Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 and E7K100

[JLamy]

Does anyone know what the differences are between the Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 and the E7K100 2.5" hard drives? I keep flicking back and forth between the webpages for both, and can't notice any differences.

http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.a8317ea3f244384ccf1824a0eac4f0a0/

http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.72e3cabd3a6a384ccf1824a0eac4f0a0/

Thanks in advance.

[kryyst]

My guess is the only difference is where they are sold to. Like one is or North America the other is for Europe.

[JLamy]

Hmmm could be, but just looked at a UK site, and they have both the 7K100 and the E7K100 models for sale, and they're a few £'s between them.

7K100:
http://www.dabs.com/ProductList.aspx?SearchTerms=7K100&SearchMode=All&SearchKey=All&PageMode=3&NavigationKey=0&SearchType=1

E7K100
http://www.dabs.com/ProductList.aspx?SearchTerms=E7K100&SearchMode=All&SearchKey=All&PageMode=3&NavigationKey=0&SearchType=1

The 60GB and the 80GB with the 'E' are slightly more expensive than the non E equivilant. I am interested in getting one, but not decided which. My gut feeling is go with whichever is the cheapest for the size I'm going for, as they seem identical apart from the model naming.

[kryyst]

Send an email to hitachi and ask what the difference is. Does one perhaps have bump detection?

[JLamy]

Good idea - have done just that. Hoping I'll get a reply "within 2 business days".

[JLamy]

I just had a good look at each model's data sheet page, and found 2 differences.

Firstly the non E drive, under POWER there are both "Active idle" and "Low Power idle" readings whilst on the E7K100 model it only has "Idle" reading. Could this mean the E model has not got a certain power saving feature?

Secondly;
7K100: Operating Ambient temperature 5° to 55° C
E7K100: Operating Ambient temperature 5° to 40° C

Is operating temperature important?

Everything else seems the same.

[kryyst]

I think you are correct, though as to which one is better hard to say. I'd suggest though that running cooler is an advantage in a laptop.

[JLamy]

thank you for contacting our support center.

The main difference of the E7K100 and 7K100 is that the E7K100 was built to
be used 24/7, here you can find more specific information:

E7K100
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/e7k100/e7k100.htm

7K100
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/7k100/7k100.htm

Should you need more information please do not hesitate to contact us
again.

Best regards,

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.

So, going by this email, I guess the E would be the choice for durability.

kryyst:
Doesn't Operating ambient temperature mean the environmental temps that the drive will work between, rather than the temp of the drive whilst it's running?

[kryyst]

So, going by this email, I guess the E would be the choice for durability.

kryyst:
Doesn't Operating ambient temperature mean the environmental temps that the drive will work between, rather than the temp of the drive whilst it's running?


Hmm you could be right. I always thought it was running temp but I could be wrong.