As a result, the P7K500 achieves best-of-breed power consumption on its
one-disk model and significant power savings on its two-disk model, both with
7200 RPM performance and Serial-ATA interface. Hitachi GST\u2019s new hard drive is
designed for commercial and consumer PCs in capacities ranging from 250GB to
500GB*. The P7K500 is up to 59 percent more power efficient than comparable
250GB hard drives in its class, based on available specifications.<\/P>
The industry-leading power specifications offered on the Deskstar P7K500 support \u201cgreen\u201d initiatives that are aimed at producing power-friendly PCs and give significant advantage to PC manufacturers wishing to create ENERGY STAR-compliant devices. ENERGY STAR PCs are allotted a budget of as low as 50 watts for idle power, of which the hard drive typically uses 7 watts, or 14 percent of the overall system requirement.<\/P>
Through a 40-percent power reduction, Hitachi GST has delivered unmatched idle power utilization of 3.6 watts on the 250GB capacity model and 4.8 watts on models with capacities of 320GB or greater. Similarly, the P7K500 has reduced its active power requirements to 6.4 watts and 8.2 watts for its one- and two-disk models, respectively. By utilizing roughly half the 7 watts of idle power typically allocated for hard drives, Hitachi GST enables ENERGY STAR PCs to budget more power margin for additional high-value features or to reduce overall power requirements.<\/P>
\u201cThe development of \u2018green\u2019 computing products that comply with energy-rating programs, such as ENERGY STAR 4.0, is becoming an extremely important initiative for our customers,\u201d said Shinjiro Iwata, executive vice president, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. \u201cWith the Deskstar P7K500 hard drive, we have merged our various power management innovations into one drive, achieving leading power specifications that make a positive contribution to system power consumption.\u201d <\/BLOCKQUOTE>
<\/P>
Built using Hitachi GST\u2019s sixth-generation power management technology, as well as other new energy innovations, the Deskstar P7K500 represents a significant decrease in power consumption over its predecessor as well as competitive hard drives in its class. <\/P>
In addition, the P7K500 incorporates Hitachi GST\u2019s second-generation perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) heads and disks, enabling 250GB-per-platter areal density and ensuring a high level of reliability. With the delivery of this next-generation desktop hard drive, Hitachi GST provides a complete desktop HDD product portfolio built on the industry\u2019s most reliable PMR technology. <\/P>
Eco-Friendly Technologies<\/STRONG>
\u201cEnergy expenses related to IT hardware in the data center and in the office are becoming a significant cost for organizations,\u201d according to John Rydning, IDC\u2019s Research Manager for hard disk drives. \u201cIT hardware component suppliers will need to do their part to help improve the overall power consumption of PCs, servers and storage systems, and Hitachi GST\u2019s next-generation HDDs with reduced power consumption is a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/P>
Hitachi GST achieved the Deskstar P7K500\u2019s 40-percent power reduction through three substantial design changes. Using the company\u2019s HiVERT\u2122 technology, which was first pioneered with the Hitachi Travelstar\u2122 mobile products, the Deskstar P7K500 hard drive increases the use of switching regulators in place of linear regulators for more efficient voltage conversion in the electronics. The drive has also adopted the Travelstar system-on-chip design with a more power-efficient profile, which further reduces power consumption. <\/P>
Finally, all of the Deskstar hard drives incorporate Hitachi GST\u2019s Advanced Power Management capabilities, which have been implemented for six product generations. These capabilities significantly lower the power consumption of hard drives while in idle mode, which is most of the time. The Deskstar P7K500 also takes advantage of Hitachi GST\u2019s patented load\/unload technology to allow for additional power reductions:<\/P>