Performance in Intel IOMeter
Sequential Read & Write Patterns
IOMeter is sending a stream of read and write requests with a request queue depth of 4. The size of the requested data block is changed each minute, so that we could see the dependence of the drive’s sequential read/write speed on the size of the data block. This test is indicative of the highest speed the drive can achieve.
The 3.5” Seagate 7200.10 has the highest maximum of read speed. It also delivers the highest speed when processing small data chunks. The Hitachi 7K200 and Fujitsu MHW2 BJ, new 2.5” HDDs with a spindle rotation speed of 7200rpm, are about as fast as the Seagate 7200.7. The 2.5” HDDs cannot overtake the 3.5” models, even the Seagate 7200.7 with low recording density, on small data chunks, though.
Comparing the two generations of Hitachi drives, the doubled recording density has provided a serious performance boost for the new 7K200 in terms of maximum read speed. The speed of processing small data chunks has improved, too. The 7K100 is slower than every other drive, including the 4200rpm Fujitsu MHV2 BT, but the 7K200 is as fast as modern 2.5” HDDs. Take note how good the Seagate 7200.1 is at processing small data chunks while being inferior to every other “small” 7200rpm HDD in terms of maximum read speed.
Comparing Fujitsu’s HDDs between each other, you can see their maximum speed increase in strict proportion to their spindle rotation speed. They have similar read speeds on small data chunks.
The two 3.5” HDDs from Seagate win the sequential writing test, too. Interestingly, the Fujitsu MHW2 BJ is close to the Seagate 7200.7 in terms of maximum speed whereas the Hitachi 7K200 has a very low speed of writing, losing to the previous-generation 7K100 as well as to the 5400rpm Fujitsu MHY2 BH. We’ll see shortly if it’s just a specific reaction of the 7K200 to synthetic load or it really has such a low speed of writing.
Fujitsu’s HDDs behave predictably, performing proportionally to the spindle rotation speed except that the MHY2 BH is surprisingly poor at writing small data chunks.
