File Copy Test
File Copy Test is a pseudo-real-world benchmark that times how long it takes to create, read, and copy files in various test patterns. File copying is tested twice: once with the source and target on the same partition, and once with the target on a separate partition. Scores are presented in MB/s.

To make things easier to read, we've busted out our FC-Test results into individual graphs for each test pattern. We'll tackle file creation performance first.

The OCZ SATA II and Samsung FlashSSD are supposed to be the same drive, but their performance isn't always identical, as evidenced by the results of our file creation test with the Install workload. In fact, solid-state storage isn't even a clear winner here. The Scorpio Black is the fastest drive overall, and the Blue fares pretty well, too. Seagate's Momentus drives are a big disappointment, with the 7200.3 often slower than the Scorpio Blue. Both, however, are much faster than the MasterDrive MX, whose relatively slow write speeds severely hamper its file creation performance.

The MasterDrive's read bias pays dividends when we switch to FC-Test's read, er, tests. Here, the MX has the highest transfer rates with three test patterns, and it places second and third with the remaining two.

Solid-state storage has a big advantage with the Programs and Windows test patterns, which are made up of large numbers of small files. However, the 7,200-RPM mechanical drives fare reasonably well with the ISO test pattern, which consists of a small number of very large files.

Between mechanical offerings, the Scorpios again come out looking superior to their Momentus counterparts. The 7200.3 does come out on top with the ISO test pattern, but whatever allows it to perform so well with large files appears to constrain its performance with smaller ones.