, if only developers would put a little more concentration into making these things faster RPM wise, I'd love to get one.

[M. Hyde @ Mar 9th 2008 1:07PM]

Dearest Engadget editors:

I love the writing at Engadget, but surely you know the use of the word "stamped" is a misnomer.

DVD burners quite literally burn 1s and 0s with a laser into a thin layer of film. Only manufacturing facilities stamp a DVD.

A better way might be to say, "The SATA drive can singe 38,502,400,000,000 bits (that's 4.7 GB for you kids at home) in under five minutes."

I know I'm being pedantic, but surely your journalists have at least a fundamental knowledge about how this industry actually works ... right?


Sincerely,
Michael

[David @ Mar 9th 2008 11:16PM]

I'm sure Paul is very sorry

[cwckw4 @ Mar 9th 2008 1:16PM]

12 minutes? i guess after you hit 20x, it starts slowing down....

[Phil Perman @ Mar 9th 2008 1:46PM]

What I want to know is if they can fit 500GB into a 9.5mm thick 2.5" deive, how come 3.5" drives are still stuck at 1TB?

[bobartig @ Mar 9th 2008 3:02PM]

Here's probably why:

The Spinpoint M6 has an areal density of 520 Gb/in2 on its platters.

The first 1TB drive from Hitachi used 5x200GB platters with an areal density of 320 Gb/in2.

Samsungs newest 1TB drive, the Spinpoint F1, only uses 3 platters, which have a (calculate) density of around 533 Gb/in2. These 3x334GB platter drives consume less power, read/write faster, generate less heat, and less noise. They are also competitive with the density found in the M6. Samsung could *probably* make a 1.66 TB drive, but they're not pressed to yet because the major players haven't caught up. Basically, whenever Seagate/Hitachi comes out with their > 1TB drive, Samsung will be able to kick out their competitive SKU that costs less and performs better due to using less platters.

[Luigi193 @ Mar 9th 2008 9:54PM]

My head hurts...

[AlphaTeam @ Mar 9th 2008 2:41PM]

About time. Now I'm upgrading again!

[Jon Doe. @ Mar 9th 2008 3:30PM]

Drop 2 of those 167GB platters in there and make it a 7200RPM drive and you have a deal. I'm down to 5.6GB of space on my MBP......she's a drop'n fast captain and I cann'a stop it!

[x @ Mar 9th 2008 3:47PM]

they didn't tell you this but in addition to these drives they also released a 250gb 7200 driv

[craig @ Mar 9th 2008 6:00PM]

1 platter spinning at 7200 rpm would not hold 167GB unless all that support circuitry was substantially accelerated to support the 1/3 faster data rates. Doing so would result in a higher power device in spite of the reduced platter count. The significantly smaller capacity would cause the drive to be slower overall for just about any portable use. A drive like this makes no sense and that's why no one makes one.

You can already buy 200GB 7200 rpm drives that would be a better choice. This 500GB will outrun those anyway.

[The Aggie CEO @ Mar 9th 2008 6:26PM]

So yea........

I'm down to 180GB on the 320GB drive in my PS3........

HOPEFULLY by the time I get down to 40GB or so this will be down to $180 range........

[Dan Davis @ Mar 10th 2008 10:02AM]

WTF??? Did you install Devil May Cry 4 twenty-eight times? :)

Seriously, that's a lot of game saves and/or music on that PS3!

[The Aggie CEO @ Mar 10th 2008 7:25PM]

I've got like 20 games........

a lot of which install 2GBs+ to the HDD.....
I dont have anything other than PS3 related stuff on there tho.........and Ubuntu which doesnt take much at all.........

I dont delete Demo's and have downloaded quite a bit of PSP /PS1 games......

[OneLove @ Mar 9th 2008 6:51PM]

I will never understand how we accept the whole 2x, 8x, 16x, 22x burner speed advance, always having to buy a new burner. Do manufacturers have a closet full of different speed burners and just release them slowly to make money? Couldn’t they just give us a 2x to Highest-x jump? What exactly are they tweaking to give it that extra speed, firmware?

[Hotrod @ Mar 9th 2008 6:51PM]

Wow, I can't believe that thing has 3 platters. I didn't really know how puny laptop drives were, until I swapped out my PS3 drive... Amazing