HD Tach 2.7

HD Tach is a low level disk drive benchmark which bypasses Windows to get the closest possible physical performance of the drive. The most important thing to look at is the minimum read and write speeds.

HD Tach 2.7 Read Test

Maximum Read Access

Minimum Read Access

Average Read Access

57.7

62.0

66.4

57.4

32.8

28.2

30.4

32.8

46.8

45.7

46.8

46.8

0

(MB/s)

80

 

Seagate 160 GB SATA (Single) Maxtor 200 GB PATA (Single)

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 0 2x Seagate SATA in RAID 1

 

HD Tach 2.7 Read Test

Seagate 160 GB SATA (Single)

Maxtor 200 GB PATA (Single)

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 0

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 1

0.1

0.6

2.3

1.7

0

(%) Lower Is Better

100

 

 

HD Tach 2.7 Read Test

Seagate 160 GB SATA (Single)

Maxtor 200 GB PATA (Single)

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 0

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 1

12.5

13.1

12.7

12.6

0

(ms) Lower Is Better

20

 

 

The Seagate 160 GB drive had a lower maximum read access time than the Maxtor 200 GB, while the Maxtor had a lower minimum read access time. The averages were about the same with the Maxtor lagging slightly behind. The most important part here is the minimum access time as that is the slowest the drive would perform. While the Seagate drives in RAID 0 do have a higher maximum, they still don't have much of an advantage in the bigger picture. The Seagate drive has the lowest CPU usage while the Maxtor drive has the highest random access time.

HD Tach 2.7 Write Test

CPU Utilization

Seagate 160 GB SATA (Single)

Maxtor 200 GB PATA (Single)

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 0

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 1

0.1

0.6

0.6

0.6

0

(%) Lower Is Better

100

 

 

HD Tach 2.7 Write Test

Random Access Time

Seagate 160 GB SATA (Single)

Maxtor 200 GB PATA (Single)

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 0

2x Seagate SATA in RAID 1

12.5

13.1

12.7

12.5

0

(ms) Lower Is Better

20

 

 

Here you can see that the Seagate drives in RAID 1 have roughly the same maximum speeds as the single Maxtor drive. The Single Seagate drives outperform the Maxtor drive, and the Seagate drives in RAID 1 have the best maximum performance. Once again though, the minimum write speeds are very important, and this is where the Maxtor drive and the Seagate drives in RAID 0 shine. The Seagate drives in RAID 0 have the highest average write speeds. Just like during the read tests, the Seagate drive has the lowest CPU usage while the Maxtor drive has the highest random access time.