|
Many moons have passed since the initial release of hard disk drives that have come with the ATA/66 feature. We folks here in India have just recently felt the presence of ATA/66 drives on the market. This market of ATA/66 drives in India is predominately owned by hard drive manufacturers such as Seagate, Samsung, IBM, and of course Quantum
80% Rating: 
|
|
|
|
Home >
Reviews >
Hard Drives/SSD >
Quantum Fireball CX |
|
|
SPS Tech and Conclusion
SPS
SPS is another characteristic developed by Quantum
which is employed through later Quantum drives by designing a drive such that
certain events of handling the drive can be endured without incurring any
damage.
Damage can be caused to a drive by dropping it, tapping it
with a hand tool and by clicking two drives together. As the level of shock is
absorbed by the drive in these instances, a great deal of internal damage can
occur although there is no evidence of any external damage. This is because
drive internals are extremely sensitive to shock and vibration. Probably one of
the most common types of damage to the hard disk is when a "head slap" occurs.
When
sufficient amount of shock is applied to the drive, the head physically lifts up
from the disk and drops back down which causes the head to actually dig into the
surface of the disk creating surface damage. In addition to the damage on that
particular area, small particles can be scattered. Though these particles are
microscopic, the high-precision nature of hard disk mechanics are sensitive and
can be affected by these particles especially if these particles lands on a data
area or if it becomes wedged in between the disk and the head.
Quantum's
SPS prevents shock-induced damage to a hard disk by designing a hard disk drive
so that the head is not allowed to lift off the disk, thereby eliminating (or at
least significantly reducing) head-slaps. Rather, the shock would be absorbed by
the rest of the drive rather than having particles run amok after a head-slap.
The chances for internal disk damage is thereby reduced through SPS
implementation.
Conclusions
Here
we are at the end of this review. My final thoughts rest in the fact that most
present day hard disks are not able to fully exploit the ATA/66. But I certainly
cannot discredit Quantum or any hard disk manufacturer for that. I don't mean to
sound like a hypocrite (in regards to what I have written earlier) but of
course, we are all peeved over the marketing hype created in order for us to
purchase ATA/66 compliant drives. In reality we are going to have to wait for
drive technology to mature, which may take some time. C'est la vie! Aside from
that note, this drive is certainly a good performer (although there are faster
drives on the market). It is quiet, quick and does pack in additional features
such as SPS and DPS. From my previous experience with Quantum drives, they have
been quite reliable. I expect the tradition to
continue...
|
RSS Newsletter
