Samsung SpinPoint P120

Samsung SpinPoint P120 Available Capacities Model Number Capacity SP2004C 200 GB SP2504C 250 GB Lowest Real-Time Price (250 GB): Introduction Earlier this year, Samsung's storage division was just the second manufacturer to venture significantly beyond the 100 GB/platter plateau set by rivals Seagate and Maxtor in 2004. Incorporating a relatively modest two-disc assembly, the SpinPoint P120 crams 125 gigabytes per platter to achieve its flagship 250 GB capacity.

As the firm's first native SATA offering, the P120 incorporates a 3.0 Gb/sec SATA interface and Native Command Queuing (NCQ). Samsung specs seek times at 8.9 milliseconds. Unlike most of today's larger drives, the P120 sticks with a smaller 8-megabyte buffer rather than ramping it up to 16.

Much like Hitachi, Samsung has yet to segment its SATA storage offerings into discrete enterprise and desktop lines. As a result, the firm positions the P120 as a solution to both standard desktop use as well as light-duty server applications.

Traditionally speaking, SpinPoints have delivered whisper-quiet operation while leaving a bit to be desired when it comes to sheer performance. Does the P120 break the mold? Let us turn to some tests and find out! As a contemporary 7200 RPM drive, the SpinPoint P120 will be compared against these drives in the tests that follow: