Cover Story: Picking the Strongest 2.5-inch Hard Disk
A product test for the 8 most popular drives

This 2.5-inch hard disk drives review examined 8 different products, including Fujitsu MHT 2040AH, Hitachi 5K80, Hitachi 5K100, Samsung MP0804H, Seagate Momentus, Seagate Momentus 5400.2, Toshiba 8026GAX and WD Scorpio WD800. All drives chosen have 5,400 rpm and are priced under HK$1,500. They were tested for 5 different aspects, including HD Tach 3.0, PC Mark and Winbench, temperature, warranty and power consumption.

Round 1: HD Tach 3.0 Test
Performance analysis – Hitachi has fast data accessing speed

By using relatively high-speed ram, the data access rates of Hitachi 5K100 and 5K80 are 2MB/s to 34/s faster than their competitors. Plus 5K100 has rather outstanding rates of average data access and Random Access, so it is named the winner in this round.

Round 2: PC Mark and Winbench Test
Performance analysis – Seagate performed well in continuous data transfer

Both WD Scorpio WD800 and Momentus 5400.2 have done well in this round. The former is good at software applications, so it scored the highest in the first 3 <<PC Mark 04 1.2>> tests. The latter has higher disk density and better I/O Burst structure, which is ideal for continuous file copying, thus Seagate Monmentus 5400.2 won this round.

Round 3: Temperature Test

Hitachi 5K100 has the lowest surface temperature (28.5C) after 15mins; it takes the lead and becomes champion.

Round 4: Warranty

Seagate has the longest warranty period of 5 years, compared to 3 years offered by others, thus beats others in this round.

Round 5: Power Consumption
Performance analysis: Hitachi consumes the least energy

Thanks to the Femto Slider and the in-built Enhanced Adaptive Battery Life Extender (A.B.L.E.), 5K100 could dynamically select the appropriate mode to minimize power usage and help preserve battery life. This unique power-management technology made it the winner again in the power consumption test.

Summary:

After testing for 5 rounds, Hitachi 5K100 and Seagate Momentus 5400.2 have demonstrated the fact that higher density could enhance disk performance.

Hitachi 5K100 is proven to be the best 2.5-inch hard disk after this test. Not only does it have very high data transfer rate, it has the most stable performance and both its temperature and power consumption are low. Note that the 5K100 reviewed this time is just a 40GB version; its performance would have been even better if it was a 50GB one.

In second place is Seagate Momentus 5400.2, it is the best in terms of continuous data transfer. Together with a 5-year warranty, this would be the pick for those who need frequent back ups or BT.

In third place is WD800, for it has satisfactory performance in various aspects. Its price is not very high, so it would be a good choice for economy users.