Test notes
We'll be comparing the performance of the X25-E Extreme with that of a slew of competitors, including Samsung's SLC-based FlashSSD and Intel's own X25-M. We've also thrown in a collection of the latest and greatest Serial ATA drives from Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate, and Western Digital. These drives differ when it comes to external transfer rates, spindle speeds, cache sizes, platter densities, and capacity, all of which can have an impact on performance. Keep in mind the following differences as we move through our benchmarks:
| Max external transfer rate | Spindle speed | Cache size | Platter size | Capacity | |
| Barracuda 7200.11 | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 32MB | 250GB | 1TB |
| Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 32MB | 375GB | 1.5TB |
| Barracuda ES.2 | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 32MB | 250GB | 1TB |
| Caviar Black | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 32MB | 334GB | 1TB |
| Caviar SE16 (640GB) | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 16MB | 320GB | 640GB |
| Deskstar 7K1000 | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 32MB | 200GB | 1TB |
| FlashSSD | 300MB/s | NA | NA | NA | 64GB |
| Raptor WD1500ADFD | 150MB/s | 10,000-RPM | 16MB | 75GB | 150GB |
| RE2-GP | 300MB/s | 5,400-7,200RPM | 16MB | 250GB | 1TB |
| RE3 | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 32MB | 334GB | 1TB |
| SpinPoint F1 | 300MB/s | 7,200-RPM | 32MB | 334GB | 1TB |
| VelociRaptor VR150 | 300MB/s | 10,000-RPM | 16MB | 150GB | 300GB |
| X25-E Extreme | 300MB/s | NA | 16MB | NA | 32GB |
| X25-M | 300MB/s | NA | 16MB | NA | 80GB |
Performance data from such a daunting collection of drives can make our bar graphs a little hard to read, so we've colored the bars by manufacturer, with the X25-E appearing in a lighter blue than Intel's X25-M.
Our testing methods
All tests were run three times, and their results were averaged, using the following test system.
| Processor | Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.4GHz |
| System bus | 800MHz (200MHz quad-pumped) |
| Motherboard | Asus P5WD2 Premium |
| Bios revision | 0422 |
| North bridge | Intel 955X MCH |
| South bridge | Intel ICH7R |
| Chipset drivers | Chipset 7.2.1.1003 AHCI/RAID 5.1.0.1022 |
| Memory size | 1GB (2 DIMMs) |
| Memory type | Micron DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz |
| CAS latency (CL) | 3 |
| RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) | 3 |
| RAS precharge (tRP) | 3 |
| Cycle time (tRAS) | 8 |
| Audio codec | ALC882D |
| Graphics | Radeon X700 Pro 256MB with CATALYST 5.7 drivers |
| Hard drives |
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB Seagate Barracuda ES.2 1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB Western Digital RE2-GP 1TB Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB Western Digital RE3 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB Samsung FlashSSD 64GB Intel X25-M 80GB Intel X25-E Extreme 32GB |
| OS | Windows XP Professional |
| OS updates | Service Pack 2 |
Thanks to NCIX for getting us the Deskstar 7K1000 and SpinPoint F1.
Our test system was powered by an OCZ PowerStream power supply unit.
We used the following versions of our test applications:
- WorldBench 5.0
- Intel IOMeter v2004.07.30
- Xbit Labs File Copy Test v1.0 beta 13
- HD Tach v3.01
- Far Cry v1.3
- DOOM 3
- Intel iPEAK Storage Performance Toolkit 3.0
The test systems' Windows desktop was set at 1280x1024 in 32-bit color at an 85Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests.
All the tests and methods we employed are publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.
