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As with the 750GB MK7559GSXP we looked at recently, the 1TB MK1059GSM uses the latest Advanced Sector Formatting (ASF) technology to make the most of any available storage space.
ASF technology uses a 4K byte per sector which results in the removal of the Sync/DAM blocks of the legacy 512 byte per sector format and as a result closes the gaps between sectors therefore giving a greater storage capacity for a given platter size through increased areal density.
ASF also brings with it improved ECC (Error Correcting Code), leading to better formatting efficiency and data integrity.
The MK1059GSM also comes with Toshiba's Silent Seek technology which aims to keep the drive as quiet as it is in idle when it performs seek operations – handy if you're watching a film on your notebook and don't want to suffer from the noise of a chattering hard drive during the quieter moments.
As with the MK7559GSXP, Toshiba has given the MK1059GSM a relatively slow spindle speed of 5,400rpm and a small 8MB cache (buffer), but since it's aimed at the mainstream, rather than performance, market this is perfectly understandable.
A quick word of warning before you rush out to get one of these drives, though, because of the three platter (disc) design, the drive is a 12.5mm high design, not the more common 9.5mm design, so it's not one for your nice thin and light notebooks – it's more for your chunkier desktop replacement/mobile workstations. Always check to see how much drive bay room you have before you buy.
We liked
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Huge capacity combined with a ridiculously low price tag make the MK1059GSM a very desirable upgrade for a multimedia notebook or a mobile workstation.
It would also make an interesting choice for a low-profile media centre, or you could connect two or more in a mini RAID array in a standard desktop PC.
We disliked
It would have been good to see a faster spin speed or even a larger cache, but since it's aimed at the mainstream market, it's understandable. Regrettable but understandable.
It's not really a dislike, but because of its higher profile you need to make sure you have room in your notebook drive bay to fit it in.
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