HD Tach
We tested HD Tach with the benchmark's full variable zone size setting.
The MasterDrive's read performance in HD Tach's sequential transfer rate test trumps that of the OCZ and Samsung SSDs, but again, write performance proves to be the MX's Achilles heel. The SATA II and FlashSSD offer much more balanced performance, and they top our mechanical drives in both the sustained read and write speed tests.
Given its strong performance with FC-Test's ISO test pattern, we're not surprised to see the Momentus 7200.3 turn in such impressive sustained read and write speeds in this HD Tach drag race. The Momentus has a healthy lead over the Black, but the 5400.4 and Blue are pretty close.
Flash memory may be quick, but it's not as fast as the DRAM caches on our mechanical drives. That's why you see the SSDs lumped at the bottom of our HD Tach burst speed results, while the Momentus 7200.3 streaks into the lead. Curiously, the Scorpio Blue's burst speed is much slower than that of the Black and the Momentus 5400.4.
Of course, this mechanical victory is short-lived. HD Tach's random access time test is up next, and there's no touching the solid-state drives. Interestingly, the MasterDrive is just a bit slower than the SATA II and FlashSSD, although it's still more than an order of magnitude faster than the mechanical drives.
Among our plattered contestants, the Scorpio Black has the quickest access time, followed closely by the Momentus 7200.3 and 5400.4. The Scorpio Blue sits in last place, more than millisecond behind.
CPU utilization results are within HD Tach's +/- 2% margin of error for this test.
