DiamondMax's Plus 300 GB Monster Created: October 8, 2003 By: Patrick Schmid & Achim Roos
Opinions differ wildly in the hard-drive business. While Seagate supplies hard drives with 160 GB of capacity in the ATA area, Hitachi and Western Digital already have 250 GB disks. They all pale, however, compared to Maxtor's monster, which has a full 300 GB of write space. If you're one of those people for whom "big" isn't big enough, this is the one for you.
However, criticism of manufacturers with smaller maximum capacities is inappropriate since the focus of many of these vendors' attention lies elsewhere. As one of the quietest drives spinning at 7,200 rpm, a Barracuda ATA 7200.7 is designed most of all along ergonomic lines and to deliver a good price/performance ratio. Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital join the running for highest performance at regular intervals. The result is larger, faster and correspondingly expensive hard drives.
With the 4A300J0, Maxtor is traveling a different route: its aim is to provide as much storage capacity as possible at an acceptable price. The recipe it has chosen consists of 5,400 rpm instead of the favored - because it's quicker - 7,200 rpm and only 2 MB in place of the 8 MB cache usual in top models. Since SATA still costs more, it uses an UltraATA/133 interface. This is ample for the coming months, as transfer rates on the fastest ATA disks are still below 70 MB/s max.
We took a closer look at how the 300 GB monster shapes up against the established major-leaguers from Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital.
Technical Data Capacity 300 GB Geometry 4 Platter, 80 GB pro Platter Rotation speed 5,400 Cache 2 MB Access time 12.6 ms Interface UltraATA/133 Warranty 1 Year
The technical details leave no room for criticism. This largest DiamondMax is based on platters of approx. 80 GB. Four of them are used, raising capacity to around 320 GB. However, "only" 300 GB is used - the remainder is probably reserved for error correction.
With four platters, Maxtor is aiming pretty high. Several years ago, IBM put up to five platters per drive in its DTLA series. That offers the advantage of being able to construct very large drives. However, the increased friction causes more heat loss so that hard drives with four platters require cooling sooner than models with only one or two. Large SCSI drives are usually based on multi-platter configurations.
An UltraATA/133 controller was also included in delivery of the retail kit. Although it's labeled as a Maxtor, it in fact originates from Promise. The Maxtor website, meanwhile, contains the information that this controller is not standard in the retail kit but has to be purchased extra.
The DiamondMax Plus is scarcely audible, produces only minimal vibrations and at 39C stays comfortably cool. Active cooling can be safely dispensed with; for permanent operation, however, we still recommend it. In this context, the short guarantee period of one year should be noted. You should consider this very carefully if you're planning to operate the product continuously. We would have liked to have seen a longer guarantee period for a drive of this caliber.
est Setup
Test System Processor Intel Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz 256 KB L2-Cache (Willamette) Motherboard Intel D845EBT, Intel 845E chipset RAM 256 MB DDR/PC2100, CL2, Infineon Controller i845E UltraDMA/100 controller (ICH4) Silicon Image Sil3112, Serial ATA Display Adapter NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 400 Network Card 3COM 905TX PCI 100 MBit Operating System Windows XP Pro 5.10.2600 Service Pack 1
Benchmarks and Tests Office Applications ZD WinBench 99 - Business Disk Winmark 2.0 c't h2benchw High-End Applications ZD WinBench 99 - High-End Disk Winmark 2.0 Performance Measurements HD Tach 2.61, c't h2benchw I/O performance Intel I/O meter
I love you all.
DiamondMax's Plus 300 GB Monster
Created:
October 8, 2003
By:
Patrick Schmid
Achim Roos
Opinions differ wildly in the hard-drive business. While Seagate supplies hard drives with 160 GB of capacity in the ATA area, Hitachi and Western Digital already have 250 GB disks. They all pale, however, compared to Maxtor's monster, which has a full 300 GB of write space. If you're one of those people for whom "big" isn't big enough, this is the one for you.
However, criticism of manufacturers with smaller maximum capacities is inappropriate since the focus of many of these vendors' attention lies elsewhere. As one of the quietest drives spinning at 7,200 rpm, a Barracuda ATA 7200.7 is designed most of all along ergonomic lines and to deliver a good price/performance ratio. Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital join the running for highest performance at regular intervals. The result is larger, faster and correspondingly expensive hard drives.
With the 4A300J0, Maxtor is traveling a different route: its aim is to provide as much storage capacity as possible at an acceptable price. The recipe it has chosen consists of 5,400 rpm instead of the favored - because it's quicker - 7,200 rpm and only 2 MB in place of the 8 MB cache usual in top models. Since SATA still costs more, it uses an UltraATA/133 interface. This is ample for the coming months, as transfer rates on the fastest ATA disks are still below 70 MB/s max.
We took a closer look at how the 300 GB monster shapes up against the established major-leaguers from Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital.
Technical Data
Capacity 300 GB
Geometry 4 Platter, 80 GB pro Platter
Rotation speed 5,400
Cache 2 MB
Access time 12.6 ms
Interface UltraATA/133
Warranty 1 Year
The technical details leave no room for criticism. This largest DiamondMax is based on platters of approx. 80 GB. Four of them are used, raising capacity to around 320 GB. However, "only" 300 GB is used - the remainder is probably reserved for error correction.
With four platters, Maxtor is aiming pretty high. Several years ago, IBM put up to five platters per drive in its DTLA series. That offers the advantage of being able to construct very large drives. However, the increased friction causes more heat loss so that hard drives with four platters require cooling sooner than models with only one or two. Large SCSI drives are usually based on multi-platter configurations.
An UltraATA/133 controller was also included in delivery of the retail kit. Although it's labeled as a Maxtor, it in fact originates from Promise. The Maxtor website, meanwhile, contains the information that this controller is not standard in the retail kit but has to be purchased extra.
The DiamondMax Plus is scarcely audible, produces only minimal vibrations and at 39C stays comfortably cool. Active cooling can be safely dispensed with; for permanent operation, however, we still recommend it. In this context, the short guarantee period of one year should be noted. You should consider this very carefully if you're planning to operate the product continuously. We would have liked to have seen a longer guarantee period for a drive of this caliber.
est Setup
Test System
Processor Intel Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz
256 KB L2-Cache (Willamette)
Motherboard Intel D845EBT, Intel 845E chipset
RAM 256 MB DDR/PC2100, CL2, Infineon
Controller i845E UltraDMA/100 controller (ICH4)
Silicon Image Sil3112, Serial ATA
Display Adapter NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 400
Network Card 3COM 905TX PCI 100 MBit
Operating System Windows XP Pro 5.10.2600 Service Pack 1
Benchmarks and Tests
Office Applications ZD WinBench 99 - Business Disk Winmark 2.0 c't h2benchw
High-End Applications ZD WinBench 99 - High-End Disk Winmark 2.0
Performance Measurements HD Tach 2.61, c't h2benchw
I/O performance Intel I/O meter
Drivers and Settings
Graphics Driver NVIDIA reference driver 29.42
Drivers Intel Application Accelerator 2.3
DirectX Version 9.0
Resolution 1024x768, 16-bit, 85 Hz refresh
Even if the DiamondMax Plus 300 GB isn't nimble enough to take on the faster-spin
The Google cache doesn't hold the images. You still have to wait for those images to load. However, our friendly Google has helped us out again:
Image Cache
I notice many of names on the list belong to women. (Or at least men posing as women) I would have thought the majority of attacks would be going after massive sharing campaigns, not kids download their favorite pop stars.
Slashdot Mirror
DiamondMax's Plus 300 GB Monster
Created: October 8, 2003
By: Patrick Schmid & Achim Roos
Opinions differ wildly in the hard-drive business. While Seagate supplies hard drives with 160 GB of capacity in the ATA area, Hitachi and Western Digital already have 250 GB disks. They all pale, however, compared to Maxtor's monster, which has a full 300 GB of write space. If you're one of those people for whom "big" isn't big enough, this is the one for you.
However, criticism of manufacturers with smaller maximum capacities is inappropriate since the focus of many of these vendors' attention lies elsewhere. As one of the quietest drives spinning at 7,200 rpm, a Barracuda ATA 7200.7 is designed most of all along ergonomic lines and to deliver a good price/performance ratio. Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital join the running for highest performance at regular intervals. The result is larger, faster and correspondingly expensive hard drives.
With the 4A300J0, Maxtor is traveling a different route: its aim is to provide as much storage capacity as possible at an acceptable price. The recipe it has chosen consists of 5,400 rpm instead of the favored - because it's quicker - 7,200 rpm and only 2 MB in place of the 8 MB cache usual in top models. Since SATA still costs more, it uses an UltraATA/133 interface. This is ample for the coming months, as transfer rates on the fastest ATA disks are still below 70 MB/s max.
We took a closer look at how the 300 GB monster shapes up against the established major-leaguers from Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital.
Technical Data
Capacity 300 GB
Geometry 4 Platter, 80 GB pro Platter
Rotation speed 5,400
Cache 2 MB
Access time 12.6 ms
Interface UltraATA/133
Warranty 1 Year
The technical details leave no room for criticism. This largest DiamondMax is based on platters of approx. 80 GB. Four of them are used, raising capacity to around 320 GB. However, "only" 300 GB is used - the remainder is probably reserved for error correction.
With four platters, Maxtor is aiming pretty high. Several years ago, IBM put up to five platters per drive in its DTLA series. That offers the advantage of being able to construct very large drives. However, the increased friction causes more heat loss so that hard drives with four platters require cooling sooner than models with only one or two. Large SCSI drives are usually based on multi-platter configurations.
An UltraATA/133 controller was also included in delivery of the retail kit. Although it's labeled as a Maxtor, it in fact originates from Promise. The Maxtor website, meanwhile, contains the information that this controller is not standard in the retail kit but has to be purchased extra.
The DiamondMax Plus is scarcely audible, produces only minimal vibrations and at 39C stays comfortably cool. Active cooling can be safely dispensed with; for permanent operation, however, we still recommend it. In this context, the short guarantee period of one year should be noted. You should consider this very carefully if you're planning to operate the product continuously. We would have liked to have seen a longer guarantee period for a drive of this caliber.
est Setup
Test System
Processor Intel Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz
256 KB L2-Cache (Willamette)
Motherboard Intel D845EBT, Intel 845E chipset
RAM 256 MB DDR/PC2100, CL2, Infineon
Controller i845E UltraDMA/100 controller (ICH4)
Silicon Image Sil3112, Serial ATA
Display Adapter NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 400
Network Card 3COM 905TX PCI 100 MBit
Operating System Windows XP Pro 5.10.2600 Service Pack 1
Benchmarks and Tests
Office Applications ZD WinBench 99 - Business Disk Winmark 2.0 c't h2benchw
High-End Applications ZD WinBench 99 - High-End Disk Winmark 2.0
Performance Measurements HD Tach 2.61, c't h2benchw
I/O performance Intel I/O meter
Drivers and Settings
Graphics Driver NVIDIA refer
I love you all. DiamondMax's Plus 300 GB Monster Created: October 8, 2003 By: Patrick Schmid Achim Roos Opinions differ wildly in the hard-drive business. While Seagate supplies hard drives with 160 GB of capacity in the ATA area, Hitachi and Western Digital already have 250 GB disks. They all pale, however, compared to Maxtor's monster, which has a full 300 GB of write space. If you're one of those people for whom "big" isn't big enough, this is the one for you. However, criticism of manufacturers with smaller maximum capacities is inappropriate since the focus of many of these vendors' attention lies elsewhere. As one of the quietest drives spinning at 7,200 rpm, a Barracuda ATA 7200.7 is designed most of all along ergonomic lines and to deliver a good price/performance ratio. Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital join the running for highest performance at regular intervals. The result is larger, faster and correspondingly expensive hard drives. With the 4A300J0, Maxtor is traveling a different route: its aim is to provide as much storage capacity as possible at an acceptable price. The recipe it has chosen consists of 5,400 rpm instead of the favored - because it's quicker - 7,200 rpm and only 2 MB in place of the 8 MB cache usual in top models. Since SATA still costs more, it uses an UltraATA/133 interface. This is ample for the coming months, as transfer rates on the fastest ATA disks are still below 70 MB/s max. We took a closer look at how the 300 GB monster shapes up against the established major-leaguers from Hitachi, Maxtor and Western Digital. Technical Data Capacity 300 GB Geometry 4 Platter, 80 GB pro Platter Rotation speed 5,400 Cache 2 MB Access time 12.6 ms Interface UltraATA/133 Warranty 1 Year The technical details leave no room for criticism. This largest DiamondMax is based on platters of approx. 80 GB. Four of them are used, raising capacity to around 320 GB. However, "only" 300 GB is used - the remainder is probably reserved for error correction. With four platters, Maxtor is aiming pretty high. Several years ago, IBM put up to five platters per drive in its DTLA series. That offers the advantage of being able to construct very large drives. However, the increased friction causes more heat loss so that hard drives with four platters require cooling sooner than models with only one or two. Large SCSI drives are usually based on multi-platter configurations. An UltraATA/133 controller was also included in delivery of the retail kit. Although it's labeled as a Maxtor, it in fact originates from Promise. The Maxtor website, meanwhile, contains the information that this controller is not standard in the retail kit but has to be purchased extra. The DiamondMax Plus is scarcely audible, produces only minimal vibrations and at 39C stays comfortably cool. Active cooling can be safely dispensed with; for permanent operation, however, we still recommend it. In this context, the short guarantee period of one year should be noted. You should consider this very carefully if you're planning to operate the product continuously. We would have liked to have seen a longer guarantee period for a drive of this caliber. est Setup Test System Processor Intel Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz 256 KB L2-Cache (Willamette) Motherboard Intel D845EBT, Intel 845E chipset RAM 256 MB DDR/PC2100, CL2, Infineon Controller i845E UltraDMA/100 controller (ICH4) Silicon Image Sil3112, Serial ATA Display Adapter NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 400 Network Card 3COM 905TX PCI 100 MBit Operating System Windows XP Pro 5.10.2600 Service Pack 1 Benchmarks and Tests Office Applications ZD WinBench 99 - Business Disk Winmark 2.0 c't h2benchw High-End Applications ZD WinBench 99 - High-End Disk Winmark 2.0 Performance Measurements HD Tach 2.61, c't h2benchw I/O performance Intel I/O meter Drivers and Settings Graphics Driver NVIDIA reference driver 29.42 Drivers Intel Application Accelerator 2.3 DirectX Version 9.0 Resolution 1024x768, 16-bit, 85 Hz refresh Even if the DiamondMax Plus 300 GB isn't nimble enough to take on the faster-spin
The Google cache doesn't hold the images. You still have to wait for those images to load. However, our friendly Google has helped us out again: Image Cache
I notice many of names on the list belong to women. (Or at least men posing as women) I would have thought the majority of attacks would be going after massive sharing campaigns, not kids download their favorite pop stars.
Oh well, the book will be outdated in another 15 seconds anyway.