IBM Deskstar 22 GXP

URL: http://www.storage.ibm.com/hardsoft/diskdrdl/desk/ds22gxp.htm

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Rating: Excellent!

Review:

I recently installed a new IBM Deskstar 22 GXP 9.1GB, 7200rpm, UltraDMA 66 hard drive. The installation went without any problems. I could not enable UltraDMA 66 as I don't have an UltraDMA 66 motherboard, yet. But I was pleasantly surprised by the improved performance of this drive compared to my old drive, a Maxtor DiamondMax 6.4GB, 5400rpm, UltraDMA 33. Programs loaded much faster, and overall PC performance was improved.

I decided to do a small test. I wanted to compare this new hard drive with my old one, a Maxtor 6.4gb, 5400rpm, UltraDMA 33 unit. I cloned the operating system and programs on the IBM HD using Drive Image. Then I ran a utility called HDTach. The IBM has an average read of 15m/sec with 12.6ms access time. Then I installed the Maxtor and installed the cloned OS. Running HDTach on the Maxtor gave an average read of 10.2m/sec and 17.3ms access time. That's about a 50% increase in performance!!

There are a couple of small downsides to the IBM though. One, they are noisy. When first starting the PC, you can hear it winding up like a jet engine. Once started, you can definitely hear the drive running.
Second, it runs rather hot. Adding a HD cooler of some sort might be a good idea, but not really necessary. Overall, an excellent hard drive.

Submitted by: Dean