HGST Launches Endurastar J4K320 Automotive Hard Drive

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The HGST Endurastar J4K320 is a family of single-platter hard drives designed for automotive use.

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Tarun Iyer
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Tarun Iyer was a contributor for Tom's Hardware who wrote news covering a wide range of technology topics, including processors, graphics cards, cooling systems, and computer peripherals. He also covered tech trends such as the development of adaptive all-in-one PCs.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Stimpack
    I'm going to be 80 years old before I can afford a car with a hard drive in it.
    Reply
  • mouse24
    Anyone know why they don't just use an SSD? I mean a car with a HDD in it and an actual use for such capacities is probably going to cost enough to make a 256gb hdds price irrelevant.
    Reply
  • smeezekitty
    I agree. Cars are expensive enough that I think they could use an SSD and not worry about shock etc.
    Reply
  • firefoxx04
    I used to have an external hard drive (2.5inch) plugged into my head unit. Worked great and the car took a beating. Actually works to this day after about 2 years of daily abuse on the roads.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    11657981 said:
    Anyone know why they don't just use an SSD? I mean a car with a HDD in it and an actual use for such capacities is probably going to cost enough to make a 256gb hdds price irrelevant.

    Agreed, if I was in a position to get a car with an internal HDD (which may be a fairly common thing in 10 years with self driving vehicles) then I would demand a high quality SSD. A HDD may last in a car environment for a good 2-5 years, but a typical car is going to last ~3x that. Even with SSD tech I would demand that they use a standard replaceable style drive like SATA or mSATA because even a high end SSD is not going to last 15 years in a daily driver.

    I mean, how many people would scrap their car after 7 years when the HDD/SSD drive dies? A 7 year old car with over 100,000mi on it is going to start having other repair issues, so a $2,000+ bill to replace the head unit, or the HDD in it, would make it much easier to justify purchasing a new(er) vehicle.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    Even embedded flash memory which is used in most vehicles is going to have better random IO for thing like maps than a HDD... I guess it is a good thin the general public is uninformed. The more I think about using a HDD on the road, the more it seems like a terrible idea!
    11658194 said:
    I used to have an external hard drive (2.5inch) plugged into my head unit. Worked great and the car took a beating. Actually works to this day after about 2 years of daily abuse on the roads.
    Yes, it is an external HDD with it's own case, with its own anti-vibration stuff inside, and it is likely kept on a padded floor, or an even more padded seat. A HDD used inside of a car is going to be in a much more confined space, with a much more direct connection with the frame of the vehicle.

    I mean heck, it is hard to get a reliable drive from any HDD company these days without the requirements of being in a vehicle.
    Reply
  • danwat1234
    320GB? You have to wonder why 7 series BMWs and Rolls Royce Phantoms only have ~40GB hard drives, and the 2011-2012 Chevy Volt, etc. It's not such a low capacity to save cost.
    Reply
  • photonboy
    7mm SSD that can be easily replaced. That should be standard for a vehicle.
    Reply
  • bl00dyMurd3r
    Why do you need a hard drive in your car exactly?
    Reply
  • bl00dyMurd3r
    Why do you need a hard drive in your car exactly?
    Reply