The Ultrastar 2ES is IBM's entry-level 4.5 GB drive.
Entry-level does not necessarily mean low-cost, though, as the 2ES weighs in at a hefty
$500. The drive is conspicuously the only 5400 RPM drive in this roundup, with performance
to reflect its slow spindle speed. It posted the second-slowest Business WinMark 98 score
along with the third slowest High-End Winmark showing of the group. The drive's manual was
thorough and easy to follow. Even so, the Ultrastar 2ES' pokey performance combined with
its fairly high price make it a very hard recommendation. Users looking for an entry-level
SCSI drive would be better serviced by Quantum's Viking or Seagate's Hawk 4XL.
IBM Ultrastar 2XP DCHS-34550
Average Score
Business Disk WinMark 98 (KB/s)
1426
SS/Database
1208
WP
1788
Publishing
1350
Browsers
1668
Task Switching
1616
High-End Disk WinMark 98 (KB/s)
3732
AVS/Express 3.1
2606
Frontpage 97
3210
MicroStation 95
7396
Photoshop 4.0
2254
Premiere 4.2
7662
PV-Wave 6.1
2998
Visual C++ 5.0
7346
Disk/Read Random Access (ms)
12.6
Disk/Read Transfer Rate (KB/s)
Beginning
9570
End
6540
Disk/Read CPU Utilization (Percent)
6.9
Transfer Rate (KB/s)
9101
IBM's Ultrastar 2XP weighs in as the most expensive drive
in this roundup, an astonishing $800 in price. IBM provides a thorough multi-lingual
manual. One would infer top performance from this drive, especially in the light of IBM's
showing in the UltraATA drive roundup. The 2XP does indeed provide decent performance, but
nevertheless disappointed given the price. Seagate's Cheetah and Barracuda both bested the
Ultrastar 2XP in performance and both cost significantly less. This drive cannot be
recommended due to its lofty price.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
0 Comments
View All Comments