The [url=www.hitachigst.com]Hitachi[/url] Travelstar 7K200 (approximately US$210) is a 200-GB, 7200-rpm spindle drive with a 16-MB buffer running on the Serial ATA platform. Originally sold at the Enterprise level to go in large server banks, this 2.5-inch drive has developed a strong following among mobile content creators (video editors, animators, DVD authors, etc.) who demand the best performance possible in the smallest size that fits their laptops.

For users with an older and slower 5400-rpm drive in their laptops, you’ll easily see a 30–40 percent increase in performance speed with this drive. Even when compared to other 7200-rpm drives, such as the 160GB Momentus 7200.2 (the fastest drive Apple currently ships with the MacBook Pro), this Hitachi is still up to 15 percent faster … and you get 40GB more storage!

The only downside to the Travelstar 7K200 (and this goes for any newer, faster drive with a high spindle speed) is that it will take more electrical juice to operate at its peak efficiency. This is no big deal if you’re connected with an AC cord to a wall outlet but if you’re running off a battery, expect it to drain more quickly than you’re used to.

All in all, this is the best hard drive in its class and is by far the best laptop drive I’ve ever owned. I highly recommend it!

Macsimum rating: 10 out of 10

This review is brought to you courtesy of [url=http://www.layersmagazine.com]"Layers Magazine."