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Technology Stocks : Disk Drive Sector Discussion Forum
WDC 282.58+8.6%Feb 6 9:30 AM EST
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To: Steve Porter who wrote (4415)9/11/1998 3:21:00 AM
From: Pierre-X  Read Replies (1) of 9256
 
Steve:

You're right about DRAM. After the monitor, DRAM is the hungriest piece of a typical PC. DRAM/SDRAM power dissipation per chip ranges between 300-1000 mW, depending on design efficiency, capacity, die geometry, and class. A typical system today would contain between 16 and 32 chips, dissipating between 8 and 32 W, much more than a typical HDD -- around 5-10 W in normal operation.

HOWEVER:

Typical flash EERPOM per chip power dissipation ranges between 20-100 mW. Furthermore most flash applications "sleep" the chips during inactivity reducing power consumption at idle to nearly zero.

My Palmpilot (which uses flash) runs forever on a couple of AAA batteries.

Cameras and PDAs, the largest markets for flash, have short duty cycles. The microdrive which as you say draws a lot of power at spin-up (AND forces the user to wait for it--BAD) will spin up and down a lot as the user powers on and off the device.

That's why I specifically pointed out the omission of power dissipation specs in IBM's announcement. I'll wager the microdrive does not compare well with modern flash EEPROMs in this department. But totally aside from any power consideration, the shock resistance of any HDD can never come close to what solid state circuitry can withstand, making the whole point moot IMHO.

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