Intel’s X25-E SSD Walks All Over The Competition

Test Setup, Transfer Diagram

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Low Level System Hardware
Processor(s)2x Intel Xeon Processor (Nocona core), 3.6 GHz, FSB800, 1 MB L2 Cache
PlatformAsus NCL-DS (Socket 604), Intel E7520 Chipset, BIOS 1005
RAMCorsair CM72DD512AR-400 (DDR2-400 ECC, reg.), 2x 512 MB, CL3-3-3-10 Timings
System Hard DriveWestern Digital Caviar WD1200JB120 GB, 7,200 RPM, 8 MB Cache, UltraATA/100
Mass Storage Controller(s)Intel 82801EB UltraATA/100 Controller (ICH5)Promise SATA 300TX4Promise FastTrak TX4310 Driver 2.06.1.310
NetworkingBroadcom BCM5721 On-Board Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Graphic SubsystemOn-Board GraphicsATI RageXL, 8 MB
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System Hardware
Performance Measurementsc't h2benchw 3.6, PCMark05 V1.01
I/O PerformanceIOMeter 2003.05.10, Fileserver-Benchmark, Webserver-Benchmark, Database-Benchmark, Workstation-Benchmark
Performance and Power MeasurementsIOMeter 2006.07.27, Workstation-Benchmark, Streaming-Benchmark
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System Software and Drivers
OSMicrosoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Service Pack 1
Platform DriverIntel Chipset Installation Utility 7.0.0.1025
Graphics DriverDefault Windows Graphics Driver
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Efficiency Test Platform
NotebookDell Latitude D630, Mobile Intel GM965 Express Chipset
CPUIntel Core 2 Duo T9500 (45nm; 2600 MHz, 6 MB L2 Cache)
RAMCorsair ValueRAM 2x 2048 MB DDR2-667 SDRAM 5-5-5-15
DVD-ROM8x DVD+/-RW
WirelessIntel 4965 WLAN (802.11a/g/n) mini Card
Screen14.1 inch Widescreen WXGA+ LCD (1400x900)
Graphics CardIntel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Sound CardIntegrated
Power Supply9-Cell/85WHr Primary Battery
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System Software and Drivers
OSWindows Vista Ultimate 6.0 Build 6000 SP1
DirectX Version10
Platform Drivers IntelVersion 8.2.0.1014
Graphics Driversigdumd32.dll (7.14.00.10.1253)

X25-E Transfer Diagram

The X25-E doesn’t provide throughput that’s as steady and controllable as on a hard drive, especially on writes, but the overall performance is still more than impressive. Bear in mind that this isn’t a drive one would buy for its throughput; modern 15,000 RPM hard drives aren’t too far away from these numbers at only a fraction of the cost. The X25-E was made to dominate in I/O performance, as you’ll see on the following pages.