Test Setup and Card Reader, Considerations
| System Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Processors | 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 WD1200JB |
| Mass Storage Controller(s) | Intel 82801EB UltraATA/100 Controller (ICH5) |
| Compact Flash | Addonics ADSACFW SATA |
| Secure Digital HC | Transcend M5 USB |
| Networking | Broadcom BCM5721 On-Board Gigabit Ethernet NIC |
| Graphic-Subsystem | On-Board Graphics, ATI RageXL, 8 MB |
| System Hardware | |
|---|---|
| Performance Measurements | c't h2benchw 3.6 |
| I/O Performance | IOMeter 2003.05.10Fileserver-Benchmark, Webserver-Benchmark, Workstation-Benchmark |
| System Software And Drivers | |
|---|---|
| OS | Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Service Pack 1 |
| Platform Driver | Intel Chipset Installation Utility 7.0.0.1025 |
| Graphic Driver | Default Windows Graphics Driver |
Card Reader: Transcend M5
It is difficult to find card readers that are fast enough to do justice to the memory cards when it comes to delivering maximum throughput. Most card reader products max out at around 15-20 MB/s. The Transcend Multi-Card Reader M5 is one of the devices that almost reaches these 20 MB/s. Other products, such as the MicroMate that comes bundled with SanDisk Extreme III cards, are slightly slower.
Performance Considerations
It may be the case that some of the memory cards tested may be able to deliver even higher read performance, but this is something we cannot reproduce due to missing equipment. However, it does not make a lot of sense to look at read performance differences, as two thirds of the SDHC cards are capable of reaching the maximum throughput of our card reader. Much more important factors upon which to make your purchase decision include I/O performance—which is important for executing applications off an SDHC card—write performance, and speed doing simultaneous read and write operations.
