Go External: FireWire 800

Test System

This time, we used two test systems, since we wanted to compare the data transfer rate of 1394b to 100 BaseT Ethernet. In addition to our test system for storage media (system 1), we also used a second computer with similar performance. Both of which were each equipped with a 3COM 3C905TX or a 1394b V1 from Century Global.

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System 1 (Test with external disk drive)
CPU Intel Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz256 kB L2 Cache (Willamette)
Mainboard Intel 845EBTIntel 845E ChipsetBIOS BT84520A.86A.0024.P10
Memory 256 MB DDR266/PC2100, CL2.0Micron/Crucial
Controller ICH4 UltraATA/100 ControllerOn-Board USB 2.0 (ICH4)Century Global 1394b V1
Graphics Card ATI Radeon SDRAM, 32 MB
Hard Drive IBM DTLA-307030, 30 GB7.200 U/Min, 2 MB Cache15 GB per platter
OS Windows XP Pro 5.10.2600 SP1
Network 3COM 3C905TX, PCI, 100 MBit/s3COM 3C9996B-T, PCI-X, Gbe
System 2 (for network test)
CPU Intel Pentium 4, 2.2 GHz512 kB L2 Cache (Northwood)
Mainboard AOpen AX4PE MaxIntel 845PE ChipsetBIOS 1.10 (May 29, 2003)
Memory 256 MB DDR400/PC3200, CL 2.0TwinMOS
Controller ICH4 UltraATA/100 ControllerOn-Board USB 2.0 (ICH4)Century Global 1394b V1
Graphics Card ATI Radeon SDRAM, 32 MB
Hard Drive IBM/Hitachi IC35L060 AVVA0760 GB, 7.200 rpm, 8 MB Cache40 GB per platter
OS Windows XP Pro 5.10.2600 SP1
Network 3COM 905TX PCI, 100, 100 MBit/s3COM 3C9996B-T, PCI-X, Gbe
Benchmarks & Measurements
Storage Performance Measurements c't h2benchw 3.6
Data Transfer Diagram ZD WinBench 99 2.0Disk Inspection Test
Network Performance Measurements NetIQ Chariot 4.3
Drivers
Graphics Driver 5.1.2001.0 (Windows XP Standard)
IDE Driver Intel Chipset Installation Utility 5.1.1.1002
DirectX Version 9.0a
Screen Resolution 1024x768, 16 Bit, 85 Hz refresh
Patrick Schmid
Editor-in-Chief (2005-2006)

Patrick Schmid was the editor-in-chief for Tom's Hardware from 2005 to 2006. He wrote numerous articles on a wide range of hardware topics, including storage, CPUs, and system builds.