Helium-Filled Hard Drives Lift Performance Due to its lower density, helium has long been considered an ideal medium for the innards of a hard drive. It stays cooler and allows the platters to be closer together because of reduced turbulence. Low density, however, is a double-edged sword because helium leaks easily. Drive maker HGST claims to have eliminated that problem. Storage manufacturer HGST , a division of Western Digital on Thursday demonstrated a helium-filled hard drive enclosure. This platform will let HGST design seven-platter drives in a standard 3.5-inch form factor. The company currently has five-platter drives in that form factor. With the added capacity two more platters offer, a helium-filled enclosure will improve the total cost of ownership of such a device in various areas, HGST said. "It is extremely difficult technically for an air-based drive to achieve the same capacity points that we can achieve with helium," Brendan...