Mtron SSD 32 GB: Performance with a Catch

Flash SSD Comparison Table

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Manufacturer Mtron Samsung SanDisk
Family Solid State Disk Solid State Flash Drive Solid State Flash Drive
Model Number MSD-SATA6025032NA - SATA 5000
Capacity 32 GB 32 GB 32 GB
Rotational Speed (RPM) Flash Flash Flash
Available Capacities 64, 128 GB - -
Geometry 16 x 32 Gbit n/a
Interface SATA/150 UltraATA/66 SATA/150
Form Factor 2.5" 2.5" 2.5"
Cache (MB) - - -
NV Cache Size - - -
NCQ - - -
Weight 114g 46 g 94 g

Test Setup

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System Hardware
Processor(s) 2x Intel Xeon Processor (Nocona core)3.6 GHz, FSB800, 1 MB L2 Cache
Platform Asus NCL-DS (Socket 604)Intel E7520 Chipset, BIOS 1005
RAM Corsair CM72DD512AR-400 (DDR2-400 ECC, reg.)2x 512 MB, CL3-3-3-10 Timings
System Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar WD1200JB120 GB, 7,200 U/Min, 8 MB Cache, UltraATA/100
Mass Storage Controller(s) Intel 82801EB UltraATA/100 Controller (ICH5)Promise SATA 300TX4Promise FastTrak TX4310Driver 2.06.1.310
Networking Broadcom BCM5721 On-Board Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Graphics-Subsystem On-Board GraphicsATI RageXL, 8 MB
System Hardware
Performance Measurements c’t h2benchw 3.6
PCMark05 V1.01
I/O-Performance IOMeter 2003.05.10Fileserver-BenchmarkWebserver-BenchmarkDatabase-BenchmarkWorkstation-Benchmark
System Software & Drivers
OS Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Service Pack 1
Platform Driver Intel Chipset Installation Utility 7.0.0.1025
Graphics Driver Default Windows Graphics Driver
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.