Maxtor Goes Serial ATA: The DiamondMax Plus 9 Gets Put to the Test

DiamondMax Plus 9: Technical Data, Continued

Tidied up: the board contains the controller along with the memory module and a Serial ATA bridge. As opposed to other hard drives, Maxtor does not offer any protection for the electronics.

From a visual aspect, there is no way to tell the various Maxtor models apart.

The Serial ATA bridge (top, center) is clearly visible, with the connections for the data and power cable located directly beneath it. To facilitate the transition from UltraATA to Serial ATA, it is possible to supply the Maxtor hard drives with power either via the new connection or via the four-pin standard cable. The jumpers in the center are used for selecting the operating mode (master/ slave), as usual. This does not apply to Serial ATA hard drives.

Here is a detailed view of the Serial ATA components. Data connector is on the left; power connector is on the right.