1.8" Hard Drives Hit 100 GB

Toshiba MK4009GAL - 40 GB

The MK4009GAL is Toshiba's entry-level 40 GB 1.8" hard drive. Compared to the 4007GAL, which we reviewed one year ago, it offers slightly better performance thanks to the incorporation of perpendicular recording technology (PMR). The drive rotates at 4,200 RPM and offers 8 MB of cache memory. It is also slightly lighter: while both are based on a single platter, the 4007GAL weighs 51 g, while the new 4009GAL comes in at 48 g. Toshiba specifically rates this product as a CE model, as it comes with a ZIF/LIF (zero/low insertion force) instead of a Mini-IDE connector.