HD Tach Scores

**blackduck30** · 07-30-2006, 02:52 AM

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 · 07-30-2006, 01:20 PM

(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** · 07-30-2006, 02:01 PM

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** · 07-31-2006, 03:50 PM

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** · 08-03-2006, 05:27 PM

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** · 08-11-2006, 10:17 PM

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** · 08-11-2006, 11:46 PM

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 · 08-14-2006, 01:51 AM

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** · 08-28-2006, 08:25 PM

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 · 08-29-2006, 04:15 PM

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** · 08-29-2006, 11:35 PM

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** · 08-30-2006, 11:36 AM

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** · 09-06-2006, 03:40 PM

Rashiki:

is the drive a 5400 rpm ?????

thanks for the info

**linderman** · 09-06-2006, 03:59 PM

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** · 09-06-2006, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Rashiki:

is the drive a 5400 rpm ?????

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** · 09-07-2006, 02:38 AM

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

07-30-2006, 02:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
blackduck30 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Wollongong/Australia Posts: 4,227 OS: XP pro SP3/Vista Ultimate My System	HD Tach Scores 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 __________________ Blackduck30 Time is like money and milk, It's always running out Any Donations Help Keep TSF Free For All Last edited by blackduck30 : 03-25-2007 at 02:46 AM.

07-30-2006, 02:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,953 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	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 __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD Last edited by linderman : 07-30-2006 at 02:05 PM.

07-31-2006, 03:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,953 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	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 ????????????????? __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD Last edited by linderman : 08-03-2006 at 05:48 PM.

08-03-2006, 05:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
hwm54112 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2,233 OS: WINXP	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) Last edited by hwm54112 : 08-03-2006 at 05:32 PM.

08-11-2006, 10:17 PM	#6 (permalink)
Ralck mentor hardware team Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,445 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	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. __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs Last edited by Ralck : 08-11-2006 at 10:20 PM.

07-30-2006, 01:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
whardman Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 617 OS: Windows XP My System	(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

08-11-2006, 11:46 PM	#7 (permalink)
Ralck mentor hardware team Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,445 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	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. __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs Last edited by Ralck : 08-11-2006 at 11:49 PM.

08-14-2006, 01:51 AM	#8 (permalink)
Indoril Nerevar Hero of Vvardenfell & Manager, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 3,654 OS: XP Pro 32-bit SP2, Vista Home Premium 32-bit, Vista Home Premium 64-bit My System	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. __________________ Donating to the forum keeps TSF free for all. • Posting System Specs • Power Supply Info • Common Game Issues • • NVIDIA Drivers and Info • ATI Drivers and Info • Thermal Paste Guide • • Futuremark Game Advisor • System Requirements Lab • • Everest • Prime95 • DirectX • Cheatbook • AMD Drivers • • Memtest86 • SensorsView • Driver Cleaner • Add-Remove • I do not give help via PM. Please post your question on the forum.

08-28-2006, 08:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
Ralck mentor hardware team Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,445 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	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. __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs Last edited by Ralck : 08-28-2006 at 08:38 PM.

08-29-2006, 04:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
TechDragon Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 77 OS: Windows XP Home	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

08-29-2006, 11:35 PM	#11 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	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 __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

08-30-2006, 11:36 AM	#12 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	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 __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

09-06-2006, 03:40 PM	#13 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,953 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Rashiki: is the drive a 5400 rpm ????? thanks for the info __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD

09-06-2006, 03:59 PM	#14 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,953 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	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 __________________ IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DIED RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU CRY ??? ASK US FOR HELP DEVELOPING A DATA BACK-UP METHOD Last edited by linderman : 09-06-2006 at 04:00 PM.

09-07-2006, 02:38 AM	#16 (permalink)
blackduck30 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Wollongong/Australia Posts: 4,227 OS: XP pro SP3/Vista Ultimate My System	Joe, Those SCSI drives throw out some awsome seek times, have they been reliable ? and/or are they new with build also ? __________________ Blackduck30 Time is like money and milk, It's always running out Any Donations Help Keep TSF Free For All

09-07-2006, 03:08 PM	#17 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 11,953 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro