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Comparison Hitachi CinemaStar P7K500 HCP725032GLA380 320 GB vs WD AV-GP WD5000AVDS 500 GB
32 MB

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Hitachi CinemaStar P7K500 HCP725032GLA380 320 GB
WD AV-GP WD5000AVDS 500 GB 32 MB
Hitachi CinemaStar P7K500 HCP725032GLA380 320 GBWD AV-GP WD5000AVDS 500 GB
32 MB
from £29.00 
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Placementbuilt-inbuilt-in
TypeHDDHDD
FeaturespCpC
Size320 GB500 GB
Form factor3.5 "3.5 "
ConnectionSATASATA
Manufacturer's warranty3 years
Technical specs
Cache memory8 MB32 MB
RPM7200 rpm5400 - 7200 rpm
Data transfer rate110 MB/s
Plates2
Average search time8 ms
Operation power consumption8.2 W5.4 W
Standby power consumption4.8 W0.46 W
Shockproof65 G
Reading noise level28 dB25 dB
Standby mode noise level26 dB24 dB
MTBF1.2 M h
MTBF50 K
Added to E-Catalognovember 2013february 2011

Size

Rated capacity is one of the key parameters of a hard drive, which determines how much information can fit on it. For SSHD, this item indicates the capacity of only the hard drive, for RAID arrays, the total capacity of the array.

The volume of information in the modern world is constantly growing and require more and more capacious drives. So in most cases it makes sense to choose a larger disk. In fact, the question of choosing this parameter often rests only on the price: the cost of the drive directly depends on the volume.

If the question is in such a way that you need to choose a disk "smaller and cheaper, but that's enough" — it's worth evaluating the amount of information that you have to deal with and the specifics of use. For example, for an ordinary office PC, designed mainly for working with documents, an internal drive of 2 TB and even 1 TB will be more than enough, and an enthusiastic gamer will need 4 TB, 6 TB and even 8 TB will not be superfluous. If you use a disc for recording from camcorders, then you can get a 10 TB, 12 TB, 14 TB, 16 TB, 18 TB or more HDD.

Manufacturer's warranty

Manufacturer's warranty provided for this model.

In fact, this is the minimum service life promised by the manufacturer, subject to the rules of operation. Most often, the actual service life of the device is much longer than the guaranteed one.

Cache memory

The amount of internal hard drive memory. This memory is an intermediate link between the high-speed computer RAM and the relatively slow mechanics responsible for reading and writing information on disk platters. In particular, the buffer is used to store the most frequently requested data from the disk — thus, the access time to them is reduced.
Technically, the size of the buffer affects the speed of the hard drive — the larger the buffer, the faster the drive. However, this influence is rather insignificant, and at the level of human perception, a significant difference in performance is noticeable only when the buffer size of the two drives differs many times — for example, 8 MB and 64 MB.

RPM

For drives used in a PC (see "Intended use"), 5400 rpm(normal) and 7200 rpm(high) are considered standard speeds. There are also more specific options, including models with the ability to adjust the speed depending on the load. In server HDDs, in turn, higher speeds can be used — 10,000 rpm and even 15,000 rpm.

Data transfer rate

The speed of data transfer between the disk and client devices is determined by the type of drive, spindle speed, memory buffer size and connection connectors. The last parameter is the most important, since it is impossible to exceed the bandwidth of a particular interface.

Plates

The number of platters provided in the design of the hard drive.

Physically, a hard disk consists of one or more platters, on which information is recorded. Several plates can be provided in order to achieve the desired volume without increasing the form factor. At the same time, it is also necessary to install an appropriate number of reading heads in such a drive, which complicates the design, reduces its reliability, and increases the cost. Therefore, manufacturers choose the number of plates based on a reasonable compromise between these points, and for selection, this parameter is more of a reference than practically significant.

Average search time

The time it takes for the hard disk mechanics to find random requested data to read. For each specific case, the search time is different, as it depends on the location of the data on the surface of the disk and the position of the read head, therefore, the average value is indicated in the characteristics of hard drives. The lower the average seek time, the faster the disk works, all other things being equal.

Operation power consumption

The amount of power consumed by the disk when reading and writing information. In fact, this is the peak power consumption, it is in these modes that the drive consumes the most energy.

HDD power consumption data is needed primarily to calculate the overall system power consumption and power supply requirements for the system. In addition, for laptops that are planned to be used often "in isolation from outlets", it is advisable to choose more economical drives.

Standby power consumption

The amount of power consumed by the disk "idle". In the on state, the disk platters rotate regardless of whether information is being written or read or not — maintaining this rotation takes the energy consumed while waiting.

The lower the power consumption while waiting, the more economical the disk is, the less energy it consumes. At the same time, we note that in fact this parameter is relevant mainly when choosing a drive for a laptop, when energy efficiency is crucial. For stationary PCs, “idle” power consumption does not play a special role, and when calculating the requirements for a power supply, it is necessary to take into account not this indicator, but the power consumption during operation (see above).
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