Digital Trends

Maxtor 6Y200M0 200GB

June 14th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Introduction

When Maxtor first announced their new DiamondMax Plus 9 series of hard drives, we were impressed by their specifications. These new hard drives feature a 7200RPM spindle speed, 2MB and 8MB of cache (depending on the specific drive), 150MB/sec Serial ATA version and an 80GB platter size. What we found however, was that the first drives to hit store shelves actually had the older 60GB platters in them. This was somewhat disappointing, but the drives were still very fast and proved to be reliable which is what counts.

Today we are reviewing Maxtor's 6Y200M0 SATA (Serial ATA) drive which features an 8MB cache buffer, a 7200RPM Spindle speed and true 80GB platters and updated firmware. The 6Y200M0 has a street price between $150 and $200 U.S. dollars depending on whether you purchase just the bare drive, or Maxtor's retail kit. The drive we are using in this review is the boxed retail version.

Features and Design

Maxtor sort of messed up in the marketing department when it came to their new DiamondMax Plus 9 hard drives. Like we said in the introduction, Maxtor was supposed to feature 80GB platters in this series of drives from the get go. In fact Maxtor even announced they were the first storage company to introduce an 80GB high-density hard drive. As it turns out, Seagate actually introduced the first high-density drives based on the 80GB platters despite Maxtor announcing it first. The good news is that if you have not purchased a larger hard drive yet, now is the time to do so because the 6Y200M0 is using the larger 80GB platter and features updated firmware which is supposed to give better performance.

Our 6Y200M0 test drive arrived in the retail box, so the unit we are reviewing should be identical to the one you may purchase from a retailer. Maxtor includes an SATA cable, installation instructions and a utility disk so the installation process goes as smooth as possible. Maxtor includes a 1-year warranty with this drive, which is a sore subject with some enthusiasts. Manufacturers traditionally offered 3-year warranties on hard drives until a few years ago. With the release of the 8MB cache hard drives, only those higher-end models got the 3-year warranty. Now, it seems like most companies are going towards 1-year for many of their hard drives.