Seagate today announced channel and OEM shipments of the Momentus XT drive, the world?s fastest 2.5-inch laptop PC hard drive, combining SSD-like performance with the capacity and much lower cost of HDDs.

The Momentus XT drive also features Adaptive Memory - a new technology from Seagate that learns and optimizes the drive's performance to each user by moving frequently used information into the flash memory for faster access. The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive boots up to 100 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives, the mainstream spin speed for laptop PCs, Seagate claims.

The Momentus XT drive is a storage solution that combines a 7200RPM spin speed, 4GB of solid state memory and Seagate's Adaptive Memory technology. The Adaptive Memory technology works by identifying patterns in how often certain digital data is used, and then moving the most frequently used information to the embedded solid state memory for faster access - effectively tailoring hard drive performance to each user and their applications.

ASUS has announced that it will offer the Momentus XT drive as an upgrade option for its new Republic of Gamers (ROG) G73Jh notebook. The system is powered by an Intel i7 720Qm quad-core processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and DX11 capable ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870.

The Momentus XT drive installs as easily as a traditional 9.5mm-high notebook drive for new systems or laptop upgrades and, unlike early hybrid drives, operates independently of the operating system and the motherboard chipset.

In addition to the Momentus XT drive, Seagate also today announced the new Momentus 750GB drive. The Momentus is spinning at 7200 RPM and features a SATA 3Gb/s with NCQ interface, 16MB cache with silent acoustics and low power consumption.