Seagate yesterday announced it is shipping a new hard disk, the Cheetah 15k.7, to OEMs and retailers. Aimed at the server segment, the seventh-generation Cheetah drive brings 600GB capacity, 6Gbps SAS and 4Gbps Fibre Channel, and new power management technology to the 3.5″, 15,000 RPM segment.

1TB disks now cost about $75, making disks one of the cheaper parts of a modern desktop or laptop computer. The HDD market is so commodified that products from competing vendors perform and cost roughly the same; quality differentials between brands are largely a thing of the past. There is, however, one segment of the hard disk market where prices and margins are high: SAS server disks with fast rotational speeds and SCSI interfaces. The current drive, the Cheetah 15k.6, tops out at 450GB for a trifling $500. No price has been announced for the 15k.7, but prior generations of Cheetahs have launched at $600. continue