Seagate has launched the FireCuda Forge, an external desktop drive designed to combine the capacity of spinning disks with the speed of solid state media. The unit debuts the Alkemi storage platform, which uses machine learning to automatically shift active files between an internal mechanical drive and an SSD. The enclosure is available now through the official Seagate online store starting at $699 for an 8TB model, though buyers must supply their own NVMe SSD.
The Alkemi platform monitors file activity and shifts frequently opened data onto the faster SSD. When active projects finish, the system shifts those files back to the high capacity mechanical disk. The entire process runs in the background without requiring manual folder management. The computer recognizes both internal components as 1 unified drive volume on systems running Windows 11 or macOS 26.
Maximum read speeds reach 2500MB/s, while write performance tops out at 2000MB/s once an SSD is installed. Seagate sells the system in 2 mechanical configurations: an 8TB model for $699 and a 20TB version for $899. The mechanical hard drive inside the chassis is fully user replaceable, allowing owners to swap in larger disks later.
Seagate ships the enclosure without an internal NVMe SSD in the box. Owners must purchase and install an M.2 SSD separately to enable the fast caching features. With storage component prices currently elevated, buying a fast SSD adds a noticeable extra expense to the final setup cost of the device.
