| Quantum Atlas V |
Ultra SCSI hard drive. Rs 18,000
Features: 18.3 GB, Ultra 160 SCSI interface.
Pros: Low price per GB; good throughputs.
Cons: Seek time slightly higher than rated.
Source: Cyberstar Infocom, Sangam Building, R10 Nehru Enclave, New Delhi 110019. Tel/Fax: 11-6438216
E-mail: chiranjeevs@mantraonline.com
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The Quantum Atlas V is a 7,200 rpm drive meant for use on
servers, graphics workstations, etc, which require high throughputs. It’s
available in capacities of 9.1, 18.3, and 36.7 GB. We reviewed the 18.3 GB
drive. It has an Ultra SCSI interface and a 4 MB cache buffer.
 For
the tests we used a PIII/500 with 128 MB SDRAM. Its rated access time is 6.3 ms,
but in our tests it gave a slightly higher value of 7.39 ms. The drive performed
well in raw throughputs compared to its own ratings. It gave transfer rates of
29.8 MB/sec, which is slightly better than its rated 29 MB/sec. The transfer
rates when running high-end graphics applications are also quite good at 16.8
MB/sec. The drive doesn’t load the CPU much, keeping its usage to 3.78
percent.
The 18.3 GB hard drive comes with a five-year warranty and is
priced at Rs 18,000 plus taxes. This brings its cost per GB to Rs 984, which is
quite low on per GB basis. The 9.1 and 36.7 GB hard drives are priced at Rs
10,000 and Rs 36,000 respectively.
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