Speed Test - Hard Drive Performance

A respected and commonly used utility for measuring hard drive performance is HD Tach. The "non-commercial" version is a free download. To get best results, deactivate GoBack before running any tests.

On this page I have the measurement results for these different computer configurations. You can click the link to go directly to the section on this page.

The EPoX 8RDA+ motherboard with parallel ATA (PATA) hard drive, namely the Western Digital Caviar SE ATA100 IDE Hard drive. The EPoX 8RDA+ is a socket A motherboard using an Athlon XP processor and the nForce2 chipset.

The MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard with the same hard drive. This is more powerful configuration since the MSI K8N Neo Platinum is a socket 754 motherboard using an Athlon 64 processor and the nForce3 chipset.

The MSI K8N Neo Platinum motherboard with a serial ATA (SATA) hard drive.

Hard Drive Speed Test - EPoX 8RDA+ Motherboard And Western Digital Caviar SE Parallel ATA100 IDE Hard Drive

After pressing the "Run Test" button to do the "Quick bench (8mb zones)" test, here are the results that were achieved. As you can see, the red bar in the "Burst Speed" chart shows a result of 78.8 MB/s. That's actually very good for an ATA 100 interface. But to really understand the results we need to compare them to other, similar computers. HDTach lets you do this by pressing the "Compare Another Drive" button.

A list of hard drives is presented. Click on the entry for the drive you have, which for me is the Western Digital Caviar SE 1200JB. Then click the "Select" button.

This brings up the first graph again, but now with the comparison hard drive also shown in blue. Now it's much easier to know what to think of the results. The results show my results (graphed and titled in red) are within expectations, and are actually a little better than the comparison hard drive (results graphed and titled in blue) in "Sequential Read Speed", "Random access" time and "Average read" time.

The results look about the same if you go back to the main screen and run the other test by selecting the "Long bench (32mb zones)" option.

Hard Drive Speed Test - MSI K8N Neo Platinum Motherboard And Western Digital Caviar SE Parallel ATA100 IDE Hard Drive

Again starting with the "Quick bench (8mb zones)" test, here the results. This time the red bar in the "Burst Speed" chart shows a result of 95.0 MB/s. That's outstanding for a hard drive with an ATA 100 interface.

Here is the comparison graph. The results show that my results are better than the comparison hard drive in "Sequential Read Speed". Notice the "Random access" time is lower (lower is better), and the "Average read" is much larger (higher is better).

And again the results look about the same if you go back to the main screen and run the other test by selecting the "Long bench (32mb zones)" option.

Hard Drive Speed Test - MSI K8N Neo Platinum Motherboard And Western Digital Caviar SE Serial ATA (SATA) Hard Drive

Again starting with the "Quick bench (8mb zones)" test, here the results. This time the red bar in the "Burst Speed" chart shows a result of over 118 MB/s! SATA has a higher maximum bandwidth potential than the 100 MB/s limit of ATA100, namely 150 MB/s, and it shows in the results. So that's good. Since this is a different type of hard drive, let's press the "Compare Another Drive" button to see how my results compare to another computer using this same hard drive.

This time the hard drive is the Wester Digital Caviar SE 2500JD.

And again it appears my results are within expectations and are even a little better than the comparison configuration.

The results don't change much using the "Long bench (32mb zones)" option.

Hard Drive Performance Speed Tests

The performance results you get may vary due to factors such as the speed of the Front Side Bus (FSB) and the ATA supported by the computer. Don't forget to reactivate GoBack when you're ready.

Next: Computer Assembly - Speed Test - CD Performance

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How To Build A Computer. Step By Step Instructions To Assemble. Skip To Any Assembly Step.

	Parts List [go]
	Tools [go]
	Antistatic Wrist Strap [go]
	Computer Case and Power Supply [go]
	Motherboard [go]
	Processor, CPU Cooler and Thermal Compound [go]
	RAM - System Memory [go]
	Video Card [go]
	Monitor [go]
	Keyboard and Mouse [go]
	Floppy Drive [go]
	Hard Drive [go]
	CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD RW [go]
	Sound Card and Speakers [go]
	Modem [go]
	Install the Processor onto the Motherboard [go]
	Install the CPU Cooler [go]
	Install the RAM - System Memory [go]
	Install the Motherboard into the Computer Case [go]
	Install the Video Card [go]
	Connect the Power Supply to the Motherboard [20-pin Connector  or  24-pin Connector]
	Connect the PN1 and PN2 Indicators to the Motherboard [KS-282 to EPoX 8RDA+  or  Sonata to MSI K8N Neo Platinum]
	Ready the Monitor [go]
	Ready the Keyboard and Mouse [go]
	First Boot [go]
	First Boot Common Problems [go]
	Install the CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD RW Drives [go]
	Install the Hard Drive and Floppy Drive [PATA Hard Drive  or  SATA Hard Drive]
	Connect the Speakers (if using built-in sound) [go]
	Second Boot [PATA  or  SATA]
	Configure the BIOS Parameter Settings [EPoX 8RDA+  or  MSI K8N Neo Platinum]
	Test The Hard Drive [PATA  or  SATA]
	Install a Second SATA Hard Drive For RAID (optional) [go]
	Install the Operating System - Windows XP [on PATA hard drive  or  on SATA hard drive]
	Driver Installation [go]
	How To Copy Big Files From Another Computer Using Just a Floppy Drive [go]
	Install the Modem [go]
	Install the Motherboard Chipset Drivers [EPoX 8RDA+  or  MSI K8N Neo Platinum]
	Install the Monitor Driver [go]
	Install the Video Card Drivers [EPoX 8RDA+  or  MSI K8N Neo Platinum]
	Install the Sound Card and Speakers [go]
	Install System Information Utility - EVEREST [go]
	Diagnostic Test - DirectX [go]
	Speed Test - System Memory (RAM) Performance [go]
	Speed Test - Hard Drive Performance [PATA and SATA results]
	Speed Test - CD Performance [go]
	Speed Test - Total System Performance [go]
	Stress/Torture Tests [go]
	Connect Front Panel Ports For Audio, Firewire and USB 2.0 [go]
	Install Rear Panel Ports For Firewire And USB 2.0 [go]
	Install The Computer Case Fans [go]
	Post Assembly Needs [go]
	Graduation [go]
	Video Card Driver Settings [go]
	BIOS Flash Update [go]
	BIOS Settings [go]

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