Analysis: Which Enterprise Capacity Point Performs Best?

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SSDs are best for performance. SATA hard drives provide maximum capacity. Enterprise-class SAS disks are the workhorses positioned between them. But which enterprise hard drive capacity makes sense when there are several from which to choose?

Test Setup And Comparison Table

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System Hardware
HardwareDetails
CPUIntel Core i7-920 (45 nm, 2.66 GHz, 8MB Shared L3 Cache)
Motherboard (Socket 1366)Supermicro X8SAX Revision: 1.1, Chipset: Intel X58 + ICH10R, BIOS: 1.0B
RAM3GB DDR3-1333 Corsair CM3X1024-1333C9DHX
HDDSeagate NL35 400GB, ST3400832NS, 7,200 RPM, SATA/150, 8MB Cache
Power SupplyOCZ EliteXstream 800W, OCZ800EXS-EU
Benchmarks
Performance Measurementsh2benchw 3.12PCMark Vantage 1.0
I/O PerformanceIOMeter 2006.07.27Fileserver-BenchmarkWebserver-BenchmarkDatabase-BenchmarkWorkstation-BenchmarkStreaming ReadsStreaming Writes
System Software And Drivers
DriverDetails
Operating SystemWindows Vista Ultimate SP1
Intel ChipsetChipset Installation Utility 9.1.0.1007
AMD GraphicsRadeon 8.12
Intel Matrix Storage8.7.0.1007
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ManufacturerToshibaToshibaToshiba
ModelMBF2600RC SeriesMBF2600RC SeriesMBF2600RC Series
Model numberMBF2300RCMBF2450RCMBF2600RC
Form Factor2.5"2.5"2.5"
Capacity300GB450GB600GB
Spindle Speed10,000 RPM10,000 RPM10,000 RPM
Other Capacities450GB, 600GB300GB, 600GB300GB, 450GB
Platters233
Cache16MB16MB16MB
TCQ/NCQYesYesYes
InterfaceSAS 6Gb/sSAS 6Gb/sSAS 6Gb/s
Surface Temperature54°C58°C58°C
Specified Operating Temperature0-55°C0-55°C0-55°C
Specified Idle Power4.5W4.5W4.5W
Measured idle Power3.0W3.5W3.5W
Operating Shock (2 ms, read)100 G (1ms)100 G (1ms)100 G (1ms)
Warranty5 years5 years5 years