Hitachi Global Storage Technologies announced the world's first 2TB desktop hard disk drive yesterday. Spinning at 7,200 RPM, the 3.5-inch Deskstar 7K2000 comes with 32MB cache and a SATA 2 interface. According to Computerworld, the 2TB drive is intended for gamers, workstations and desktop RAID arrays. No price was mentioned in the press release.

In a similar vein, another company also announced a large-capacity disk drive earlier this week, though not one that is based on rotational media. OCZ Technology Group, on Tuesday, announced that it will release a 3.5-inch solid state drive (SSD) packed with a staggering 1TB capacity. Called the Colossus, it is clear that OCZ is targeting the SSD squarely at the power desktop user.

For one, the Colossus comes with up to four controllers inside the drive, with the ability to configure each controller for internal RAID 0 for increased performance. Of course, the 1TB version will also cost $2,200--which is well beyond most peoples' budgets.

Traditional hard disk makers are desperately ramping up the capacity of their rotating hard disk drives in an attempt to hang on to their capacity and price advantage. However, makers of flash-based SSDs are not sitting still either, as they continue to release SSDs with large capacities and stunning performance. Indeed, the winner of the speed crown is crystal clear. How soon will it be before we all switch over to SSDs? It really depends on how quickly the price of flash media can come down.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld
- check out this article at Computerworld

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