CONCLUSION

   Once we finished all tests i have to say that our very first reaction to the results we got back from the MQ01ACF050 was quite negative since its performance levels landed it right between the 7200RPM Travelstar 7K1000 (1TB) and the 5400RPM Travelstar 7K1500 (1.5TB) two of the latest 2.5" HDDs to hit our test bench. However we missed one very crucial point back then and that was the thickness of the drive compared to that of the other two (7mm vs 9.5mm). Now i don't really know for certain whether or not Toshiba could release an 7mm model with better performance (high performance equals to higher electrical demands and higher temperature levels) but what i do know is that low electrical requirements and temperatures matter a lot with such drives and in those two areas Toshiba has a winner. Also the fact that the MQ01ACF050 is faster than the Travelstar 5K1500 is not a small feat since although the 5K1500 spins at 5400RPM still it's thicker and features a larger data buffer (32MB vs 16MB). The only "drawback" i can think of regarding the Toshiba MQ01ACF050 is its available capacities which may be just too small for some people although to my knowledge the highest capacity for an 7mm drive is currently 1TB (WD).

   As we mentioned already Toshiba makes their products available mostly to system integrators so naturally it's not easy to find them in the market and in the case of the USA we were indeed unable to locate the MQ01ACF050. However it is currently available inside the EU (limited quantities) for a price tag set at around 60Euros which is not at all bad for an 2.5" 7mm 500GB SATA III HDD. In the end however it's quite clear that not many people will have use for a 7mm thick 2.5" drive so it’s understandable that Toshiba would make these models almost entirely available to system integrators. Bottom line the MQ01ACF050 500GB 2.5" 7mm SATA III HDD combines good performance levels with very low electrical demands and temperature levels making it ideal for use with ultra-thin notebooks/laptops and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- 7mm Thick
- Good Performance Levels
- Low Electrical Requirements
- Low Temperature Levels
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Retail Availability
- Available Capacities