Maxtor Atlas 15K

Maxtor Atlas 15k Capacities Model Number Capacity 8C018x0 18 GB 8C036x0 36 GB 8C073x0 73 GB Lowest Real-Time Price: Introduction With its Cheetah 15k.3, enterprise storage leader Seagate Technology once again demonstrated to the industry a formidable prowess in getting next-generation product to the market in a timely manner. For six months, the 15k.3 stood alone as the drive of choice for those requiring the utmost in hard disk performance in both single-user and multi-user scenarios.

Though it is a relative newcomer to the arena, many eyes have been focused on Maxtor. The firm's Massachusetts-based server products group (formerly of Quantum Corp.) has shown remarkable adeptness with all four iterations of the Atlas 10k product line. Each generation delivered performance that gave market-leader Seagate a run for the money in both desktop and server applications. Further, as demonstrated in the ongoing StorageReview.com Reliability Survey, Atlas drives have proven to be among the most rugged and dependable disks around. Maxtor hopes to leverage this history of performance and reliability into a new line of enterprise offerings.

The firm joins contenders Fujitsu and Hitachi in the race to produce the world's fastest drive. Like the Cheetah 15k.3, the Atlas 15k features 18-gigabyte platters to yield configurations of 18, 36, and 73 GB. Maxtor specifies average random seek times at an ambitions 3.4 milliseconds on the flagship 73-gig drive and 3.2 milliseconds on the smaller units. The Atlas 15k is equipped with an industry-standard 8-megabyte buffer.

An Ultra320 drive available in both 68-pin and 80-pin SCA versions, the Atlas 15k targets markets that demand maximum performance in heavy random access / multi-user situations. Within these segments, it is sustained I/O operations per second rather than capacity that is measured against cost. Almost incidentally, desktop/workstation/single-user performance also benefits from the superior mechanics necessary to compete in the high-end server market. Representative of its ultra high-end, enterprise-class orientation, the Atlas 15k features a five-year warranty.

The onus is on Maxtor to best the performance brought to the table by the Cheetah 15k.3. The latter has enjoyed widespread availability for more than half a year. Maxtor (like Fujitsu, with its upcoming MAS3735), has had six months of additional latitude to tune the Atlas 15k's performance. Read on to see whether the Atlas has what it takes.