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Top 5 Internal Hard Drives

Need more storage? These top-ranked internal hard drives will fill the bill.

Edited by Melissa J. Perenson

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PCW Rating: 80.7PCW Rating: 80.7PCW Rating: 80.7

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

1. Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS

Drive size: 2000GB; Buffer Size: 32MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: This drive packs in the bits for 2TB of capacity, but its price remains high, despite its competitive cost per gigabyte.

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PCW Rating: 78.5PCW Rating: 78.5PCW Rating: 78.5

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

2. Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB

Drive size: 1500GB; Buffer Size: 32MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: Great performance plus gargantuan capacity makes this a great drive for storing large media collections.

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PCW Rating: 78.1PCW Rating: 78.1PCW Rating: 78.1

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

3. Western Digital Caviar WD1001FALS

Drive size: 1000GB; Buffer Size: 32MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: Standard 1TB internal hard drive.

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PCW Rating: 77.2PCW Rating: 77.2PCW Rating: 77.2

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

4. Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1000GB

Drive size: 1000GB; Buffer Size: 32MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: Solid performance across the board on our tests makes this drive an excellent upgrade choice.

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PCW Rating: 73.3PCW Rating: 73.3PCW Rating: 73.3

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

5. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 1000GB SATA

Drive size: 1000GB; Buffer Size: 32MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: Gargantuan drive is a fast write performer; carries industry-leading 5 year warranty.

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PCW Rating: 71.5PCW Rating: 71.5PCW Rating: 71.5

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

6. Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS

Drive size: 300GB; Buffer Size: 16MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 10000RPM

Bottom Line: Super-fast performer, this 10,000 rpm drive leaves the competition--including WD's previous Raptors--in its wake.

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PCW Rating: 70.9PCW Rating: 70.9PCW Rating: 70.9

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

7. Western Digital Caviar GP WD10EACS

Drive size: 1000GB; Buffer Size: 16MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: First drive to bill itself as eco-friendly with low-power consumption proves it can stand with the big boys.

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PCW Rating: 70.6PCW Rating: 70.6PCW Rating: 70.6

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

8. Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 750GB

Drive size: 750GB; Buffer Size: 32MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: This drive was among our fastest performers across our suite of tests.

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PCW Rating: 68.7PCW Rating: 68.7PCW Rating: 68.7

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

9. Western Digital WD5002ABSYS

Drive size: 500GB; Buffer Size: 16MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: This pricey drive is a good choice for use in write-intensive environments, such as servers.

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PCW Rating: 67.3PCW Rating: 67.3PCW Rating: 67.3

Last Rated: September 29, 2009

10. Western Digital WD Caviar SE16 750 GB

Drive size: 750GB; Buffer Size: 16MB; Max Rotational Velocity: 7200RPM

Bottom Line: Top-flight performer posted some of the fastest write times we've seen.

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