IBM's Deskstar range of hard disks is well known in the IT industry as one of the best, but not always the cheapest - you pay a premium price for a premium product. I bought the 75 GXP as a replacement for a failed Seagate 40 GB drive.
If you need a fast drive, but don't want to fork out for SCSI, this IDE drive should have what you need - it spins at 7,200 rpm, in comparison with many cheaper drives which can only manage 5,400 rpm. This makes a big difference if you use your computer for games or video editing.
I bought the OEM version of the drive, so I can't include any details on the quality of the manual or any accessories included in the retail version. Of course, if you don't need the cables and other superfluous junk that comes packaged in the retail version, you can save yourself around £10 to £20 by buying the OEM version. If you find yourself having trouble installing the drive, you can consult IBM's online technical resources which provide all the information you need to get started, and help if something goes wrong. Installation itself is quick and painless, and much the same as installing any other HD.
One major concern about high speed hard disks is heat and noise. The 75GXP was noticeably quieter and cooler than my old drive, so you won't have to install any additional case fans, to the relief of your ears. IBM also supplies software which allows you to tweak the drive to reduce noise even further, at the expense of performance.
The size of the disk buffer is a meager 2 MB - which is disappointing for a drive of this capacity and speed. It doesn't seem to detract from the data transfer rate in any significant way however, but is one example where IBM cut corners.
It should be noted that the 75GXP is of the UDMA 100 variety. It will be compatible with motherboards which support UDMA 66, but with a performance sacrifice. You have the option of installing a host controller card into one of your PCI slots if you don't want to upgrade yor motherboard.
So, if this drive is so great, why didn't I give it 5 stars? Here's the catch - reliability. The 75GXP has a notorious reputation for unreliability, with many customers claiming their drive failed within a few months. My drive, now over a year old, is still working faultlessly, and IBM have said that only a small fraction of all the Deskstars manufactured have this reliability problem.
With Serial-ATA (SATA) disks gaining popularity, I would recommend the 75 GXP 60GB drive to anyone wanting a quick (and now very cheap) upgrade/replacement without having to buy any other new components for their PC. Drives on the market today have reached over twice the capacity of this drive, so if you are building a new PC, you might want to look at something more recent, and you should consider moving away from PATA to SATA. The only risk with this drive is being unlucky enough to get one of the faulty ones.
I bought the drive from PC World for £80, although with the depreciation of IT hardware, you will undoubtedly be able to pick this up for much less now.
More details
Design
Good
Ease of use
Very easy
Instruction manual
Good
Manufacturer Support
Needs improvement
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