The M80 SATA Series and the M80 Series are Samsung's first hard disk drives based on Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) technology, which greatly increases storage capacity. The 2.5-in. HDDs include the M80 SATA HM080HI (80 Gbytes), HM120II (120 Gbytes), and HM160JI (160 Gbytes). The M80 Series includes the HM080HC (80 Gbytes), the HM120IC (120 Gbytes), and the HM160JC (160 Gbytes). The drives also feature optional free-fall sensors that increase protection against damage from shock. Both series include 8 Mbytes of onboard data cache and a 5400-rpm spindle speed.
Traditional longitudinal recording technology lays data bits end to end, where they can flip and corrupt data on the disk. PMR technology places the data bits perpendicular to the disk, which reduces the corruption factor. In addition, by placing the data bits standing on end, more data can fit onto a disk, allowing for greater storage capacity. With PMR technology, users can fit up to 40,000 MP3 songs and 160 hours of video on a 160-Gbyte drive.
The free-fall sensors provide 700g of shock tolerance, compared to a more typical 325g for many notebook computers. Hard drives equipped with the free-fall sensor are better able to detect changes in acceleration caused by a freefall. The free-fall sensor parks the drive's head on the ramp and turns the hard drive off, protecting it from damage. For faster response time, the company locates the sensor on the hard drive, not on the notebook's motherboard, as do some manufacturers.
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