Maxtor's New Ultra ATA/133 Interface

Maxtor just let us know about its new Ultra ATA/133 hard drive interface, which it says boosts data transfer rates between the computer and the hard drive up to 133 megaBytes (MB) per second. The new interface is said to be one-third faster than Ultra ATA/100. So far, VIA, SiS, Promise Technology, and Silicon Image have completed licensing agreements to use the new interface in future systems and chipsets. ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) defines the connection and speed for the interface between drives and computers. Maxtor figures that these Fast Drives will complement the Big Drive initiative it announced back in June. Future drives will be both Big and Fast to accommodate such stuff as video recording and streaming. The Fast Drives specification and licensing rights for Ultra ATA/133 are now available from Maxtor under non-disclosure. Maxtor will also release an open specification to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) T13 group during the fourth quarter of 2001. The Ultra ATA/133 interface is backward-compatible with the existing ATA standard. If you want to upgrade from Ultra ATA/100 to Ultra ATA/133, however, you'll need to purchase a compliant adapter card or motherboard along with the new drive. We're not yet sure where you can pick up one of these adapters, but you can't argue against bigger, faster hard drives.