September Hard Drive Price Guide - Page 4

Serial ATA Hard Drive Value

Just as in the previous PATA chart, we are also taking a close look at our Serial ATA drives and determining exactly which models and capacities offer the best overall value. We do this through the tried-and-true method of determining hard drive value, or "price per GB", which is then used as a sorting criteria to ensure the best $/GB deals rise to the top. Of course, no method is foolproof, and other factors like performance or features certainly come into play, but it does give us a different view on which brands, speeds and capacities offer the best bang for the buck.

The Serial ATA value listings continue to show many of the same trends as the Parallel ATA chart, with 400GB or higher models accounting for the top four places, and eight out of the top ten drive values. Just like with PATA drives, the 400-500GB range is the sweet spot for a new SATA hard drive. A pair of Samsung SpinPoint T166 400GB (21-cents/GB) and 500GB (22-cents/GB) hold down the top positions on our value chart, followed closely by the Maxtor DiamondMax 21 500GB and Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB drives at 23-cents/GB. As usual, the five Western Digital Raptor models are right at the bottom on the chart, as this line of 10K RPM drives is designed for enthusiast-level performance and reliability, not value.

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Page 1 September Hard Drive Price Guide Page 2 Serial ATA Hard Drive Price List Page 3 Parallel ATA Hard Drives Sorted by $/GB Page 4 Serial ATA Hard Drives Sorted by $/GB Page 5 Parallel and Serial ATA Hard Drives Sorted by Price Change Page 6 Parallel and Serial ATA Hard Drives Sorted by Price

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