Western Digital and Seagate: 320GB Grudge Match

Hard Disk Performance: PCMark05

We are utilizing the HDD test suite within PCMark05 for further comparative hard disk scores as it provides a mixture of actual application results and specific read/write percentages utilized within these programs. It also allows interested readers to generate comparative results. The program utilizes the RankDisk application within the Intel IPEAK SPT suite of tools to record a trace of disk activity during usage of real world applications. These traces are then replayed to generate performance measurements based upon the actual disk operations within each application. The HDD test suite contains 53% read and 47% write operations with each trace section utilizing varied amounts of read or write operations. Additional information about the test suite can be found in PDF format here PCMark05 whitepaper.

Our test results are based upon the following trace runs:

Windows XP Startup: This test consists of 90% reading and 10% writes that tracks XP activities at start-up.

Application Loading: This test consists of 83% reading and 17% writes that tracks the opening and closing of the following programs.

• Microsoft Word
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Windows Media Player
• 3Dmark 2001SE
• Leadtek Winfast DVD
• Mozilla Internet Browser

General Hard Disk Drive Usage: This test consists of 60% reading and 40% writes that tracks application usage utilizing the following settings.

• Opening a Microsoft Word document, performing grammar check, saving and closing.
• Compression and decompression using Winzip.
• Encrypting and decrypting a file using PowerCrypt.
• Scanning files for viruses using F-Secure Antivirus.
• Playing an MP3 file with Winamp.
• Playing a WAV file with Winamp.
• Playing a DivX video using DivX codec and Windows Media Player.
• Playing a WMV video file using Windows Media Player.
• Viewing pictures using Windows Picture Viewer.
• Browsing the Internet using Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• Loading, playing and exiting a game with Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon.

Virus Scanning: This test consists of 99.5% read operations as the test tracks the scanning activities of 600MB of files for viruses.

File Write: This test consists of 100% write activities by writing 680MB of files onto the hard disk.







Our PCMark05 numbers follow a familiar test pattern with the WD Raptor having a 20% advantage over the Seagate 320GB drive and 29% over the WD 320GB in the total score number. The performance delta between the two 320GB drives is 11% although this is primarily due to the Virus Scanning and File Write test results.

The general usage and application benchmarks that represent the majority of daily operations on a typical PC configuration favor the Western Digital drive. Both of the 320GB drives are very close throughout the first four tests and it is only when we get to the Virus Scanning and File Write tests that we see the Seagate drive hold a commanding lead. We believe the short file sizes and very sequential nature of the test file in the Virus and Write tests heavily favor the Seagate 320GB drive, though we are continuing our investigation.