Hard drive giants Hitachi and Seagate have focused on offering mega capacities, recently hitting the 500 GB mark, while Samsung has bested the competition with high-speeds and ultra-quiet devices. The P120, for example, remains the desktop hard disk drive with the highest data transfer rates. However, Samsung has decided to enter the capacity race with the introduction of its SpinPoint T133 series.

So what is Samsung doing to boost its capacity curve? Until now, the vendor has used no more than two drive platters in its 3.5" drives. This has benefited the acoustics and related frictional characteristics of these drives, while keeping operating temperatures low as well. But two platters simply aren't enough to keep up with the monster capacities that competitors routinely offer. As a result, the T133 series uses - yes, you guessed it - three platters instead of only two. This enables capacity up to 400 GB with no other technology changes or additions.

The 400 GB drive, alas, was not yet available for us to test. In contrast to its 300 GB models, Samsung plans to employ a recording technology called TMR (Tunneling Magneto Resistance), to boost its current storage capabilities in the new drive series. That said, the drives we tested had capacities of 300 GB and were based on conventional recording technology, which makes these models rather more evolutionary than revolutionary.