Testing (continued):
For comparison purposes, a 160GB Seagate Momentus 5400.3 PATA drive and a 120GB Seagate Momentus 5400.2 PATA drive were run through the same tests as the 160GB 7200.2 drive. The tests were also run with the 7200.2 drive jumpered for 1.5 Gb/s performance, as well as for 3 Gb/s. The results are all charted for 3 Gb/s, and only one difference was actually noted along the way, the HD Tach 3.0.4.0 burst speed.
The 200GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 drive listed in the test system specifications contains the operating system, and is also where all benchmarking applications were launched from. The list below summarizes the tests to be conducted, and it should be noted that the test system was rebooted between the execution of every step:
» HD Tach 3.0.4.0 (Long Benchmark)
» SiSoft Sandra XI SP1 (Physical Disks Benchmark)
» Real World Data Transfers
» Thermal Testing
HD Tach 3.0.4.0 (Long Benchmark):
HD Tach is a popular benchmark dedicated to the analysis of hard drive performance. It provides a few key pieces of information regarding the drive being tested, and the screen shot below details the reported CPU usage, the access time, the average read speed, and the burst (maximum) speed of the drives tested. Lower values are desirable for CPU usage and access time, while higher values are better for average read speed and burst speed.
CPU usage and access time don't show any differences worth getting excited about, but the average read speed and burst speeds put the Momentus 7200.2 in a whole new tier. The average read speed of the 7200.2 SATA drive was over 60% faster than its PATA ancestors, and the burst speed was almost 600% higher! Although the burst speed was blazing fast at 216.9 MB/s, I have seen greater performance from other 3.5" Seagate SATA 3 Gb/s drives, with speeds approaching 250 MB/s in this test.
As mentioned, this is the only test where a difference was noted when the jumper was on the drive. While in place, the burst speed reached a much lower speed of 133.2 MB/s. The burst speed may not mean a whole lot in the real world, but as I mentioned previously, the drive should be labeled so the end user places the jumper in the proper setting.
SiSoft Sandra XI SP1 (Physical Disks Benchmark):
The results shown below are taken from SiSoft Sandra XI SP1's Physical Disks Benchmark. This benchmark provides two results that represent the performance of each drive. Lower values are desirable for the average access time, while higher values are better for drive index.
The access times were a tie across the board, while the Drive Index results shows some serious domination by the latest Seagate Momentus offering.
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