Ultra ATA 66 Hard Drive Roundup - March 2000

Western Digital Expert 25.7 (WD273BA)

The Western Digital Expert 25.7, WD273BA, is identical to the IBM Deskstar 34 GXP. Besides a few different labels on the drives, you would have a hard time telling them apart if you mixed them up. The similarities don’t end at external looks either, as both drives performed so close in the benchmarks that they had virtually identical results. This really comes as no surprise, being that WD has been licensing IBM’s drive technology for the past few years. Just judging between the similarity in appearance, physical specifications, and performance, we would say WD basically is using the IBM design and just adding their logo.

Since the WD Expert is essentially a clone of the IBM unit, as it shares all the performance benefits that the IBM Deskstar 34 GXP drive offers, we will not go into great detail describing its good points, but rather refer you to the IBM GXP32 summary above. Like the IBM unit, the WD performed at the top of the charts and either one of these drives would make an excellent choice in your system. The decision one would make in choosing one of these two drivers over the other simply comes down to price. Take whichever unit you can get the best deal on.

The Western Digital Expert WD273BA comes with a standard 3-year warranty and can be found for around $230.00, which, as of this writing, is slightly cheaper than the equivalent IBM drive.