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AcomData E5 320GB External Desktop Storage: Slap on another

 by Purav Sanghani on August 27, 2005 12:48 PM EST
19 Comments | Add A Comment
19 Comments

WinBench 99

We have extended our WinBench 99 portion of our benchmarks to include not only the Disk Transfer Rate tests, but also a handful of other disk performance related tests, which include Disk Access Time, CPU Utilization, Disk Playback/Bus, Disk Playback/HE, and Disk Playback/Removable Media. As we present our results, we will explain how each test is relevant in our methodology.

Disk Transfer Rate

In the past, we only provided the beginning and ending transfer rates, which don't really show the performance of the entire disk because there is so much more in between, on which we are not reporting. Our new method includes a graph.


Click to enlarge.


Click to enlarge.

We repeated this test 3 times to verify the results. During the test, the transfer rate stays at around 34MB/sec throughout except for the region between the 0-30GB range and the 40-65GB range. This test involves a continuous read from the beginning to the end of the entire capacity of the disk to show the consistency in transfer rates over the course of the disk.

When the E5 is connected over FireWire 400, we see much more constant transfer rates at around 39MB/sec with no random shifts in these transfer rates. This could have a lot to do with the USB interface's dependence on the CPU, while the FireWire standard is a peer-to-peer interface and does not require a "middle-man".

Disk Access Time

The average disk access time for the 320GB Caviar encased in AcomData's E5 casing was 13.2ms. Compare this to the 8.9ms access time with the 320GB Caviar installed into a system on the IDE interface and it seems sluggish, but only as much as legacy disk drives.

Disk CPU Utilization

WinBench 99 reports a 79.3% CPU load while transferring at 4MB/sec with the USB interface and 76.4% on the FireWire 400 interface. Ouch! Though the USB interface relies on the CPU for control, we did not expect the CPU load to be that much, and the results of CPU load for the FireWire 400 interface surprised us even more, since it is peer-to-peer. We don't want to conclude that the performance of this drive is mediocre, since we have not looked at other drives yet. So, we will wait until we can test another external device to make any assumptions on this topic.

The Test HDTach 3
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  • Andyvan - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    That is exactly what I've been envisioning for several years.

    -- Andyvan

  • Ecmaster76 - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    With standardized external SATA devices on the horizon, I would advise wiating to buy unless you really need external storage right now.

    Any of you cool dudes at Anandtech know how soon we can expect a wide selection of external SATA?

  • psychobriggsy - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    You can already buy external SATA enclosures. When I was looking for mine, I saw SATA versions of the IcyBox for example, and the price was pretty much the same in fact.

  • UltraWide - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    I got a 320GB version on firewire through my audigy2 and it's excellent. it's fast, quiet and runs very cool.

  • psychobriggsy - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    Earlier this month I bought a 200GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 (the silent IDE version) and an IcyBox external Firewire/USB2 enclosure (the one with the blue lighting). That worked out a lot cheaper than buying something pre-made like this. It too has a Firewire passthrough.

    The price? £80 in total. Which is around $125 after you take tax off the UK price.

    It's been coupled with my iBook, which only has a 40GB 4200 RPM hard drive. It's a handy backup solution, and I store all my media file on it as well. I plan to get a Mac Mini at some point in the future to which it will be permanently attached. The combination can then serve music to a SqueezeBox2 or similar, once I get one of those.

  • ElFenix - Monday, August 29, 2005 - link

    i've had hit or miss experiences using do it yourself external drive kits. i *think* that the premade ones tend to have better chipsets inside. and the diy stuff doesn't come with the software. and sometimes the premade stuff is about the same cost (after rebates and sales) as diy.

  • formulav8 - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    I wish I could talk my wife into letting me get that for her laptop. Her slow 60gb 4200 rpm drive is almost full. Oh well, she won't let that happen with that much money.

    Jason

  • Olaf van der Spek - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    > and the results of CPU load for the FireWire 400 interface surprised us even more, since it is pier-to-pier.

    What's a pier?

  • TheInvincibleMustard - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    Arr, matey ... that be when ye be shipping pirated medias between your two drives ... yar-har-harrrrrr.


    :-D
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