Perfect Notebook Storage: Seven 2.5” 500 GB Drives

Comparison Table And Test Setup

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ManufacturerFujitsuHitachiSamsungToshiba
Model NumberMJA2500BHTravelstar 5K500.B HTS545050B9A300Spinpoint M6 HM500LIMK5055G
Form Factor2.5" (9.5mm)2.5" (9.5mm)2.5" (9.5mm)2.5" (9.5mm)
Capacity500 GB500 GB500 GB500 GB
Spindle Speed5,400 RPM5,400 RPM5,400 RPM5,400 RPM
Other Capacities750 GB120, 160, 250, 320, 400 GB-120, 160, 250, 320, 400 GB
Platters2232
Cache8 MB8 MB8 MB8 MB
NCQYesYesYesYes
InterfaceSATA/300SATA/300SATA/300SATA/300
Operating Temperature5-55°C5-55°C5-55°C5-55°C
Specified Idle Power0.6 W0.8 W0.7 Wnot specified
Measured Idle Power0.7 W0.8 W0.9 W0.7 W
Operating Shock (2ms, read)350 G400 G325 Gnot specified
Warranty3 Years3 Years3 Years3 Years
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ManufacturerSeagateSeagateWestern Digital
Model NumberMomentus 5400.6 ST9500325ASMomentus 7200.4 ST9500420ASScorpio Blue WD5000BEVT
Form Factor2.5" (9.5mm)2.5" (9.5mm)2.5" (9.5mm)
Capacity500 GB500 GB500 GB
Spindle Speed5,400 RPM7,200 RPM5,400 RPM
Other Capacities120, 160, 250, 320 GB160, 250, 320 GB80, 120, 160, 250, 320, 400 GB
Platters222
Cache8 MB16 MB8 MB
NCQYesYesYes
InterfaceSATA/300SATA/300SATA/300
Operating Temperature0-60°C0-60°C0-60°C
Specified Idle Power0.8 W0.7 W0.9 W
Measured Idle Power0.9 W1.0 W1.0 W
Operating Shock (2 ms, read)350 G350 G350 G
Warranty3 Years3 Years3 Years

Test Setup

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System Hardware
HardwareDetails
CPUIntel Core i7-920 (45 nm, 2.66 GHz, 8MB L3 Cache)
Motherboard (LGA 1366)Supermicro X8SAX, Revision: 1.0, Chipset: Intel X58 + ICH10R, BIOS: 1.0B
RAM2 GB DDR3-1333 Corsair CM3X1024-1333C9DHX
HDDSeagate NL35 400 GB ST3400832NS 7,200 RPM, SATA/150, 8 MB Cache
Power SupplyOCZ EliteXstream 800W OCZ800EXS-EU
Benchmarks
Performance Measurementsh2benchw 3.12PCMark Vantage 1.0
I/O PerformanceIOMeter 2006.07.27Fileserver - BenchmarkWebserver - BenchmarkDatabase - BenchmarkWorkstation - BenchmarkStreaming ReadsStreaming Writes
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System Software and Drivers
DriverDetails
Operating SystemWindows Vista Ultimate SP1
Intel Chipset DriversChipset Installation Utility 9.1.0.1007
AMD GraphicsRadeon 8.12
Intel Matrix Storage8.7.0.1007