Oct. 23, 2007 Hitachi has unveiled what it bills as "the world's most energy-efficient hard drive." The new Deskstar P7K500 uses 40% less energy than its predecessor, the T7K500, and significantly less power than competitive hard drives in its class, according to Hitachi.

"With the Deskstar P7K500, we have merged our various power management innovations into one drive," says Shinjiro Iwata, executive vice president, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. The hard drive incorporates a range of power-saving technologies that reduce both active and idle power consumption.

Hitachi says the new drive will enable PC manufacturers to create more 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% of the overall system requirement. By using half the 7 watts of idle power typically allocated for hard drives, the P7K500 can budget more power for additional high-value features or simply reduce overall power requirements, the company says.

"The development of 'green' computing products that comply with energy rating programs such as Energy Star 4.0 is becoming an extremely important initiative for our customers," Iwata says.