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ArticlesHard Drive Ratings


February 1998 / BYTE Hardware Lab Report / Hard Drive Ratings


Best Overall Desktop Drives (4-7 GB): Maxtor DiamondMax 1280

The top performer at a very good price, the DiamondMax 1280 easily won this category. Its fast ATA-4 interface allows it to pop right into most desktop systems.
Capacity (GB) Interface Price 1 Technology Performance Reliability Value Overall Rating
Maxtor DiamondMax 1280 5.1 ATA-4 $309 *** ***** **** **** *****
IBM Deskstar 8 6.4 ATA-3 $319 *** **** *** **** ****
Fujitsu Desktop Series MPB3064AT 6.5 ATA-3 $429 *** **** **** *** ****
Western Digital Caviar 3640 6.4 EIDE $380 *** **** *** *** ***
Maxtor DiamondMax 1750 7.0 ATA-4 $379 *** *** **** **** ***
IBM Ultrastar 9ES 4.5 SCSI-3 $719 **** **** *** * ***
Key: Weighting: Performance 65%, Price 1 20%, Reliability 10%, Technology 5%. Ratings: **** * Outstanding, **** Very Good, *** Good, ** Fair, * Poor. 1 = Cost per GB


Best Overall Server-Class Drives (8-11 GB): Maxtor DiamondMax 2160

This DiamondMax took top honors in the MPC benchmark, but it didn't fare as well with ThreadMarks. So, it's a good candidate for higher-end workstations. For server use, consider Seagate's Medalist Pro 9140.
Capacity (GB) Interface Price Technology Performance Reliability Value Overall Rating
Maxtor DiamondMax 2160 8.4 ATA-4 $459 *** ***** **** ***** *****
Seagate Medalist Pro 9140 9.1 Ultra ATA $495 **** ***** *** **** *****
IBM Deskstar 8 8.4 ATA-3 $399 *** ***** *** **** ****
IBM Ultrastar 9ZX 9.1 SCSI-3 $1245 **** ***** *** ** ****
Quantum Fireball SE 8.4 Ultra ATA $450 *** **** *** **** ****
Seagate Cheetah 9 9.0 Ultra Wide SCSI $1099 ***** *** ***** ** ****
Western Digital Enterprise WDE9100 9.1 Ultra SCSI $900 **** *** ***** ** ***
Key: Weighting: Performance 65%, Price 1 20%, Reliability 10%, Technology 5%. Ratings: ***** Outstanding, **** Very Good, *** Good, ** Fair, * P oor. 1 = Cost per GB


Best Overall High-Capacity Server Drives (18+ GB): IBM Ultrastar 18XP

IBM's Ultrastar 18XP delivers a lot of data, and does it significantly faster than Seagate's Elite 23, which is also physically larger.
Capacity (GB) Interface Price Technology Performance Reliability Value Overall Rating
IBM Ultrastar 18XP 18.2 SCSI-3 $1745 **** **** *** ** ****
Seagate Elite 23 23 Ultra Wide SCSI $1890 *** ** *** ** **
Key: Weighting: Performance 65%, Price 1 20%, Reliability 10%, Te chnology 5%. Ratings: ***** Outstanding, **** Very Good, *** Good, ** Fair, * Poor. 1 = Cost per GB


Maxtor DiamondMax 1280

photo_link (67 Kbytes)


Maxtor DaimondMax 2160

photo_link (74 Kbytes)


IBM Ultrastar 18X P

photo_link (64 Kbytes)


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