SATA - 1.5Gbps
Moving on to the 1.5Gbps drives, here we can also see a large array of hard drive sizes available, all the way from 40GB drives to upwards of 500GBs. Although we did not mention this on the previous page, but just as with the 3.0Gbps drives, there are so many excellent choices that can be made here that it's nearly impossible for us to list all the good deals or even those from your favorite brand/model.
As you can see from our table below, there have been some moderate changes in pricing, with the majority decreasing somewhat which is what everyone likes to see. Also, you will see that the price difference between the two SATA specifications is generally negligible, though overall the advantage now appears to rest with the newer 3.0Gbps drives, with a few going at the low rate of about $0.32/GB. We want to emphasize that unless you can find a 1.5Gbps model at a lower price than the 3.0Gbps drives, you should probably go back a page and check out those deals.
Starting off our recommendations in this section, we have the Maxtor 1.5Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB DiamondMax 10 [RTPE: 6L250S0] going for about $80 shipped ($0.32/GB). Coming in close behind is the Western Digital 1.5Gbps 320GB 7200RPM 8MB Caviar SE [RTPE: WD3200JD] which is on sale for approximately $115 shipped ($0.35/GB). You can also opt for the 250GB Western Digital [RTPE: WD2500JD], which is also priced at $0.35/GB or $87 shipped.
For users looking for a single large drive which would be ideal for a SFF setup, the Western Digital 1.5Gbps 400GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar RE2 [RTPE: WD4000YR] would be a great choice, going for about $170 (($0.43/GB). You also have two other decent options for a 400GB drive: both the Western Digital 1.5Gbps 400GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 [RTPE: WD4000KD] and the Hitachi 1.5Gbps 400GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar 7K250 [RTPE: HDS724040KLSA80] are available for about $180 each (~$0.45/GB).
You'll notice that the 400GB Hitachi drive we recommended has seen quite a significant price decrease over the course of the past month or so. You can see when the drive first launched; it started at over $270 and slowly but steadily decreased to where it is at today, roughly $180.
Of course, there's everyone's favorite (and only) 10000 RPM SATA drive series, the Western Digital Raptor. Performance is better in some tasks, but of course you sacrifice capacity for the higher spindle speed. The cheapest price/GB on the Raptor line on the 150GB is still about 4X as much as the most popular SATA offerings ($1.73/GB), so you'll really want to give careful thought to whether or not a Raptor (or two) is truly your best upgrade option. For the highest end PCs, it's a reasonable choice, but we'd recommend spending more money elsewhere if you're looking to keep prices in check.
Again, here's the complete list of SATA 1.5Gbps drives. You're much better off searching in the RTPE directly, however.
Moving on to the 1.5Gbps drives, here we can also see a large array of hard drive sizes available, all the way from 40GB drives to upwards of 500GBs. Although we did not mention this on the previous page, but just as with the 3.0Gbps drives, there are so many excellent choices that can be made here that it's nearly impossible for us to list all the good deals or even those from your favorite brand/model.
As you can see from our table below, there have been some moderate changes in pricing, with the majority decreasing somewhat which is what everyone likes to see. Also, you will see that the price difference between the two SATA specifications is generally negligible, though overall the advantage now appears to rest with the newer 3.0Gbps drives, with a few going at the low rate of about $0.32/GB. We want to emphasize that unless you can find a 1.5Gbps model at a lower price than the 3.0Gbps drives, you should probably go back a page and check out those deals.
You'll notice that the 400GB Hitachi drive we recommended has seen quite a significant price decrease over the course of the past month or so. You can see when the drive first launched; it started at over $270 and slowly but steadily decreased to where it is at today, roughly $180.
Again, here's the complete list of SATA 1.5Gbps drives. You're much better off searching in the RTPE directly, however.
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peternelson - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
Why not track the latest Pioneer 111 dvd writer rather than the 110 model?
rrcn - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
Thanks for the heads up. I have talked to our RTPE administrator and he has gone ahead and added it to the engine. :-)JarredWalton - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
I've sent an email to our RTPE guy to get it added - I'm not sure how long it's been available, but there's only so much information any one person can keep current on. :)Pollock - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
The $10 rebate for the WD2500KS expired yesterday, so it's only $90 shipped from Newegg now.JarredWalton - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
Unfortunately, that's the problem with pricing information. The day we post an article, prices already start to change. That's why we include the price tables, which update automatically, as well as links to product pages in the RTPE.JarredWalton - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
I've updated the text to include reference to the 111D in place of the 110D.CrystalBay - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
They differ in Price DUH..Offa dufaOlaf van der Spek - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
Why are 1.5 and 3 gbit/s drives listed separately when they don't differ performance wise?JarredWalton - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
Actually, I've debated combining them (and suggesting that to Haider), but the only way to make a sensible SATA page that way involves not listing all SATA hard drives - the bottom charts on pages 2 and 3 are already too long. As mentioned below, prices also differ (sometimes), and there may be a few SATA controllers out there that have issues with the backwards compatibility of 3.0Gbps models. (I've never encountered any, but there *might* be.)rrcn - Sunday, June 11, 2006 - link
Exactly. The pricing tables are already at great length and dividing them up by their specific SATA interface seems most logical. This just makes it easier to sift through them. As you can also see, Jarred has gone ahead and divided up the 3.0 and 1.5Gbps charts even further by hard drive sizes.--Haider