Toshiba readies 400GB monster laptop HDD

Toshiba has spun out six new laptop-friendly hard drives, including a 400GB whopper that sports the world's highest data density to date, the company claimed.

The 400GB MK4058GSX contains two platters spinning at 5400rpm and which cram 477Mb into every square millimetre. It connects to the host over a 3Gb/s SATA link. The 2.5in form-factor drive is 9.5mm high and has 8MB of cache.

Toshiba touted the drive's energy efficiency as well as its capacity - it consumes up to 0.6W. And it's Toshiba's first halogen-free 2.5in hard drive.

If it's performance you're after, Toshiba also launced five 7200rpm drives with capacities ranging from 80GB to 320GB, and one or two platters. Again, they're 3Gb/s SATA drives, 2.5in in form-factor and 9.5mm thick. They have 16MB of cache.

It's not the first 7200rpm 2.5in HDD to hit 320GB - Fujitsu claimed that crown back in March.

However, these boys consume up to 0.9W.

Toshiba didn't provide prices for the drives, but it did say the 7200rpm units will go into mass-production next month. The 400GB HDD will be punched out in September.