Quantum Fireball CX 6.8AT 5501068 3.5" IDE Hard Drive 6.8GB ATA Gateway

Quantum Fireball CX 6.8AT 5501068 3.5" IDE Hard Drive 6.8GB ATA Gateway

The Quantum Fireball CX 6.8AT is a 3.5-inch internal hard drive using the IDE/ATA (PATA) interface, offering 6.8 GB of storage capacity. Part number 5501068 was commonly supplied by Gateway in their desktop systems of the era. The drive's full label designation reads CX68A2F1, and it carries UL, CSA, and CE certifications with manufacture in Singapore.

Specifications & What's Included

• Manufacturer: Quantum
• Model Family: Fireball CX
• Model / Designation: 6.8AT (CX68A2F1 REV 02-B)
• Part Number: 5501068
• Capacity: 6.8 GB
• Interface: IDE / ATA (PATA) — 40-pin connector
• Form Factor: 3.5-inch
• Cylinder / Head / Sector geometry: 14158 / 15 / 63
• Power Requirements: 5V / 600mA; 12V / 800mA
• Jumper Settings: M = Master, CS = Cable Select, S = Slave (printed on label)
• Certifications: UL, CSA, CE, N143
• Country of Manufacture: Singapore
• Includes: drive unit only — no data cable, no mounting hardware, no accessories

Applications

The Quantum Fireball CX series was a mainstream desktop hard drive line from the late 1990s, widely used in consumer and business desktop PCs running Windows 95, Windows 98, and early Windows NT/2000 systems. IDE/ATA drives of this generation were the dominant storage interface for x86 desktop computers before Serial ATA (SATA) replaced the parallel ATA standard in the mid-2000s. The Fireball CX 6.8AT is suited for restoring or maintaining late-1990s Gateway desktop systems and other period-correct PCs that require an IDE hard drive in this capacity range. It is also used by vintage computing enthusiasts building or preserving era-accurate machines, where SATA drives are incompatible with original IDE controllers.