The SSD Power Consumption Hoax

Test Setup

flash ssd hoax

Test Notebook: Dell Latitude D630

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CPU IIntel Core 2 Duo T9500 (45 nm; 2600 MHz, 6 MB L2 Cache)
CPU IIIntel Core 2 Duo T7800 (65 nm; 2600 MHz, 4 MB L2 Cache)
MotherboardMobile Intel GM965 Express Chipset
RAMSamsung2x 1024 MB DDR2-667 SDRAM
Hard Disk DriveHitachi HTS722016K9A300160 GB, 7.200 RPM, 16 MB cache, SATA/300
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

We used a Dell Latitude D630 notebook, which is based on Intel’s Santa Rosa platform and the latest Core 2 Duo T9000 series CPU (45 nm Penryn). Using a 9-cell battery, this is an excellent example of a business notebook that can run for several hours. Interestingly, the battery runtime test results varied by as much as one hour with the flash SSDs. While all low-level performance tests were conducted on our storage reference system (above), the battery tests and Mobilemark was executed on Windows Vista Ultimate.