Despite losing out to solid-state drives (SSDs) in terms of speed, efficiency, and even durability due to having physical moving parts, hard disk drives (HDDs) aren’t irrelevant. Many people may have moved away from traditional hard drives in favor of SSDs, but Western Digital CEO Irving Tan says hard drives are needed in the ‘Era of AI’.

You’d struggle to find a prebuilt gaming PC these days fitted with a hard drive (certainly as its primary drive), and SSDs for gaming have long been the standard for any build. But that doesn’t mean hard drives are no longer relevant. HDDs are still great for large-scale storage, typically for data you don’t need quick access to; think of media like movies, music, or photos.

We need hard drives for AI, says Irving Tan

When it comes to computer storage, Western Digital (WD) is one of the most recognizable brands out there. The company recently hosted a press conference in Tokyo, featuring CEO Irving Tan and Hisashi Takano, Japan Country Officer at WD. Discussing the role of HDDs in the AI industry, Tan notes that HDDs are heavily relied on compared to their NAND flash counterparts.

“Currently, 10% of the data stored at hyperscalers is stored on NAND flash, 80% on HDDs, and the remaining 10% on tape drives. This is because HDDs are the most durable, reliable, have high capacity, low cost of ownership, and consume low power per capacity. HDDs will continue to play a central role in the future”

Irving Tan, CEO of Western Digital, via PC Watch [translated]

We did say that SSDs were more durable at the start of this article, and that’s on account of HDDs having moving parts, which, in theory, are more susceptible to breaking down. As a counterargument, SDDs have a maximum write limit, whereas hard drives do not. The fact that tape drives are still being used just as much as SSDs is another interesting reveal. Considering there is plenty of data out there that needs to be stored for legal reasons, but practically never accessed, companies can still rely on these low-cost form factors, because the speed doesn’t matter – just the storage space.

Western Digital continues to innovate in the hard drive space. The company has already shown off its ePMR (Energy-assisted Perpendicular Magnetic Recording) technology as an innovation over traditional PMR, which is more susceptible to thermal instability or “jitter”. ePMR is designed to stabilize the magnetic field and improve long-term reliability, with smaller bits making room for increased storage capacity.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.