Maxtor Corporation started manufacturing a new IDE HDD family – 531DX. It was for the first time that they implemented a new technology increasing the HDDs non-operating shock protection quite tangibly. The new technology implies the use of an inner diameter load/unload ramp, which locks the recording head into a protective carrier to cradle the head during shipment and any other time the drive is not in operation. Besides that, Maxtor 531DX also contains a reduced number of parts and components, providing even greater reliability with fewer points of possible failure. An additional reliability feature is a new slim 17-mm height that reduces the overall space consumed by one-third over traditional hard drive designs. The thinner form factor allows better air circulation, which is also a good thing.
The Maxtor 531DX features a 5400rpm spin speed and is offered in both 10 and 15GB capacities. We can’t tell you anything certain about the price, however, according to Maxtor, 531DX hard disk drives will cost under $100.
We managed to find some more interesting stuff on these new products at PC World. The guys claim that 3.5" Maxtor 531DX drives will support ATA/100 interface and will feature a 2MB buffer. The average seek time will make 15ms. That’s why we can hardly call these newcomers the performance leaders: Maxtor seems to have sacrificed the fastness for the sake of higher reliability.
A 10GB model is targeted for the OEMs, and the 15GB is already available in retail stores for some $90 or so.