PCMark 05

PCMark 2005 HDD test suite focuses on XP performance with hard drives. It covers 5 areas of storage performance.

• XP Startup
• Application Loading
• General Usage
• Virus Scanning
• File Write

Futuremark and HWBot both have limits on XP startup speed for validation, although they differ and the value has changed over time. As this testing is not being used for validation purposes at ORB or the bot, XP startup speed was left unhindered to provide the full real world performance one can expect when using these drives.

88,802 PCmarks! This is the highest score we’ve ever achieved via any SSD or RAID combination. Amazing performance. Start up speeds closing in on 350 MBps, with file write breaking 400 MBps.

Blistering performance will make the Max IOPS a must-have for HwBot benchers. (Just make sure to limit your XP startup speed).

PCMark Vantage

PCMark Vantage HDD test suite also has a startup test, this time updated to “Vista” startup. However, 7 new tests have been added based on common activities for the home PC user.

• Windows Defender
• Gaming
• Importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery
• Windows Vista startup
• Video editing using Windows Movie Maker
• Windows Media Center
• Adding music to Windows Media Player
• Application loading

Most of Vantage’s tests focus on Digital Memories, so even the HDD suite is geared at testing the capabilities of the drives for manipulating pictures, videos and music in Windows software.

Vantage runs more tests and are not directly comparable, however, once again PCmark scores exceedingly well in these tests. Another 1st place victory for the Max IOPs drive, with a total score of 74,694.

The only two tests that performed under 300 MBps were the Video editing (barely) and the adding music to media player tests. Windows media center testing actually closes in on 500 MBps, which is what we like to see in a 500 + MBps read/write capable drive.

PCMark 7

PCMark 7 includes 7 PC tests for Windows 7, combining more than 25 individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. Specifically designed to cover the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 7 offers complete PC performance testing for Windows 7 for home and business use.

The Secondary Storage suite is run, which includes all the tests from the System Storage Suite, but allows you to select which drive is tested. The following tests are run.

• Windows Defender
• Importing pictures
• Video editing
• Windows Media Center
• Adding music
• Starting applications
• Gaming

Despite testing similar features as done in 05 and Vantage, PCMark 7 uses a completely new formula for calculating speed. That formula is currently unknown, but seems to result in dividing actual performance by about 100.

With a mind-numbing total of 5428, the secondary storage results produce multiple scores in the single digits. The best the drive could perform was 61 MBps. Results are included, though, as PCMark 7 will start to be used in motherboard reviews from now on, and running similar software across hardware helps reveal a clearer picture of hardware capabilities.

Bear in mind that the unnaturally low scores seem to effect all drives tested.

Bootracer

BootRacer is a great application that times how long it takes to load Windows. It measures both logon time and total time to desktop. While various tweaks are available to really improve startup time, they were not used during these tests. A full operating system load sequence was used, and all startup items were left enabled.

Boot speed is going to be affected by CPU speed and efficiency, as well as the amount, speed, and timings of your memory.

For some reason, despite using the same image as pervious tests, the Vertex 3 Max IOPS scored 1 second lower than other drives tested, with a score of 10 seconds to logon and 11 seconds to desktop. Secure erase and reimaging, resulted in the same 10/11 boot speed, almost every time.

Nevertheless, boot speed is extremely quick on the Vertex series and one second is hardly worth quibbling over.

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