250GB Hard Drive Roundup
 

Much of the data compiled for this review underscores some trends already discerned by knowledgeable readers - features such as a faster 3 Gb/sec interface and Native Command Queuing do not necessarily translate into a real, measurable performance gain. As demonstrated by drives from Hitachi, Seagate, and Western Digital, one does give up more than sheer space when moving down to a commodity 250 gigabyte drive from a capacious flagship. Also, Maxtor and Samsung both have larger units right around the corner. Keep this in mind when allocating your budget towards various components... a bit more dough gets you more capacity and more speed.