Seagate Technology introduced the Seagate FireCuda Forge drive, the first Seagate hard drive powered by the Alkemi intelligent storage platform.
With Alkemi, the FireCuda Forge combines solid-state drive (SSD) responsiveness and hard disk drive (HDD) capacity in a single drive, using adaptive intelligence to give gamers and creators the speed and space they need without added complexity.
It could be a big deal for gamers, as it balances the speed of an SSD with the capacity of the HDD. That’s good news for someone who wants to run demanding and high-storage games, while still getting the capacity to store a lot of games on one machine. The SSD helps access frequently used data fast, while the HDD lets you play a wider variety of games quickly. It’s useful for capturing video while playing games.
A new platform for a new reality
From massive game libraries and 4K video to AI-powered animation, people are creating, working with, and keeping more data than ever. IDC projects annual global data generation will more than triple, from 218 zettabytes in 2025 to more than 718 zettabytes by 2030.
As digital libraries expand, consumers need fast access to active content and the capacity to preserve growing collections.
Engineered to improve with use, the Alkemi dynamic-caching technology learns how data is used in real-time and automatically prioritizes frequently accessed content from a user’s SSD, while ensuring the HDD provides capacity for larger libraries.
The result brings intelligent data tiering from the data center to the desktop, dynamically caching data based on activity patterns, to deliver fast and easy access without users having to manage where their data lives.
“For years, external storage has forced users to choose: speed or scale. Forge is built on the idea that they shouldn’t have to,” said Lance Ohara, VP of Edge IoT Marketing at Seagate, in a statement. “Powered by our new Alkemi technology, it combines the responsiveness users want with the storage capacity they need in one intelligently managed system to give gamers and creators the best of both worlds.”
FireCuda Forge is the first product to deliver the Alkemi experience, combining a user’s NVMe SSD with the Forge’s high-capacity HDD to onboard processing in a single box. Seagate engineers designed the FireCuda Forge to provide fast, seamless access to the content people use most, while offering the capacity to keep more of what matters, whether gaming, streaming, creating or managing everyday digital life.
Product highlights
- First product build on the Alkemi platform: Alkemi learns and adapts over time to keep high-demand content fast and accessible on a user’s SSD, while the HDD provides space for growing libraries. Behind the scenes, Alkemi manages data placement, giving users the simplicity of a single storage drive.
- Performance for demanding workflows: Up to 2,500MB/s read and 2,000MB/s write performance.
- Choice and expandability: The FireCuda Forge contains an upgradeable HDD, and users select and provide their own NVMe SSD that is required for operational compatibility.
- High-bandwidth connectivity: USB4 supports gaming and creator workflows on compatible systems.
- Platform support: Designed to support Windows 11 and macOS 26 and above.
Availability: The FireCuda Forge is available now through the Seagate on-line store and authorized partners in 8TB and 20TB configurations, starting at $699 (8TB) and $899 (20TB). Product availability may vary by market.
More details on using it
With this drive, you don’t have to worry about moving data from the SSD to the HDD and vice versa. The intended experience manages placement behind the scenes and presents one unified volume.
Not every file will be accessible fast, even on an SSD. Alkemi prioritizes recent and frequently accessed or behaviorally relevant data.
By separating the SSD from the product, Seagate allows consumers to choose the SSD that works best for them. The design allows users to select a compatible SSD and allow for an easier initial purchase and to potentially take advantage of an existing SSD that meets the requirements to be used.
Forge isn’t network-attached storage (NAS). It’s directly attached to external storage. The hard drive is replaceable. Forge supports additional drive capacities should the user wish to expand their drive in the future. Gamers and creators are among the targets for the product. Creators in particular can benefit from needing to store both games and large videos.
You can replace either the SSD or the HDD, but doing so requires a full backup and restore. Because Alkemi dynamically moves data between the SSD and hard drive inside Forge, the two components cannot be treated as independent storage volumes.
Disclosure: I’m evaluating the product from Seagate.