IBM's First HDD Versus Its Last HDDs
The following table compares IBM's first HDD, the RAMAC 350, with the last three models it manufactured in each of its "Star" series of OEM HDDs. It illustrates HDD's spectacular decline in cost and size along with corresponding improvement in capacity and performance.
Parameter (units) | RAMAC 350 | Ultrastar 146Z10 | Deskstar 180GXP | Travelstar 80GN | 46-year improvement (maximum) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Announced | Sep 1956 | Jul 2002 | Oct 2002 | Nov 2002 | |
Capacity (gigabytes) | 0.004 | 146 | 180 | 80 | 48,000 |
Dimensions (inches) | 60×68×29 | 4×1×5.75 | 4×1×5.75 | 2.75×0.38×3.95 | |
Dimensions (mm) | 1500×1700×700 | 102×25×146 | 102×25×146 | 70×9.5×100 | |
Volume (in³) | 118,320 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 29,161 |
Volume (litres) | 1,939 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | |
Weight (lbs) | 2,140 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1,244 |
Weight (kg) | 971 | 0.8 | 0.64 | 0.095 | |
Power (watts) | 8100 BTUs/hour (i.e., 2374 watts), up to 5500 kVA depending upon model | 16 | 10.3 | 1.85 | 1,283 |
Power density (megabytes/watt) | 0.0016 | 9,125 | 17,476 | 43,243 | 27,375,856 |
List price (US$) | 57,000 | 1200 | 360 | 420 | |
Price/megabyte (US$) | 15,200 | 0.0082 | 0.0020 | 0.0053 | 7,600,000 |
Density (megabits/in²) | 0.002 | 26,263 | 46,300 | 70,000 | 35,000,000 |
Density (kilobits/mm²) | 0.003 | 40,708 | 71,765 | 108,500 | |
Volume density (gigabytes/in³) | 0.00000003 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 622,100,131 |
Volume density (megabytes/mm³) | 0.000002 | 388 | 478 | 1,203 | |
Latency (msec) | 25 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
Average seek time (msec) | 600 | 5.9 | 10.2 | 12 | 102 |
Data rate (megabytes/sec) | 0.001 | 103 | 29.4 | 43.75 | 11,719 |
Read more about this topic: History Of IBM Magnetic Disk Drives