Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500 GB 7200R PM SATA II 16 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S00157

by Hitachi

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 2.2 x 8 inches ; 0.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B002FYJQB8
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 0S00157
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 22, 2003

Product Description

Reliable, high-capacity storage for mobile applications. Travelstar 5K500.B, a 5400 RPM, 250GB/platter, 2.5-inch hard drive with capacities ranging from 120GB to 500GB, is designed for use in notebook PCs, external storage, gaming consoles and other mobile applications. The 5K500.B demonstrates Hitachi’s ecological leadership with its halogen-free production and focus on low power consumption, and carries the EcoTrac classification. The 5K500.B elevates hard drive reliability with the industry’s first Iterative Detection Read Channel for improved signal processing. Hitachi offers optional hard-drive-level encryption for increased data security and enhanced availability models to deliver high-capacity storage for non-stop environments. Travelstar 5K500.B delivers the balance of capacity, ruggedness and low-power to meet the needs of consumers and commercial users in a footprint. Highlights - 500GB capacity, Lowest power consumption in its class, Shock Resistance – Protection against bumps and rough handling, Halogen-free for footprint, Encryption Security – Optional hardware-level data encryption, Serial ATA 3Gb/s

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fastest 2.5" 500GB Hard Drive Available-80MB/sec Average Speed Across The Volume!, February 19, 2010

By 

Wavey Davey (Southern CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500 GB 7200R PM SATA II 16 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S00157 (Personal Computers)

Hitachi HD's always deliver amazing performance, and this Retail Boxed 2.5" 7200RPM 500GB SATA II notebook drive does not disappoint! Using HD Tune Pro 3.50 I charted my example from more than 100MB/sec (Actual 108MB/sec) for the highest speed it reads to a low of just less than 50MB/sec, for an average across the volume of 80.5MB/sec. That makes this HD the fastest 2.5" notebook 7200RPM HD I've ever tested, and I've tested a bunch of them--all good mind you, but this Hitachi 16mb Cache 7200RPM 500GB SATA II HD is simply the King of the Hill @ 80.5MB/sec average speed across the whole volume...just incredible!

I have uploaded the image of that performance here at Amazon.com so you can see it for yourselves, because it should be seen to be believed, and I've done that for all of you to see just how good this HD really is. The seek speed is 17.9MB.sec across the volume, which does *not* beat a Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200RPM 320GB HD, but it has less area to cover in terms of overall size, and it is a good 15-20MB/sec slower overall than the Hitachi is, @ just over 64/MB/sec for its top speed.

The other nice characteristic of Hitachi notebook HD's is their acoustical noise, or rather a lack of it, and this HD doesn't disappoint there either, as it's virtually silent as it goes about it business, reading and writing in my Asus UL30Vt-X1 13.3" notebook. In fact I cannot hear a thing from the Hitachi HD, it's that silent, doesn't make even a whirring noise, just is silent as can be for a HD...so Kudos for Hitachi Global Storage for making this the best 7200RPM 2.5" HD in the world today.

I can't stress enough how good this retail boxed HD really is, but with 16GB Cache and a fast 7200RPM speed, it really makes mincemeat out of any reading or writing assignment. And it's a nice package, the retail box itself, of course! There's the HD which is mounted inside the box in its special carrier, to prevent damage inside the box during shipping, and it's also wrapped up in a special "Moisture Proof" Electro-static Bag, which has a big packet of anti-static Silica Gel inside the bag, so Hitachi is taking no chances with the shipment of their precious HD's.

I always prefer buying a Retail Boxed HD also, because human hands don't touch them, they are always secure inside of their boxes in their special carrier assemblies, and this box and packaging is no doubt one of the best in that regard. It comes with a Seal across the top tab and flap, so you can be certain that nobody has opened the HD up and tampered with it, changed it, or stolen it! So that's a good thing too, the Retail Box of this HD itself.

With an average speed of more than 80MB/sec across the volume according to my testing, and a Burst Speed of more than 145 MB/sec, I have never seen a 2.5" notebook HD perform like this, other than a WD Raptor 10K Enterprise HD, of course...one of those will outperform this HD, but that is about it! And that HD is NOT a 9.5mm form factor so it won't fit in a notebook anyway.

This is, at this time, the fastest 2.5" notebook 7200RPM HD in the world bar none, and you can buy it here at Amazon.com in its Retail Box, secure and safe in there away from human tampering and screw-ups, and bad packaging, all of the good reasons to always purchase HD's in retail boxes if possible, so there you go!

I give the Hitachi 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache HD my solid 5-Stars Endorsement and approval, and recommend it over any and all other choices, Seagate, Western Digital, whatever the other choices are they are no match for this HD. This is the best, Hitachi GST's premiere 500GB 2.5" SATA II HD, and you can get it here at Amazon.com for a pittance, and have the best of all worlds: speed, big size, and the security of knowing it's going to come to you in a Retail Box, not a loose packed HD which can get into all kinds of trouble and problems being shipped--not this one!

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, November 25, 2009

By 

Wunt (SF, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500 GB 7200R PM SATA II 16 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S00157 (Personal Computers)

You will not find a better laptop hard drive for your money.

Keep in mind that most (if not all) laptops will require the 2.5" size. Drives 3.5" are usually meant for desptops. Factor in that this runs at 7200 rpms and has 500gb capacity it's currently the best laptop replacement drive out there for the sub $80 price range.

PROs:
(1) The only alternative to Seagate's 500gb 7200rpm model embarassment (AFAIK). Western Digital does not make a 2.5" 500gb 7200rpm drive at the time of this review.
(2) Will fit my macbook pro.
(3) Does indeed have 16mb cache (memory buffer) - putting this in here as one reviewer [...] was complaining that this has no cache. It does. Look at the hitachi website product descriptor if you must.

Cons:
(1) Really can't think of any.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet Acoustics, Large Capacity and High data throughput, February 10, 2010

By 

Sea Stew "Naval Officer" (Southern CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500 GB 7200R PM SATA II 16 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S00157 (Personal Computers)

I primarily purchased the Travelstar(tm) 7K500 due to my concern of the high oscillation level of the OEM supplied 7200 RPM WD 160GB (including the upgraded WD 320GB 7200 RPM drive) in my Dell D Series Latitude. The WD's are quality products (fast, and reliable data transfer); however, the design of the Latitude D Series lacks any HD carriage dampening (HD mounts directly to the notebook chassis and SATA connector w/o shock/vibration dampers). As an Engineer, I was greatly concerned on the long-term effect of rotational resonance which could result in premature component failure). After reading positive comments on the Hitachi 7200 RPM 500GB drive, my hope was that the Hitachi would mitigate the poor Latitude H/D carriage design. The results after installing the Hitachi are superb. I highly recommend this quality product.