Quantum's Atlas 10K II Ultra160 SCSI Drive
Taking advantage of all that bandwidth

8/27/00 - By  Dave "Davo" Altavilla

Interface Speed, Spindle Speed, Access Times and Data Buffers, these are the major components driving the performance levels of any given Hard Drive technology.  Not long ago we brought you a full detailed review of the latest technology in SCSI Interfaces, Ultra160 and the Quantum AtlasV Ultra160 SCSI Drive.   The months have rolled on and so has the product development cycle for Quantum.

In addition to this new found interface speed, Quantum has been making strides in the other sub-system components of their Ultra160 SCSI Drives.  The fruits of those efforts are evident in their new high end Atlas 10K II Family.  Let's have a look.

Specifications / Features Of The Quantum Atlas 10K II
Redlining at 10,000 RPM


  • Storage Capacity: 9.2 GB to 73.4 GB

  • Average Seek Time: as low as 4.7 ms

  • Rotational Speed: 10,000 RPM

  • Interface Options: Ultra160, Ultra2, Ultra SCSI 68-pin Wide, SCSI 80-pin SCA-2

  • Shock Protection System II

  • QDT - Quite Drive Technology

  • Data Protection System (DPS)

Atlas 10K II Family Line-Up

Quantum Atlas 10K II

9.2

18.4

36.7

73.4

Form Factor 3.5 inch
3.5 inch
3.5 inch
3.5 inch
Interface Ultra160, Ultra2, Ultra SCSI 68-pin Wide
Ultra160, Ultra2, Ultra SCSI 80-pin SCA-2
Formatted Capacity (MB1) 9,200
18,400
36,700
73,400

Disk Drive Configuration

Disks 2
3
5
10
Head/Recording Surfaces 3
6
10
20
Maximum Areal Density (Gb/sq. in.) 7.7

Performance Specifications

Typical Seek Times2 (ms)
Average (read) 4.7
4.7
4.7
5.2
Track-to Track 0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
Full Stroke 12
12
12
13
Average Rotational Latency (ms) 3.0
Rotational Speed (RPM) 10,000
Internal Data Rate (Mb/sec) 280 to 478
Sustained Throughput (MB/sec) 24 to 40
Data Transfer Rates (Buffer-to-Host)
Ultra160 SCSI (MB/sec) 160
Ultra2 SCSI (MB/sec) 80
Ultra SCSI (MB/sec) 40
Buffer Size (MB) 8

The Atlas 10K II family has some major enhancements over the Atlas V that we reviewed back in March this year.  First, the data buffer has been doubled from 4MB to 8MB.  This should really help with the sustained throughput of the drive which is 24-40MB/sec versus the Atlas V's 17-29MB/sec.  Next, the spindle speed on the Atlas 10K, as one would expect, is 10,000 RPM.  As you may have guessed, with higher spindle speeds come faster access times.  The 10K II is the first drive we have ever tested here with an amazing sub 5ms. seek time.

The 10K II also has a higher Areal Density at 7.7Gb (gigabits) per square inch on the platters.  This means, that byte for byte, the 10K II is going to cover more data area quicker and with less effort than drives like the Atlas V.  Here is a brief comparison chart versus others in the field.  This shows the model we tested, a 36G drive, and the competition from Seagate and IBM.

In short, the  Atlas 10K sports higher densities per platter, fewer platters, deeper buffer size, faster seek times and higher sustained data rates, than these other top of the line 10,000 RPM Ultra160 SCSI drives.  There is but one other drive that can compete with these specs, the Seagate Cheetah X15.  This is a 15,000 RPM drive and is not quite available yet.  However, on paper, this could be a formidable opponent.

**Update -  8/28**
As a few readers have pointed out, the Seagate Cheetah X15 is indeed now widely available.

On the other hand, specifications are not all that you came here for.  Let's look at the "real world" performance of this hot new drive from Quantum!

Setup, Installation and Initial Performance Numbers