Conclusion

The HDDs described in this review all have rather good performance, so it’s hard to name an overall leader among them.

Perhaps the Fujitsu MHW2 BJ was the slowest in most tests, especially in the server tests with random-address load. This must be due to its lower recording density and 8MB buffer (the 200GB opponents are equipped with 16MB of cache). We hope the MHZ2 BJ series will be more competitive.

The Hitachi 7K200 is the best at random writing but its sequential write speed is rather low. This model also did well with small files and in PCMark. Thus, the Hitachi 7K200 is going to be a good choice for the disk subsystem of a compact PC or a writes-oriented server.

The Seagate 7200.2 series is good with its high random read speed and high performance with large files. We guess the most serious problem with this series is the low speed of multithreaded writing, which is actually a common and old problem of all Seagate products. This series also slows down with small files and consumes more power than the competitors. Take note of the difference in firmware, too. The 160GB model is better under server load (random reading) while the 200GB model is ahead at sequential reading and writing and will suit a workstation better.

Summing up this review, we want to note that the performance of all these HDDs makes them competitive to 3.5-inch products, especially if you care about such parameters as compact size, low noise and low power consumption. The 2.5-inch models are far superior to their larger counterparts from these aspects.