Xbox gets smaller hard drive
Seagate unveils smaller, lighter, quieter drive
Seagate last night unveiled its latest hard drive, the U Series X, specifically designed for use in a variety of consumer electronics devices, including the Xbox. Coming in 10Gb and 20Gb varieties, it's supposed to be 25% thinner than rival drives, 33% lighter, more shock resistant, more reliable and incredibly quiet. Using a fluid dynamic bearing motor (if that means anything to you), the drive apparently produces just 2.6 bels of noise, which should barely be audible to most people. The new drive is due to ship to "key customers" later this month, and presumably that will include Microsoft, who currently use a mixture of Seagate and Western Digital hard drives in the Xbox. Obviously reducing the weight and noise of the Xbox, however slightly, is a good thing™, and the smaller size of the drive should also improve airflow within the console.