Three Generations Compared: Why Storage Density Matters

Benchmark Results: Efficiency And Noise Level

If we relate I/O operations per second in our streaming read test to the power consumed during this test, the new 7K1000.C tops the group. The 7K1000.B follows closely behind. Efficiency-wise, the five-platter Deskstar 7K1000 pales in comparison.

Results are similar for the I/O efficiency test, where we found fewer significant performance differences. Still, power consumption for the newer drives has decreased a lot, resulting in a huge efficiency leap.

You'd think that the five-platter 7K1000 would make most noise, but it doesn’t. Although noise perception can vary subjectively, we found that the three-platter 7K1000.B actually made the most noise on our test bench.

Things change in the activity test under high I/O loads. In this case, the larger number of moving parts handicaps the original Deskstar 7K1000 with its five platters and ten heads.