Am I missing something???

[itnetpro]

Ok here is my config...

Athlon Thunderbird 1 gig
Abit K7T Raid
256k Ram
2 Western Digital Hard Drives 40 gig
ATA 100 7200 RPM Raid 1 Config

I have been benchmarking my Hard Drives
using 3 programs.. All but one showed
them much slower then they should be..
Sandra gave them a score 2 3rds faster
then an Ata 66.. Then I decided to allow
Sandra to test them also using windows
Cache. I was surprised to find confirmation
from Sandra that my HDs are running slower
then they should... The Speed came in just
under an average AtA 66 HD. I have tried
Upgrading Bios (Including the Raid Bios)
All drivers. Changing windows to config as
if the system were a file server. As well as
confirming every performance setting is on.
What the hell am I missing?? Why is so slow?
Can I turn the Windows Caching off???

 

[LTJLover]

Well first of all RAID 1 config doesn't increase your speed at all. As far as ATA100, I'm not sure. I am assuming you have the latest bus mastering drivers for your board installed. Could be the cable perhaps, but I doubt it. Other than that I would say it is the WD hard drives...but that is only personal bias...I hate them. I've had like 5 die on me. Yeah not too sure why you wouldn't get full ATA 100 transfer, but I have heard that ATA100 isn't fully matured yet. The drives are ATA100 right?

Jon
"Water-Cooled CPU Runner"

 

[itnetpro]

First off I am aware that Raid one dosent increase
my speed... Second Western Digital Drives have served
me well for years... Someone has something bad to say
about every HD on the market! From Maxtor (Which I
personaly dont like) to Seagate... There is nothing
wrong with the WD product... Third I have confirmed all
my settings and yes the HD does and is set up for 100
ata.. Only question I have is if U had such a bad
experiance with them why did you buy more? I never will
buy another Maxtor based on one failed drive...

Being burned once was enough for me... These babys are
the 5th system that I have built using WDs.. I love em.

 

[RavenPrime]

All HDs die sooner or later. They have moving parts that will eventually wear out. It doesn't matter what brand.
I have had an IBM, Maxtor, and WD drive die on me. Some WD drives have a shorter MTF (mean time to failure). With the newer faster drives, IBM makes all the components. Other manufactures buy these and assemble their own variations of the same HD--different cache, etc. So I imagine that MTF will be the same for all drives, at least until IBM's patents run out or someone else comes up with something new.

As for why you are not getting the full transfer rate.
Do you have ATA/100 cables?--there are different cables for ATA/100 to allow for the wider bandwith.
Did you test two ATA/66 drives on the same setup?
Have you tried the test without the RAID? Some Raid cards don't handle the Raid 1 configuration efficiently giving some overhead with writing to two drives at the same time.
Don't turn the Windows caching off! Most good HD benchmarks bypass the Windows caching and so it should not affect you test results.
Also, what OS are you using?

James

 

[Brent]

I read somewhere that even a ata100 7200rpm drive canot acheive it's rated speed. I think the fastest ata100 from IBM can only acheive burst datatransfer rates just above 80mbs with sustained rates around 60-65mbs.

 

[Raistlin]

ata-100 is unreachable except maybe in a 4 drive stiped raid
Mirroring is actually slower than no raid ;(
Sisoft sandra hurm try it on another drive on your main controller and see what it is. sisoft is telling me my pci is running at 88mhz. they arent perfect. i have the asus A7V t-bird 800

Bored, Certified Tech.