Toshiba Launches Family Of PC Hard Drives

Toshiba launched a line of high-performance hard-disk drives for laptops and all-in-one desktops.
The MKxx56GSY series operates at 7,200 revolutions per minute and is available at up to a half-terabyte of capacity. The four-model line is an expansion of Toshiba's portfolio of 2.5-inch drives.

The new products deliver more than a 13% performance improvement over Toshiba's previous family of 7,200 RPM drives. The latest drives have a 3 Gb per second SATA interface.

The new line is designed for laptops, gaming notebooks and all-in-one desktops with combined computer and monitor in one unit. At 500 GB, the drive can store up to 142,000 digital photos, 131,000 music files or 58 hours of high-definition video.

Toshiba claims that 7,200 RPM drives will account for more than 25% of 2.5-inch HDD shipments within two years. "This new family delivers faster overall system performance, which boosts user productivity - a key differentiator that PC manufacturers can provide to commercial and consumer notebook users," Maciek Brzeski, VP of marketing at Toshiba's Storage Device Division, said in a statement.

Toshiba started shipping the new HDD family in limited quantities in the third quarter. The company plans to start volume production in the fourth quarter.

Today, hard-disk drives share the storage stage for laptops with solid-state drives, which are offered as a lighter, more reliable and higher-performing alternative. While the use of SSDs in the thinnest and lightest notebooks may make sense for frequent travelers, the drives are far more expensive the HDDs and offer far less capacity.