Conclusion

Unsurprisingly for a 10k RPM drive, the Cheetah 73LP creates a bit of low-pitched idle noise as well as lots of rumble when seeking. It's likely not -louder- than the previous generation... but as ATA drives become ever more quiet, the 73LP sticks out more in our subjective assessment. The drive runs hot after heavy use without a cooler in our rather small testbed case. Keep these factors in mind before integrating the 73LP into a machine.

Despite its rather average access time, the Seagate Cheetah 73LP manages to set records in every high-level test we use. It's also the first drive to break 50 MB/sec when it comes to sequential transfer rates... quite important to some users. That this performance comes combined with the proven technology delivered by Seagate over five successive generations makes the package even more attractive. The 73LP is an easy choice for anyone who needs top-rate performance without the constraints of a 18 (or even 36) gig limit.