
The new Momentus 5400.3 is available in 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 160 GB sizes. For the first time, Seagate has deployed the vertical recording technology called perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR). Thanks to this, a greater number of vertically aligned bits can be stored per square inch. Although Seagate is not the first to offer a PMR drive, it is the first company to sell a 160 GB drive running at a fast 5,400 RPM.
In contrast to Fujitsu's approach, Seagate sticks to the common drive height of 9.5 mm, so the drive can be deployed into all sorts of devices. In this context, it is interesting to see that the temperature range is pretty impressive: While other drives are specified to run in between 5 and 55°C, Seagate allows for 0-60°C.
The performance we measured is pretty impressive. While the Momentus 5400.3 cannot beat competitors that run at 7,200 RPM, it is the fastest drive of its kind. In addition to that, Seagate adds a nice 5 year warranty, which is unmatched in the 2.5" space.


- 160 GB In Your Notebook
- How To Select A Notebook Hard Drive
- Fujitsu MHV2120AH: 120 GB UltraATA
- Fujitsu MHV2120BH: 120 GB SATA
- Fujitsu MHV2160BT: 160 GB SATA
- Samsung HM040HI
- Samsung HM080JI
- Samsung HM100JC
- Seagate Momentus 5400.3
- Toshiba MK1234GAX: 120 GB UtraATA
- Test Setup
- Data Transfer Diagrams, Continued
- Data Transfer Performance
- Interface Performance
- Access Time
- I/O Performance
- I/O Performance, Continued
- PCMark05: Windows XP Startup Performance
- Conclusion: One Momentus 5400.3 To Rule Them All