IBM Announces 75 GB Hard Drives

IBM Corp. today introduced two new disk drives it says set records for data storage. One of which, the Deskstar 75GXP drive for desktop computers, can hold 75 gigabytes of data at 7,200 rpm, that is more than 10 times the capacity average PC hard drives.

That equates to a storage space of 18 DVD movies in MPEG3 format, about 159 CD-ROMs or "the data contained in a stack of documents 20 times taller than the Washington Monument," the statement said. The Washington Monument is about 555 feet tall, twenty times that height is 11,100 feet, or about 2 miles of paper documents.

IBM also unveiled today its Deskstar 40GV, which "runs at 5,400 rpm, holds 40 GB of data and sets a new areal density record of 14.3 billion bits per square inch. Greater areal density allows more information to be stored in less space, producing a drive that is more reliable, quieter and more cost effective to manufacture. Greater areal density allows more information to be stored in less space, producing a drive that is more reliable, quieter and cheaper to make."

These new drives are the first IBM desktop drives to use glass disk platters instead of aluminum. The smoother and more rigid glass disks allow the recording head to read smaller bits of information that are packed more closely together. Glass disks are also more stable at higher speeds, IBM said.

Limited quantities of the new Deskstar 75GXP are shipping now to Dell Computer Corporation, Gateway, IBM Personal Systems Group and other major computer manufacturers.

The Deskstar 75GXP will be shipping in full volume this April.