Benchmark Results: Interface And Throughput
Interface Performance
The interface test reflects the maximum throughput that each drive’s interface is capable of handling. Typically, this equals the peak read speed from a disk's built-in cache, since we know that the physical media is limited to less than 200 MB/s. With this in mind, SATA 3Gb/s would still be fast enough to accommodate every drive in this round-up. SATA 6Gb/s is really an enabler for solid-state storage.
Sequential Read/Write Throughput
The fastest hard drive in terms of throughput is Seagate’s new Barracuda 3 TB (ST3000DM001) at up to 193 MB/s. Quick though it may be, it's not designed for 24/7 availability. For that, you'd need one of the Hitachi drives or Seagate's 3 TB Barracuda XT, all of which provide similar throughput.