blackduck30

This thread was started to help give people some indication of speed and read/ write time of different drives ( be it raid or non raid ) in what i hope to be various systems.
This thread will hopefully allow people to post there scores in HD Tach only to keep things uniform. It will also allow you to post your system specs for others to compare scores with systems. THIS IS NOT A CONTEST

Please be aware thats scores can vary in two systems with the same specs and hard drives, this is meant as a reference point and can help you decide and gauge the difference between say a raid 0 and a non raid and may help you decide if it is worth your outlay and time or if indeed your system is way out of tune.

If you do not have HD Tach you can download a free version here

HERE

Alternate link HERE

Here are my scores for my Intel Raid 0 system drive running the quick 8MB zone test

Sequential Read Peak = 115Mb/s
Burst Speed = 270MB/s
Average Read = 96.9 MB/s
CPU Utilization = 6%
Random Access = 15ms

My 200G Maxtor storage drive ( Non raid ) running the quick 8MB zone test

Sequential Read Peak = 75Mb/s
Burst Speed = 210.7 Mb/s
Average Read = 57.3 Mb/s
CPU Utilization = 3%
Random Access = 16.3ms

System,
Asus P5WD2 Premium
Intel Pentium D 940 3.2 mhz
2G corsair value select DDR2
Gainward,Nvidia 7900GT
2 X maxtor 200G Sata 2, intel Raid 0 ( system drives )
2 X maxtor 200G Sata 2 storage drives
Silverstone Zeus 650W Power Supply

whardman

(8MB Zone test)

Intel Pentium D 3GHz
Intel D945PSN
1GB DDR2 SDRAM
Asus AX550 Video Card
Thermaltake 500W PSU
Seagate 160GB SATA

Sequential Read Peak = 60MB/s
Burst Speed = 126.6MB/s
Average Read = 48.1MB/s
CPU Utilization = 2%
Random Access = 12.6ms

---------------------------------

Intel Pentium III 667MHz
Intel CA810E (Dell)
384MB SDRAM
350W PSU (Dell)
Seagate 120GB IDE

Sequential Read Peak = 55MB/s
Burst Speed = 61.3MB/s
Average Read = 46.3MB/s
CPU Utilization = 2%
Random Access = 14.9ms

---------------------------------

Intel Celeron D 2.8GHz
Intel D865GBF
1GB DDR SDRAM
Allied 350W PSU
Maxtor 100GB SATA

Sequential Read Peak = 60MB/s
Burst Speed = 117.4MB/s
Average Read = 48.6MB/s
CPU Utilization = 7%
Random Access = 15.5ms

---------------------------------

Intel Pentium III M 1.2GHz
Dell Inspiron 8100
512MB SDRAM
Seagate 100GB (2.5" Laptop) IDE

Sequential Read Peak = 43MB/s
Burst Speed = 87.9MB/s
Average Read = 30.8MB/s
CPU Utilization = 6%
Random Access = 17.4ms

linderman

Seagate ST373454LC Ultra320 SCSI Drive >>>> 15,000 RPM Cheetah
Operated by PCI Bus Adaptec 29160N LVD Controller

Quick Test Results:
Random Access: 5.8ms
CPU Utilization: 16%
Avg Read: 79.8 Mb/s

SCSI drives dont burst so I can input that result? & No Sequential Read Peak Results either; I am starting to feel cheated


System:

Asus P4800-E Deluxe mobo
CPU Intel P4 Socket 478 Prescott 3.0GHZ (at time of test)
2 gigs Crucial Ram >>> Cas-3
Adpatec 29160N Scsi Controller on PCI bus

linderman

Interesting results:

I just swapped out the 3.0 ghz P4 processor and installed a Prescott P4
3.2ghz CPU and overclocked it by 15% to 3.6ghz

the hard drive tach results only changed by CPU utilization of 8% instead of 16% all other results remained the same.

So much for the theory that a big overclock improves hard drive read & writes >>> to go from a 3.0 to an overclocked 3.2 and no improvement !

why bother? the heat is rising good though LOL cpu heat rose by 6C without any task really pushing it. Not sure if I would dare to encode a DVD movie with this setting.

I really hate burning money

hmmmmm ?????????????????

hwm54112

running the quick test-200 gig western digital ide

Sequential Read Peak = 59Mb/s
Burst Speed = 88.1MB/s
Average Read = 50.1 MB/s
CPU Utilization = 7%
Random Access = 13.7ms

System: out of the box gateway

AMD Athlon 64, 2200 MHz 3500+
MSI RS480M2 (MS-7093)
ATI Radeon Xpress 200, AMD Hammer
512 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)

Ralck

My system:
AMD X2 4200+ (stock speed of 2.2Ghz)
ASRock 939Dual-Sata2
2x1GB dual channeled DDR400 RAM @ 2-3-2-5
ATi 9800Pro AIW (directly from ATi)
FSP 450W PSU

Quick 8MB test:

Harddrive 1: 2.1GB ramdom Samsung IDE drive I found and decided to test. Model number is: WU32165A. I think it's a 4200 or 5400RPM drive.
Sequential Read Peak = 5.1 MB/s
Burst Speed = 13.0 MB/s
Average Read = 1.8 MB/s
CPU Utilization = 0% (+/- 2%)
Random Access = 16.7ms

Harddrive 2: 200GB Maxtor IDE drive. 7200RPM, 16MB cache, theretical seek of 9ms, not defraged for about 6 months, with about 100GB of data on it, Model: 6L200P0 BAH41G10
Sequential Read Peak = 65.5 MB/s
Burst Speed = 120.8 MB/s
Average Read = 53.7 MB/s
CPU Utilization = 1% (+/- 2%)
Random Access = 14.8ms

HDTach BSOD's my laptop (Does anyone else have this happen, or do I have a hardware conflict?)

I'm going to be formatting my 200GB tonight, so I'll edit with the fresh install results. If I get a chance I'll also grab scores of my parent's home PC, and my mom's and sister's laptops, along with a USB external harddrive.
I don't think there is a Mac or Linux version of HDTach, so I can't run it on my PowerPC 66Mhz SCSI rig or my server.

Ralck

To slow for Edit time...

Here's the Maxtor after a fresh install. Odd how it actually drops performance?
Sequential Read Peak = 66.5 MB/s
Burst Speed = 119.9 MB/s
Average Read = 51.9 MB/s
CPU Utilization = 4% (+/- 2%)
Random Access = 14.7ms

Maybe that shows the difference between XP SP1 (original tests) and SP2 (this test)? I'll try a defrag tomorrow and see how that might help.

Indoril Nerevar

All tests were quick 8MB zone tests, and were run on this system:

AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ 2.2GHz
Albatron K8SLI
1GB DDR400
2x Albatron 7800GTX in SLI
2x Seagate 80GB ATA
2x Seagate 250GB SATA
1x Seagate 250GB SATA2
Thermaltake 680W
Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2
All drives are 7200rpm.

Results:

First Seagate 80GB ATA
Sequential Read Peak: 59 MB/s
Burst Speed: 94.1 MB/s
Average read: 47.4 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 1%
Random Access: 14.7ms

Second Seagate 80GB ATA
Sequential Read Peak: 43 MB/s
Burst Speed: 52.3 MB/s
Average read: 37.4 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 2%
Random Access: 14.7ms

First Seagate 250GB SATA
Sequential Read Peak: 74 MB/s
Burst Speed: 125 MB/s
Average read: 57.6 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 3%
Random Access: 15.3ms

Second Seagate 250GB SATA
Sequential Read Peak: 74 MB/s
Burst Speed: 134.2 MB/s
Average read: 58.8 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 2%
Random Access: 14.7ms

Seagate 250GB SATA2
Sequential Read Peak: 70 MB/s
Burst Speed: 229.8 MB/s
Average read: 55.9 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 1%
Random Access: 14.4ms


I think my second 80GB drive is dying, which might explain the lower scores for that drive.

Ralck

For those wondering the performance of an external USB 2.0 drive, here is mine:

Drive: External USB 2.0 Western Digital 160GB WD1600BB-55GUC0
Sequential Read Peak: 33 MB/s
Burst Speed: 33.0 MB/s
Average read: 32.1 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 8% (+/- 2%)
Random Access: 20.4ms

As you can see, an external USB drive is severely limited by the USB bus. The USB bus is 33MB, so that's the fastest the reads/writes can go.

Edit: I thought it would be interesting to see what different RAM timings meant for harddrive performance. My RAM timings are normally 2-3-2-5-1T, so I loosened them to 3-4-4-8-1T, which is the same or worse than value-RAM. Did the test on my Internal Maxtor 200GB IDE with about 54GB space used:
(Timings of 2-3-2-5)
Sequential Read Peak: 68 MB/s
Burst Speed: 121.3 MB/s
Average read: 52.9 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 3% (+/- 2%)
Random Access: 15.1ms

(Timings of 3-4-4-8; set through BIOS)
Sequential Read Peak: 67.5 MB/s
Burst Speed: 121.2 MB/s
Average read: 53.5 MB/s
CPU Utilisation: 2% (+/- 2%)
Random Access: 16.1ms

I don't know how accurate this is without actually testing actual value-RAM, as my memory is very high quality, so even loosened RAM timings might not be as much of a performance drop as actual value-RAM.
Interesting... There doesn't seem to be any performance difference with different RAM timings; I guess RAM timings are like overclocking: doesn't seem to do anything for harddrive performance.

TechDragon

Drive: Maxtor 200GB SATA 2 6V200E0 VA111630
Sequential Read Peak: 72 MB/s
Burst Speed: 213.1 MB/s
Average Read: 56.6 MB/s
CPU Utilization: 4%
Random Access: 15.4 ms

System:
Intel Pentium 4 3GHZ/ 800Mhz Prescott
ECS 945P-A Motherboard
2 GB DDR2-SDRAM (PC5300, meaning 667 MHz)
VisionTek Radeon X1300 Pro PCIe
Maxtor 200GB SATA2 HDD
FSP 600W PSU
Windows XP Home SP2

Rashiki

Asus P5WD2 Premium
Intel Prescott 3.2 w/HT technology
2gb Corsair XMS DDR2 800 (pc2 6400)
ATI All-In-Wonder X600 PCIE
Sparkle Power 550W PSU
Windows XP Pro SP2

Western Digital Raptor 74gb 10,000 RPM
Intel 82801GB SATA Controller
Sequential Read Peak: 73 MB/s
Burst Speed: 125.4 MB/s
Average read: 64.9 MB/s
CPU Utilizatio: 3% (+/- 2%)
Random Access: 7.8ms

Maxtor 6L100MO 100GB 7200 RPM
Intel 82801GB SATA Controller
Sequential Read Peak: 72 MB/s
Burst Speed: 134.7 MB/s
Average read: 54.9 MB/s
CPU Utilization: 3% (+/- 2%)
Random Access: 16.4ms

Rashiki

Hahaha, just for kicks i tested my 'beater' computer. The HDD was in my old computer, and it's like 8 years old or so...

Tyan Trinity i875P
P4 2.6 no HT
1gb Centon Electronics DDR 200 (PC3200)
ATI Radeon 8500LE 128mb
Antec TruPower 2.0 430w PSU
Windows XP Pro SP 2

Maxtor 5T020H2 20gb 7200 RPM
Sequential Read Peak: 15.5 MB/s
Burst Speed: 15.8 MB/s
Average read: 15.2 MB/s
CPU Utilization: 0% (+/- 2%)
Random Access: 13.3ms

linderman

Rashiki:



is the drive a 5400 rpm ?????


thanks for the info

linderman

Ok; New Build

Asus A8N-Sli Deluxe
AMD 64 Socket 64 Dual Core 4400+
2 gigs Crucial Ballastix Memory
(rest of specs are listed in my system)

Adaptec Ultra SCSI Controller 29160N


Seagate ST318452LC 15,000 RPM Ultra-160 SCSI drive

Random Access Time = 6.0 ms
CPU Utilization = 1%
Average Read = 54.2 Mbs


Seagate ST336753LW 15,000 RPM Ultra-320 SCSI drive

Random Access: 5.8ms
Cpu Utilization: 3%
Avg Read: 66.6 mbs


Western Digital IDE 7,200 RPM / 8 meg cache WD1600JB

Random Access = 13.2 ms
CPU Utilization = 2%
AVG Read = 50.5 mbs

Dont have my fastest drive ready for testing on this system :( I sold it & waiting for new one >>>> will add the U-320 74 gig soon

Rashiki

Nope, 7,200. It was first introduced in 1997, has a mind blowing 2mb cache, 100mb/sec transfer speed that blazed through it's IDE inferface. So it's 9 years old, not 8 I need to upgrade badly.

blackduck30

Joe,
Those SCSI drives throw out some awsome seek times, have they been reliable ? and/or are they new with build also ?

linderman

Jamie:


the first seagate drive listed is over a year old, the other ST is about 8 months old. The are super reliable as they were really meant & designed for servers.
I still have drives on myshelf that are 10 years old right on up to 2-3 years old, very seldom do they ever die they just get too old and too small for practical use. Hell I have images of my main OS drive that are larger than the 18gig scsi drive tested above. rofl

The real reason I like them is dependability and stability; there speed "looks" impressive but in real life you cant see a big diff. You can feel and see a diff enough to make me want to go back to the Seagates when I do boot up with the WD IDE when cloning, but its not a blazing diff.

Not like the diff seen when dual channel is running compared to single channel or anything like that.

I just bought a Fujitsu MAU3147NP 147GB 15K RPM SCSI Ultra320 ; they are touted as the fastest hard drive in the computer industry. As soon as I get it and clone it, I will post the HD results and see what it "feels" like but at $300.00 for one drive one could almost raid two raptors for that cost.


@ Rashiki: its hard to mess with components that work, we have two P3's in our office that run almost everything just fine >>>> except I pull my hair out when I get stuck using autocard on them !!

its hard to beat a machine that has been long ago paid for !

Rashiki

No doubt, it runs just fine for what I do. The only reason that i want to upgrade is for reliability issues. God knows it'll kick the bucket sometime, I want to prevent that :P

I know the P3 feeling, this beater rig replaced my Dual P3 1.0ghz rig. It's old as well, but i gave it to a friend who just does basic stuff, and it's doing just fine still :) Seems i have pretty good luck with components, *knock on wood*

linderman

Results of HDtach on a Fujitsu MAU 3147NP 147 Gig 15,000 RPM SCSI drive


Quick Test:

Random Access 6.0ms

CPU Utilization: 5%

Avg Read: 80.8 mbs


This is the fastest single drive I have tested thus far, but they are FAR from cheap @ just over $335.00

subman

Hitachi 320GB T7K500 series SATA II

Burst Speed = 222.3 Mb/s
Average Read = 64 Mb/s
CPU Utilization = 8%
Random Access = 12.8ms


Hitachi 160GB 7K160 series SATA II

Burst Speed = 221.9 Mb/s
Average Read = 65.3 Mb/s
CPU Utilization = 7%
Random Access = 13.7ms


Hitachi 160GB 7K160 series SATA II - in External Vantec eSATA case

Burst Speed = 221.9 Mb/s
Average Read = 62.1 Mb/s
CPU Utilization = 4%
Random Access = 13.7ms


System,
Asus A8N-E
AMD 3000+ Venice at stock speed
1G Transcend DDR 400
Nvidia 6600GT
Antec TPII 550w PSU