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PC Drive Reaches 500GB

Drive capacity soars to a new high as makers begin to turn to a new recording technology.

Eric Dahl

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How It Works: New Drive Technology

Hard drive makers, facing looming capacity limits with conventional, longitudinal recording technology, are turning to perpendicular recording to provide even greater storage.

Conventional (Longitudinal) Recording

Each bit of information is represented by a collection of magnetized particles, with their north and south poles oriented in one direction or the other. In longitudinal recording, the particles' north and south poles are lined up parallel to the disk's surface in a ring around its center. Magnetic repulsion limits how closely packed those bits can be and still maintain data integrity.

Perpendicular Recording

In this type of recording, the poles are arranged perpendicular to the disk's surface, which allows more bits to be packed onto a disk and reduces problems from magnetic interference.

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