HITACHI TRAVELSTAR 7K100

Introduction

The best performance HDD you can buy for a notebook PC is a 7200 RPM drive.  Yes, it may suck up a bit more power, but to some people, its worth the performance.  Hitachi's 7K100 is one of those 7200 RPM 2.5" drives.  And, it also claims to have power requirements that of 5400 RPM drives.  Well, we attempt to uncover the performance characteristics of the 7K100 to see if its worth the extra money and shorter battery life...

Specifications from the Hitachi Website:

Highlights   100GB maximum capacity   Industry's only second-generation 7200RPM 2.5" hard drive   Desktop-like performance in a mobile drive   Power requirements similar to 5400RPM products   50% improvement in operational shock tolerance   Parallel ATA & Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s models   RoHS compliant1     More product information   General specification information (Datasheet)   Jumpers and configuration   Electrical Interface   Mechanical   Technical Library documentation     Technologies and white papers   TrueTrack™ Technology   The Femto Slider in Hitachi Hard Disk Drives   Ramp Load/Unload Technology   Enhanced ABLE?   Fluid Dynamic Bearing Spindle Motors   Hitachi GST and Hard Disk Drive Reliability   SATA - Next Generation Storage Interface   Partial Response Maximum Likelihood (PRML)   Adaptive Formatting   Giant magnetoresistive (GMR) head technology   HiVERT in Hitachi Hard Disk Drives     Features and Benefits Capacity 100GB Leadership capacity in a standard 2.5" form factor Reliability 300G operating shock 1000G non-operating shock Exceptional tolerance of rough handling and improved durability 600,000 load/unload cycles Reduces disk wear and protects user data TrueTrack Technology? Tracking accuracy in high shock or vibration environments Enhanced Error Correction Code (ECC) Improved data integrity Performance Up to 625MB/sec Media Transfer Rate Blazing performance, smoother video playing gaming and multimedia applications Acoustics Enhance mechanical design Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) motor Whisper-quiet operation Power 0.85W low power idle Enhanced Adaptive Battery Life Extender? (ABLE) Maximum power efficency for longer battery life Interface Parallel ATA Serial ATA 1.5 Gb/s Mainstream and legacy applications With NCO Hot Plug, Staggered Spin-up, and other SATA extensions RoHS refers to the European Commission's RoHS directive for eliminating certain hazardous materials in the manufacturing of electronic equipment.

Here are images of the 7K100 HDD: