Like the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000, the Caviar SE16 uses four platters to create its 750GB capacity, so each one only holds 187.5GB. This puts it at a disadvantage to the 750GB Samsung and Seagate drives. Nevertheless, the Caviar SE16 posted good scores in the HD Tach 3 RW test, with an average sustained read rate of nearly 80MB/sec and an access time of 13.6ms.

Unfortunately, these scores didn't translate into particularly edifying real-world benchmark results. Its Crysis level loading abilities were mid-range and, although it was quicker than Hitachi's Deskstar 7K1000 in the Gimp image editing test, it only managed joint eighth place overall. Although the Caviar SE16 is good value for money at 14p per gigabyte, its performance lets it down.

• Gaming Headsets - 26th September 2008
• Dream PCs - 24th September 2008
• Headphones - 12th September 2008
• Media PC components - 22nd August 2008
• PSUs - 14th July 2008
• Multi-GPU graphics - 20th June 2008
• CPU water cooling - 17th June 2008

• Creative Zen X-Fi with Wireless LAN 16GB - Peripherals
• DFI Lanparty DK P45-T2RS PLUS - Motherboards
• Hyundai W240D-PVA - TFT monitors
• Intel X25-M Mainstream SATA SSD - Hard disks / storage
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky - Games
• LanCool Metal-Boned K10 - Cases
• Asus Maximus II Formula - Motherboards