Ultra ATA 66 Hard Drive Roundup - March 2000

The Quantum Fireball Plus KX is a 27.3 GB hard drive that features a 7200-RPM rotational speed, 8.5 ms average seek times, 512 KB data buffer, and utilizes the Ultra ATA/66 interface.

The Fireball Plus KX also features Quantum’s Data Protection System or DPS. If computer system failures are caused by drive failures, DPS can help a user identify the problem by verifying the drives functionality. This can save unnecessary drive returns as well as protect the users data if the trouble turns out to be non-drive related. The Fireball Plus also features Quantum’s Shock Protection System (SPS), which helps to protect the drive from damage during shipment and installation.

The Quantum drive produced solid results, but failed to stand out among its 7200-RPM competitors. It produced average scores in almost all of the tests and even managed to bubble up to the top on a few, but failed to run away with a decisive victory with any of them. As this drive produced mainly average results in this group, along with the fact that it would have been at the bottom on most of the tests if we had not included the 5400-RPM units, all we can give it is an average rating. If you are looking for an average drive the Quantum will do, but in reality, with the price of the Quantum slightly higher than some of the other high rated drives, who wants to settle for average?

Once again, the Quantum Fireball Plus KX offers average performance in the 7200-RPM, Ultra ATA 66 field but is otherwise an overall solid drive. It ran fairly quiet (but not as quiet as the IBM drives), and its temperature remained at a comfortable level. The Quantum Fireball Plus KX comes with a 3-year warranty and can be found for around $240.00.