Maxtor DiamondMax 17 Series

Goldmember · Post by **Goldmember** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 1:14 pm

Maxtor, now owned by Seagate, has just silently and surprisingly launched the DiamondMax 17 Series with 160GB platters.

According to Maxtor.com, the DiamondMax 17 features:

-80GB, 160GB, 250GB and 320GB capacities
-3.0Gb Serial ATA and SATA II features
-Native command queuing for enhanced efficiency
-8MB cache buffer on most capacities
-Available ATA/133 interface
-Ground up design for robustness and reliability
-Ramp load locks heads off disk for resistance to shock and mishandling damage when not in use
-Quiet Drive Technology and lower acoustics
-Reduced power consumption
-Maxtor Shock Protection and Data Protection Systems for outstanding reliability
-RoHS compliant

DM17 Product Page link.
DM17 .pdf Datasheet link.

The 6G160E0 seems to be the only model currently available in the US and Europe.

Also, there are no 16MB cache models listed in the datasheet at this time.

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 2:56 pm

This is an interesting and UNIQUE product.

This drive is the first drive to come out of Seagate/Maxtor, since Seagate bought Maxtor.......... Hence the uniqeness.

The interesting part comes as, I think (I dont know) that this is a hybrid drive, part Seagate, Part Maxtor. Note the high 160GB per platter, yet no mention of "perpendicular", also note the "design life".

This drive could be a perpendicular drive, but not mentioning it would mean that this drive does not compete with the Seagate branded products, a good parketing ploy, on the other paw, this could be a 160GB per platter non-perpendicular drive, and the last of its line.

The "design life" of 5 years is very much Seagate, yet Maxtor is mentioned everywhere in the literature, and mentines technologies such as 133MB/s PATA (patent owned by Max.....Seagate) etc etc.

Once someone delves intothis drive it will beinteresting to see if Seagate has had an impact on Maxtor already and this is a hybrid drive, or it was the last design by Maxtor, and has just been released by Seagate, or one for the conspiricy theorists, it could be a Seagate drive, with a Maxtor label, and casing

Now Maxtor is wholely owned by Seagate I hope for some interesting things to appear on the market in the future.

Andy

Goldmember · Post by **Goldmember** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:07 pm

andyb wrote:This is an interesting and UNIQUE product.

This drive is the first drive to come out of Seagate/Maxtor, since Seagate bought Maxtor.......... Hence the uniqeness.

Quite. This drive is a total surprise to me as I thought Maxtor was toast.

You brought up some interesting points Andy.

I don't believe that this is a PMR drive but is instead a TMR (tunneling magnetic recording) drive. I think the first 7200.9 launched last year had 160GB TMR platters, which is pretty much the limit of that technology. The new 7200.9s have PMR platters. I remember listening to Maxtor conference calls where they said they would be using TMR at this areal density.

As for a hybrid drive...I'm not so sure. The deal only closed in June correct? So Maxtor likely had this drive in the engineering pipeline for quite some time. I wonder if the DM17 is a hybrid of the DM10 or DM11?

But you are quite right in thinking that eventually, Seagate may integrate some of Maxtor's technology into the Barracuda series, possibly in 2007?

As we recently discovered with WD, Samsung, and Seagate, none of us can predict which hard drive will be loud or quiet until it is actually tested. So who knows maybe the DM17 will be whisper quiet? I know, wishful thinking on my part.

I didn't see any warranty info. Is it 3 years or 5 years?

In closing, I noticed that the datasheet seems to suggest that AAM is present so all is not lost.

jb_ · Post by **jb_** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 4:49 am

I just want to know how they went from DiamondMax 11 all the way up to 17

I think it's most likely to be a Maxtor-designed drive (the clockwise-spinning platters are a dead giveaway!), but it'll be interesting to see what the actual casing looks like, since Maxtor has (finally) changed their design, at least for the Maxline.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:17 am

I just want to know how they went from DiamondMax 11 all the way up to 17

The DiamondMax 16 came out 4 years ago:

http://gamenews.pcvsconsole.com/view.php?news=1540

Poised to continue this tradition, the DiamondMax 16 offers great value, highest gigabyte areal density, solid performance and industry-leading reliability. It is designed to offer 60, 80, 120, and 160 GB capacities.

Availability

Parallel ATA versions of the Maxtor DiamondMax 16 and DiamondMax Plus 9 are currently shipping in volume. Volume shipments of the DiamondMax 16 and DiamondMax 9 with serial ATA are scheduled to begin in December 2002.

jb_ · Post by **jb_** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:28 am

jaganath wrote:
I just want to know how they went from DiamondMax 11 all the way up to 17
The DiamondMax 16 came out 4 years ago:

http://gamenews.pcvsconsole.com/view.php?news=1540

The DiamondMax 11 came out less than a year ago:

http://www.storagereview.com/php/cms/cm ... 6&range=10

And the DM 10 around 2 years ago, and the DM 9 around 3 years ago. So the next in the series would be the DM 12, not the DM 17.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 7:07 am

Who knows why they went to 17, and frankly, who cares. Maybe they want to make some kind of break with the past series of drives now that they are owned by Seagate. It's irrelevant to the quality of the drive.

jb_ · Post by **jb_** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 7:38 am

Wow... someone's in a great mood!

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:31 pm

From that press statement, it sounds to me like the diamondmax series is their value line, while the diamondmax plus series is their performance line.

Goldmember · Post by **Goldmember** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:31 am

jb_ wrote:I just want to know how they went from DiamondMax 11 all the way up to 17

I think it's most likely to be a Maxtor-designed drive (the clockwise-spinning platters are a dead giveaway!), but it'll be interesting to see what the actual casing looks like, since Maxtor has (finally) changed their design, at least for the Maxline.

Someone over at Storage Review posted some blurry pics of the 6G160E0 DM17.

It appears to have the DM11 cover with a DM10-style sticker but check out that PCB. Me thinks that the Maxtor engineers need to lay off the acid.

Seriously though, performance appears to be inferior to the 7200.10 and he says the DM17 160GB seeks are "slightly louder" than his 7200.10 320GB with AAM on.