X-bit labs

Adaptec 2410SA Serial ATA RAID Controller Review

[ 03/11/04 | by Alexander Yuriev]

We have already posted three reviews of four-channel SerialATA RAID controllers on our site. Now we’ve got hold of one more device like that, the Adaptec 2410SA. The manufacturing company claims it to be an ideal solution for workstations and entry-level servers where RAID arrays and support of four hard disk drives are important. Let’s check out how close to the ideal this solution is!

VIA VT6212: New USB 2.0 Controller

[ 03/03/04 | by Andrey Kuznetcov]

We are going to introduce to you a new USB 2.0 controller from VIA – VT6212. This solution is intended to replace the predecessor, VY6202, and promises to be really exciting and efficient. Find out if it is the today’s best USB 2.0 solution in the market from our review!

External SerialATA Interface: First Facts about the Unannounced Standard

[ 03/01/04 | by Nikita Nikolaichev]

Today we are going to talk about the external SerialATA standard, its peculiarities and differences from the internal SerialATA, as well as the problems the developers may face and the solutions they offer.

WD740GD aka Raptor 2 Hard Disk Drive Review

[ 02/18/04 | by Nikita Nikolaichev]

We are going to introduce to you the today’s fastest desktop hard disk drive from Western Digital – the new Raptor. This 10,000rpm solution with 73GB storage capacity and extremely high performance did really well, even against the background of a few SCSI solutions we included into our test session. Find out more exciting details now!

PCMark04: Benchmark for Hard Disk Drives?

[ 02/11/04 | by Nikita Nikolaichev]

We are constantly looking for new testing tools for our hard disk drives that is why we couldn’t help checking if the new FutureMark PCMark04 is suitable for HDDs testing. Learn about the pitfalls of the new test package. You will be surprised with the results of this detailed investigation!

External hard Disk Drives from Maxtor and Western Digital: the Duel of Interfaces and Technologies

[ 02/09/04 | by Andrey Kuznetcov]

Large data packs transfer and transportation is becoming more and more necessary nowadays. Today we are going to compare the functions and performance of two external solutions from Maxtor and Western Digital, which support both high-speed interfaces: USB 2.0 and FireWire. Find out which of them would suit better for your particular needs.

3ware 8500 SerialATA RAID Controller Review

[ 02/05/04 | by Alexander Yuriev]

As you may have noticed, we didn’t include one of the latest SerialATA controllers from 3ware in our roundup. However, today we are ready to devote the whole article to this excellent product supporting up to 8 SATA-150 devices and all possible types of RAID arrays. Find out more about this cutie!

Dual-Channel SerialATA RAID Controllers: RAID 0

[ 02/02/04 | by Alexey Volkov]

Today we are going to test 8 dual-channel SerialATA RAID controllers from Adaptec, Silicon Image, Promise, LSI, Acard, HighPoint, Intel and VIA in RAID 0 (Striping) arrays. Find out who the winner is!

Transcend 2.5” Portable Hard Disk Drive Review: Another External Drive with USB 2.0 Interface

[ 01/29/04 | by Andrey Kuznetcov]

Need to move a lot of data around? Then you might want to consider buying an external HDD. We will test one of the external 2.5" storage solutions available in the today’s market: the cute and light Portable Hard Disk from Transcend. Read more about the performance of this 40GB model in our new review!

HDTach 2.7: New Essence or New Exterior?

[ 01/28/04 | by Nikita Nikolaichev]

This short article is devoted to a new version of a well-known utility for HDDs benchmarking: HDTach 2.7, which has been recently released. Have all the bugs we discovered in the previous version of the test been eliminated? Find out if the new HDTach is accurate enough to be used for testing purposes!

ATA RAID Controllers: Roundup of Four Low-Cost Models

[ 01/25/04 | by Andrey Kuznetcov]

It is not a very frequently occurring thing that the users need a RAID array in their home system, but in some cases it is simply impossible to do without it. For our test session we took four ATA RAID controllers, which are mostly spread in the today’s market: a controller from VIA, a solution from GigaRAID, and two products from Promise. Find out which one is the right choice for you!

Hitachi Travelstar 7K60 HDD: 7,200rpm Achieved!

[ 01/20/04 | by Andrey Kuznetcov]

We are glad to introduce to you the first 2.5” hard disk drive with 7,200rpm spindle rotation speed. This solution from Hitachi should indicate the beginning of a new stage in the HDD market. Besides setting a new standard for notebooks, low-profile 2.5" "mobile" drives with "desktop" speed are about to start their invasion into the SFF systems.

The Last IBM Drive: Deskstar 180GXP HDD Details

[ 01/12/04 | by Sergey Romanov]

We continue our investigation of the mysteries behind IBM Deskstar 180GXP hard disk drive family. Today we are going to reveal another bunch of tricks IBM resorted to when developing its products. You will discover things, you could never even think of with the help of our detailed test session and technology analysis!