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