Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 250GB ATA100

This is the first drive released by Hitachi since it took over IBM's storage division. The drive is based on platters that each give 83GB of storage, squeezing 250GB from three platters in this version. Smaller versions are available, down to 40GB.

The 7K250 is a conventional modern design with an 8MB cache, Fluid Dynamic Bearings (FDB), a 7,200rpm spindle speed and an ATA100 interface. The spindle speed results in an average latency of 4.17ms. The claimed average seek time of 8.5ms is no better than the Seagate Barracuda 7200.7, yet the Hitachi was consistently fast in all sections of the tests, while running quietly and no hotter than the other drives here.

The key to this drive's success lies in the medium (the coating on the platters that stores your data). IBM developed Pixie Dust technology (the sandwiching of a one-atom-thick layer of ruthenium between layers of magnetic material) and Hitachi has developed this so it uses an extra layer of these materials, which is five atoms thick.

Add in a proven history of developing accompanying technologies, such as Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) read/write heads and you have a surprisingly good hard disk.

For a 250GB drive, £170 is a high price. Despite that small reservation, we give the ATA100 7K250 a Recommended award.

Contact: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
www.hgst.com

See also:

Western Digital Caviar WD2000BB ATA 100

A cheap storage device from Western Digital.  03 Aug 2004

Western Digital Caviar WD1600JD Sata 150

This drive received a Personal Computer World recommended award.  03 Aug 2004

Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 9 200GB SATA150

Maxtor's Sata hard drive.  03 Aug 2004

Transcend TS20GHDU1

A 20GB USB 2.0 hard drive.  09 Jun 2004

Western Digital Caviar WD2500JD SerialATA

A serialATA with 250GB capacity.  02 Dec 2003

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