Western Digital WD1600AAJS: 160GB Served on Single Platter
by Gary Key on February 5, 2007 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Hard Disk Performance: iPeak Game Installation Tests
Our iPeak based Game Installation benchmarks simply show the ability of the hard drive to write data as quickly as possible to the disc based upon the installation software instructions. As detailed in our iPeak setup description we installed the games from our source drive in order to eliminate the optical drive bottleneck. In separate application timing we witnessed basically the same percentage spread when installing the games via our DVD drive so these results are representative of actual installation performance.
The WD 160GB drive once again finished ahead of the Maxtor 160GB in these tests with performance differences up to 13%, although both drives finish near the bottom in testing. We need to remember these tests reflect pure hard drive performance and will be mitigated by the overall system platform as we will see in our application tests. These tests are basically designed around continual requests that favor large cache sizes and properly tuned firmware.
Hard Disk Performance: iPeak Game Play Tests
The iPeak based Game Play tests are centered on the benefits of having a hard disk that can load non-linear or sequential data files quickly without interrupting the flow of the game.
Like a good racehorse, the WD Raptor places first as its 10k RPM spindle speed and optimized cache play an important role in its ability to sustain high transfer rates. Both of our 160GB drives score well with the WD scoring up to 23% better than the Maxtor drive in the demanding Sims 2 game play test. While these differences sound large, in actual desktop usage most users will not be able to tell the difference except when utilizing the Raptor in certain situations. While these tests which certainly reflect what you would see during game play, the small files and non-sequential nature of the requests favor the Western Digital drives.
Our iPeak based Game Installation benchmarks simply show the ability of the hard drive to write data as quickly as possible to the disc based upon the installation software instructions. As detailed in our iPeak setup description we installed the games from our source drive in order to eliminate the optical drive bottleneck. In separate application timing we witnessed basically the same percentage spread when installing the games via our DVD drive so these results are representative of actual installation performance.
The WD 160GB drive once again finished ahead of the Maxtor 160GB in these tests with performance differences up to 13%, although both drives finish near the bottom in testing. We need to remember these tests reflect pure hard drive performance and will be mitigated by the overall system platform as we will see in our application tests. These tests are basically designed around continual requests that favor large cache sizes and properly tuned firmware.
Hard Disk Performance: iPeak Game Play Tests
The iPeak based Game Play tests are centered on the benefits of having a hard disk that can load non-linear or sequential data files quickly without interrupting the flow of the game.
Like a good racehorse, the WD Raptor places first as its 10k RPM spindle speed and optimized cache play an important role in its ability to sustain high transfer rates. Both of our 160GB drives score well with the WD scoring up to 23% better than the Maxtor drive in the demanding Sims 2 game play test. While these differences sound large, in actual desktop usage most users will not be able to tell the difference except when utilizing the Raptor in certain situations. While these tests which certainly reflect what you would see during game play, the small files and non-sequential nature of the requests favor the Western Digital drives.
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orenlevy - Friday, November 9, 2007 - link
hi everybody i would like to say that i am a computer builder .latly i recived this hard drive 160G aajs with access time of minimum 20m\s
i am speaking for a wile with wd support. ill write soon for now i had 4 harddrive like that.
fendell - Friday, May 4, 2007 - link
Any chance you could update this with the WD5000AAKS ?It is a great bargain atm :)
DrMrLordX - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
Any chance you could include the Hitachi T7k500 in reviews like this one?Gary Key - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
Yes, we will have the new/old WD and Hitachi 500GB drive results up in two weeks.DrMrLordX - Wednesday, February 7, 2007 - link
cool, thanksRike - Monday, February 5, 2007 - link
You might want to put up pics that are consistent. When I saw the first pic on page one, the fist thing I noticed was that the four pin was still there, which surprised me. Pics on pages 1 & 12 show a four pin power connection on the drive while the page 2 pics clearly show a big hole where the four pin would be. Of course the text on page two says . . .You might want to clear this one up.
Gary Key - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
The press photos that WD sent us had the old casing for the open drive pictures. We really did not want to use them and WD was unable to provide new pics. I thought it was important to show the new platter design but certainly was not thrilled with using the old pictures. I will change them up today.noxipoo - Monday, February 5, 2007 - link
if i wanted low noise and performance similar to this drive?Accord99 - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
The WD5000AAKS (The AA is the important designation):http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTool...">http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...tails.as...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...
noxipoo - Wednesday, February 7, 2007 - link
boo, no 5 year warranty.