Hitachi debuts world’s first 7,200RPM 7mm, 2.5-inch drive.

Lookin’ to cram the the most amount of data into the smallest space? Look no further than Hitachi with their new Z7K320 Deskstar hard drive.

Measuring a scant 7mm thick, this 2.5-inch drive is the claimed “world’s first” drive to spin at 7,200RPM. Data hoarders need to look elsewhere however, as these new drives will only come in 320GB capacities. Not exactly the roomiest of mobile-based drives anymore.

Next up on the chopping block — 1.8″ 7,200 RPM drives. Yum.

SNES cartridge reborn as external hard drive.

Have a gamer and tech geek in your life? Have I got the perfect albeit expensive stocking stuffer for you. The Super Mario World SNES Hard Drive is a labor of love that comes in 320GB, 500GB, and 600GB flavors. I see a lot of custom hard drives pass by me everyday with a majority of them being pretty cool. But for some reason this particular drive really has me wanting it. The size is understandably a tad large for a 2.5″ external hard drive because of the larger size of SNES cartridges, but the smiles, looks, and comments that you’re sure to receive will be well worth it. As far as the innards go, Toshiba 2.5″ drives are used throughout. Power requirements are thankfully contained in one connection via USB. Requiring an external power source would have killed this for me. Then again, a 2.5″ external drive rarely needs extra power anyway.

The choice of Super Mario World as the featured enclosure is one for the masses being that Mario World is a favorite to many a gamer, myself included. But we are all different and different things make us tick. For you who dare to be different, 8BitMemory says that any SNES game can be custom made into an enclosure. Whether you simply don’t like Super Mario or you just want to be more exclusive, the choice is yours.

The best part about all of this custom tom foolery is the price — a mere $139.99 for the 500GB versions. Savvy shoppers can find several 2.5″ 500GB external drives around for quite a bit less. On the flip side however, you can also find many 500GB 2.5″ external that meet or exceed that $139.99 threshold. It all comes down to one simple question: Is it worth it?

My stocking just found a new inhabitant.

• Purchase the SNES External Hard Drive from 8BitMemory (via Etsy)