Western Digital Introduces First 14TB HDD

Western Digital has announced the HGST Ultrastar Hs14, the first 3.5″ HDD with a storage capacity of 14TB. The helium-filled hard drive runs at 7200rpm and is equipped with 512MB cache.

There will be sata and sas versions of the Ultrastar Hs14. According to the manufacturers, the maximum write speed is 233MB/s. The 14TB HDD is intended for the business market and, according to maker Western Digital, is suitable for use in servers. The high capacity is possible thanks to the use of SMR technology, in which the magnetic paths overlap slightly.

At the end of last year, Western Digital already announced that the 14TB HDD was on the way. Then the company presented a 12TB HDD under the HGST brand name, which is almost identical to the new 14TB model in terms of hardware. More manufacturers have pledged to launch 14TB HDDs this year, including Toshiba and Seagate.

WD has not disclosed the price of the Ultrastar Hs14. The company says the HDD is currently being provided to a select few OEMs. It is not yet known when the 14TB HDD will be in stores. The Ultrastar He12-hdd with 12TB is for sale for about five hundred euros.