Western Digital WD1500ADFD: King Raptor
by Gary Key on February 8, 2006 1:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Hard Disk Performance: PCMark 2005
We introduce PCMark 2005 into our hard disk benchmark suite. We utilize HDD test suite within the program. 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 can then be replayed to generate performance measurements based upon the actual disk operations within the 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.
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.
File Write: This test consists of 100% write activities by writing 680MB of files onto the hard disk.
We introduce PCMark 2005 into our hard disk benchmark suite. We utilize HDD test suite within the program. 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 can then be replayed to generate performance measurements based upon the actual disk operations within the 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.
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
- 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
File Write: This test consists of 100% write activities by writing 680MB of files onto the hard disk.
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shady28 - Sunday, April 9, 2006 - link
Kinda bogus review here. How on earth can you put a SATA drive in comparison to other SATA drives, then draw conclusions about SATA vs SCSI?? The answer is you can't, especially in regards to SATA being 'ready' for use in big fileservers. It's a cheap alternative to SCSI, not a performance alternative. Check the link below for fileserver iometer (IOPs) benchmarks of many different drives, and you'll find that the top SCSI drives demolish the top SATA drives with nearly double the IOPs ratings :
http://www.storagereview.com/comparison.html">http://www.storagereview.com/comparison.html
Kensei - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
I've said it before but I'll say it again... Gary sets the standard for technical writing excellence. His work should be studied closely by all who aspire to do this type of work. I hope you're at least 26 or older becasue if you're writing like this at 19, 20 or 21, I think I'm going to get sick... with jealousy.Kensei
SpecOps - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
I would have liked to see the "value Raptor" in the tests as well, so we can get a better picture of price vs. performance.Gary Key - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
I will see if we can get a WD4000 series and update the article or at least have it for the RAID follow up. We have the new WD 500GB drive to test also.JustAnAverageGuy - Thursday, February 9, 2006 - link
Good article Gary, look forward to more in the future.One of the few editors who actually reads and replies to more than just one or two comments. :thumbsup;
- JaAG
CrystalBay - Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - link
Gary , you have a very proficient writing ability . I noticed it on your first review at AT keep up the good work...MadAd - Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - link
I just checked and prices for these in the UK is £210 - its almost the price of a scsi drive ffs (a 147gig hitachi u320 is only £50 more).
Im not quite sure what market segment these are aimed at, I just hope they dont shoot themselves in the foot being priced so close.
yacoub - Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - link
Gary - Thanks for this excellent review and for addressing the two primary complaints I had with the last harddrive review here: The old Samsung drives listed and lack of SP2405C and the tiny decibel test graph that was hard to read and draw conclusions from.This test has a great lineup of drives tested and much better graphs. Very nicely done!
Gary Key - Thursday, February 9, 2006 - link
Thank you and actually everyone for the comments. We have certainly listened to the requests and hopefully our improvements over the course of the next few articles will be satisfactory for everyone.
Although I have had some personal issues with Samung drives in the past I have to give them credit for producing a very good drive in the SP2504c. It would be my drive of choice in a HTPC or SFF setup at this time if you need a silent drive. The performance of the drive is competitive with others in its class for the most part at a very good price point. I tested the drive last night in a sound enclosure and there was only a 5 decibel difference between idle and constant read/write operations. I believe some of the additional decibel readings in the article is our equipment picking up noise from the drive cage. We will continue to refine this process for testing but the readings we reported were very consistent given the environmental conditions in the test room.
Jeff7181 - Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - link
I agree with those that say a Part 2 with RAID testing would be interesting.