Performance in FC-Test

For this test two 32GB partitions are created on the disk and formatted in NTFS and then in FAT32. After that a file-set is created. It is then read from the disk, copied within the same partition and then copied into another partition. The time taken to perform these operations is measured and the speed of the disk is calculated. The Windows and Programs file-sets consist of a large number of small files whereas the other three patterns (ISO, MP3, and Install) include a few large files each.

Let’s start with NTFS since this file system is more widespread than FAT32 today.

This test’s results depend on the specific file-set, i.e. on the average file size. The Seagate drives do better with large files, the 7200.2 series models taking top places then. The Fujitsu is also good while the Hitachi is the slowest one, just as we saw in the IOMeter: Sequential Write test. However, the Seagate products slow down with small files: the Hitachi gets close and overtakes them while the Fujitsu takes first place.

The average file size is not so important at reading: the 200GB Seagate 7200.2 is first with the ISO pattern while the Fujitsu wins with the MP3 file-set. Generally speaking, every drive with high recording density delivers high and almost the same speed, being much faster than the Seagate 7200.1.

The HDDs are sensitive to the size of the processed files at copying, but without any observable regularity. We can only say that the old Seagate 7200.1 is the overall loser whereas the 200GB Seagate 7200.2 is the overall winner. The 160GB Seagate is far slower than the 200GB model with every file-set due to the difference in their firmware.

When copying from one partition to another, the high-density models are again much faster than the previous-generation Seagate 7200.1. The 200GB Seagate 7200.1 wins the test, but enjoys a really large lead over its opponents only when processing large files.

The Fujitsu is first when creating files in FAT32. The Hitachi shows poor performance and is even inferior to the Seagate 7200.1 in every pattern, save for Windows.

The new-generation HDDs all deliver similar performance at reading, being much faster than the Seagate 7200.1.

When copying within the same partition, the Seagate 7200.2 series drives are better with large files whereas the Fujitsu and Hitachi, with small ones.

The 200GB Seagate 7200.2 is better than the others at copying large files from one partition to another (the 160GB model from the same series is considerably slower). The Hitachi is the best when it comes to copying small files.