I'm a hybrid. Review of six Seagate and TOSHIBA hard drives

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Hybrid hard drives are an intermediate solution between solid-state drives and classic HDDs. By having additional Flash memory, they are able to buffer the most frequently used files and subsequently access them at much higher speeds. In this review we will introduce you to six such devices at once.

Hybrid hard drives (SSHD - Solid State Hybrid Drive, solid-state hybrid drive) can hardly be called some kind of innovation and new product. Firstly, this type of device has been produced for quite a long time. For example, the Laptop Thin SSHD and Desktop SSHD models we are considering today can be classified as the third generation of SSHD from Seagate. Secondly, the principle of their operation is very simple. This is an Adaptive Memory algorithm that writes the most frequently used data to an 8 GB solid-state cache. This principle allows you to significantly speed up the operation of the operating system and frequently used applications. These could be games, office programs or graphic editors. Considering that the price of SSHD is not much higher than the price of “ordinary” HDDs, it makes sense to take a closer look at these solutions - that’s what we’ll do.

Specifications

Of the six hybrid hard drives sent to us, only two drives are made in the 3.5-inch form factor. This is understandable: the main area of use for this type of device is laptops, that is, devices in which, as a rule, there is only one SATA slot. Of course, everyone wants to have an SSD on board a laptop, but sometimes the reality turns out to be much more prosaic: first of all, capacity is required, and only then high speed. Desktop 3.5-inch SSHDs are less popular, because a personal computer very often allows you to install several drives of different form factors at once.

“Hybrids” of the Laptop Thin SSHD line appeared last year. This is the third generation of Seagate SSHD, replacing the Momentus series. The rest of the drives are absolutely new this year. Let's take a closer look at each line.

	Seagate ST500LM000	Seagate ST1000LM014	Seagate ST2000DX001	Seagate ST4000DX001	TOSHIBA MQ01AF050H	TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100H
Ambulance	Laptop Thin SSHD	Laptop Thin SSHD	Desktop SSHD	Desktop SSHD	MQ01ABFxxxH	MQ01ABDxxxH
Form factor	2.5 inches	2.5 inches	3.5 inches	3.5 inches	2.5 inches	2.5 inches
Thickness	7 mm	9.5 mm	26.1 mm	26.1 mm	7 mm	9.5 mm
Interface	SATA 3.0	SATA 3.0	SATA 3.0	SATA 3.0	SATA 3.0	SATA 3.0
Nominal volume	500 GB	1000 GB	2000 GB	4000 GB	500 GB	1000 GB
Spindle speed	5400 rpm	5400 rpm	7200 rpm	5900 rpm	5400 rpm	5400 rpm
Number of plates/heads	1/2	2/4	2/4	4/8	1/2	2/4
Buffer volume	64 MB	64 MB	64 MB	64 MB	32 MB	32 MB
Hybrid memory capacity	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB
Shock resistance, on/off	350 G (2 ms) / 1000 G	350 G (2 ms) / 1000 G	80 G (10 ms) / 300 G (2 ms)	80 G (10 ms) / 300 G (2 ms)	400 G (2 ms) / 900 G (1 ms)	400 G (2 ms) / 900 G (1 ms)
Weight	95 g	N/A	535 g	610 g	90 g	117 g
Price	2500 rubles	3600 rubles	4300 rubles	6700 rubles	N/A	4200 rubles
Price.ru	Seagate ST500LM00057011	Seagate ST1000LM01457011	Seagate ST2000DX00157011	Seagate ST4000DX00157011	TOSHIBA MQ01AF050H57011

By the way, it was Seagate that was the first to introduce the concept of SSHD. But since this abbreviation is not a trademark, other manufacturers have also begun to use a similar reference to hybrid solid-state hard drives.

Seagate Laptop Thin SSHD

The Laptop Thin SSHD line includes two models with a capacity of 500 GB and 1000 GB, respectively. The drives differ from the previous generation - Momentus - by a reduced spindle speed (5400 rpm versus 7200 rpm), but an increased cache to 64 MB. The amount of Flash memory remains the same - 8 GB. More detailed specifications are shown in the table below.

	Seagate ST500LM000	Seagate ST1000LM014	Seagate ST750LX003
Ambulance	Laptop Thin SSHD	Laptop Thin SSHD	Moments
Generation	Third	Third	Second
Form factor	2.5 inches	2.5 inches	2.5 inches
Thickness	7 mm	9.5 mm	9.5 mm
Interface	SATA 3.0	SATA 3.0	SATA 3.0
Nominal volume	500 GB	1000 GB	750 GB
Spindle speed	5400 rpm	5400 rpm	7200 rpm
Number of plates/heads	1/2	2/4	2/4
Buffer volume	64 MB	64 MB	32 MB
Hybrid memory capacity	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB
Shock resistance, on/off	350 G (2 ms) / 1000 G (1 ms)	350 G (2 ms) / 1000 G (1 ms)	350 G (2 ms) / 1000 G (1 ms)
Weight	95 g	115 g	115 g
Price	2500 rubles	3600 rubles	Out of stock

Increasing the volume of Laptop Thin SSHD is achieved by increasing the number of pancakes, so the drives have different thicknesses. The ST500LM000 model with a capacity of 500 GB boasts a “slender” size of 7 mm. Consequently, it can be integrated into the vast majority of laptops. A more capacious solution called ST1000LM014 has a thickness of 9.5 mm. It all depends on the design of the laptop.

A special printed circuit board is responsible for the Adaptive Memory algorithm. It contains 8 GB of MLC memory Samsung K9LCGY8S1B-HCK0. The cache is played by the Samsung K4T511630J-BCE7 chip. LSI 869002V0 is a “hybrid” controller.

Seagate ST500LM000 printed circuit board

Below are screenshots from the ATTO Disk Benchmark.

Seagate Desktop SSHD

The Desktop SSHD line of devices consists of three models with capacities of 1000 GB, 2000 GB and 4000 GB respectively. For the first two disks, the spindle is capable of rotating at a speed of 7200 rpm. But the most voluminous hybrid can boast a frequency of 5900 rpm. The presence of a large number of pancakes affects. I note that the SSHD with a capacity of 1000 GB has a case thickness of 21 mm. The other two models are 26 mm.

The role of Flash memory is played by TOSHIBA microcircuits manufactured according to 24 nm technology standards. Two 64-gigabit chips are used, connected via Toggle-Mode DDR 1.X. In turn, this gives a throughput of 260 MB/s. However, the manufacturer in the technical specifications states a peak linear read and write rate of 190 MB/s. Consequently, 1000- and 2000-gigabyte models are very close to hard drives, the spindle of which operates at a frequency of 10,000 rpm. The buffer is a Samsung K4T511630J-BCE7 chip, that is, the same 64 MB as the Laptop Thin SSHD. The controller is LSI 869002V0.

Below are screenshots of ATTO Disk Benchmark. As you can see, the read/write speed of the Seagate ST2000DX001 model actually reaches the stated 190 MB/s.

TOSHIBA MQ01ABFxxxH/MQ01ABDxxxH

Models MQ01AF050H and MQ01ABD100H represent two different lines. The first one has a 320 GB “partner”, the second one has a 750 GB one. The MQ01AF050H solution boasts a thickness of 7 mm. The second is only 9.5 mm. All TOSHIBA SSHDs are equipped with 8 GB of proprietary Flash memory, as well as 32 MB of cache.

Marvell 88I9317-RA12 is a direct HDD controller, and LINK-A-MEDIA 58NC7710GHB serves as a coprocessor for the hybrid part. Also on the board is the TH58TEG6H2HBA4C memory.

PCB TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100H

Below are screenshots of ATTO Disk Benchmark. As you can see, the Marvell controller works great with small files, but starting from 32 KB the read and write speeds really start to slow down. However, in general, it can be seen that sequential data processing is slower than the Seagate SSHD.

Test results

Test stand:

Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K @4.5 GHz
CPU cooler: Corsair H75
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-DELUXE
Power supply unit: LEPA G1600, 1600 W
Peripherals: Samsung U28D590D , ROCCAT ARVO, ROCCAT SAVU
Operating system: Windows 8.1 x64

Let's start with the CrystalDiskMark results. As I said, the desktop version of SSHD with a capacity of 2000 GB demonstrates very high speeds. 204 MB/s is even higher than stated! At the same time, both reading and writing keep each other, that is, these operations are performed at the same speed. I also note that the ST4000DX001 is noticeably slower than the ST2000DX001, somewhere around 20-30 MB/s.

It is logical that the 2.5-inch Laptop Thin SSHD is noticeably slower than the Seagate Desktop SSHD. The “screws” from the Japanese manufacturer also work faster.

The situation is different with TOSHIBA disks. The drives demonstrate good read speeds - up to 180 MB/s. But recording is noticeably slower and reaches a maximum of 90 MB / s.

Classic sequential/random read and write tests in Iometer showed a similar trend and a similar balance of power. The 2000 GB ST2000DX001 demonstrates very good performance. But with small files it frankly fails. Here SSHDs from TOSHIBA already look very decent. This is perfectly demonstrated by Intel patterns, which place a significant load on the entire subsystem. Here the difference in speed between TOSHIBA and Seagate “hybrid products” sometimes reaches 30 times.

The established response time for all drives does not represent anything special or supernatural. However, this time should be compensated by the presence of Flash memory.

To test the Adaptive Memory algorithm, we used the PCMark 7 benchmark. The comparative tables show the results after one and after five runs of the System Storage subtest.

The results were as expected. Yes, the Adaptive Memory algorithm works. However, specifically in the PCMark 7 benchmark, the increase was only 5-7%. Therefore, you should not expect a miracle from SSHD. Frequently used applications will be accelerated, but hybrids will never be able to match the performance of full-fledged SSDs.

Competitors and analogues

As a competitor, I chose a very interesting WD model - Black2. The paradox is that it can be called a “hybrid solid-state drive”, but at the same time it is not an SSHD. And all because the WD Black2 is a two-in-one device. The 9.5 mm case with a 2.5-inch form factor includes a full-fledged 120 GB SSD and a full-fledged 1000 GB HDD. At the same time, the device is equipped with only one SATA 3.0 connector.

WD Black2

conclusions

Well, it's time to sum up. The Laptop Thin SSHD line didn't show anything special. The use of a spindle rotating at 5400 rpm significantly reduced the speed of the drive. The drive demonstrates good results in sequential reading and writing, although they are far from even budget models of solid state drives. But with random reading / writing, as well as working with small files, SSHD from Seagate literally fails.

In my opinion, SSHD TOSHIBA look much more interesting. The presence of a Marvell controller makes itself felt. Random read/write, small data - in these conditions, both MQ01AF050H and MQ01ABD100H demonstrate excellent performance. Yes, the 1000 GB model (depending on the reseller) is 500-1000 rubles more expensive than the ST1000LM014, but it's worth it. I think so.

Another interesting model is the Seagate ST2000DX001. The drive demonstrated impressive speed capabilities for sequential reading and writing. Although working with random data, as well as small files, in comparison with the same SSHD TOSHIBA leaves much to be desired. However, if you need a large storage drive, but there is no way to install an SSD in your desktop, then the ST2000DX001 will be a good choice.

The Seagate ST4000DX001 model is, for obvious reasons, inferior to the ST2000DX001, and is also quite expensive.

To summarize, I would like to note the following:

Hybrid solid-state hard drives have every right to exist: despite the fact that they are more or less comparable in price to classic HDDs, this type of device really speeds up the system. Of course, you shouldn’t expect the speed and efficiency of an SSD from an SSHD, but the most frequently used programs will run faster;
Still, nowadays volume decides a lot. There is a category of users (far from small, I must admit) who are not satisfied with 120-256 GB as a disk subsystem implemented in the form of an SSD. The realities of the market are such that a 1000 GB solid-state drive will cost the user, at best, 17-18 thousand rubles, and an SSHD costs between 3000-5000 rubles. And this is a strong argument in favor of hybrid hard drives.

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