Benchmarking: Seagate PH 8GB, Ultra2, SD cards..

[unseen]

Right.. I did a small test of the following Cards...
Was rather interested to see how they hold up..

1. Seagate 8GB MD
2. Sandisk Ultra 2 1GB
3. SD to CF2 converter with el cheapo "high speed" 1GB SD
4. the "high speed" SD 1GB above
5. KingMax platinum 1GB SD

Done with SiSoftware Sandra benchmarking program. Tested using a USB2.0 Card reader.
Notice, this bench mark are not to be taken as an absolute.

Benchmark Results

256kB Files Test
Read Performance : 1823 operation(s)/min (7778 kB/sec, 44x)
Write Performance : 221 operation(s)/min (943 kB/sec, 5x)
Delete Performance : 417 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 519 operation(s)/min

Read Performance : 1905 operation(s)/min (8128 kB/sec, 46x)
Write Performance : 1090 operation(s)/min (4651 kB/sec, 26x)
Delete Performance : 3013 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 1604 operation(s)/min

Read Performance : 1054 operation(s)/min (4497 kB/sec, 25x)
Write Performance : 244 operation(s)/min (1041 kB/sec, 5x)
Delete Performance : 2118 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 541 operation(s)/min

Read Performance : 1634 operation(s)/min (6972 kB/sec, 39x)
Write Performance : 470 operation(s)/min (2005 kB/sec, 11x)
Delete Performance : 3026 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 963 operation(s)/min


Read Performance : 1706 operation(s)/min (7279 kB/sec, 41x)
Write Performance : 855 operation(s)/min (3648 kB/sec, 20x)
Delete Performance : 5279 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 1386 operation(s)/min

Comments -
The MD is slow with writing, but read speed is on par with the leader - ultra 2 card. The cheap SD car holds up ok. Mind you, it's at half the price of the ultra 2. The SD-CFII converter definitely slows down operation..
Note - MD delete operations are painfully slow. I think it's due to the drive actually wiping the data instead of clearing the fat32 table. Note how fast the solid state cards are..
Note - This is for a 256kb file. too small for most photographers though.



2MB Files Test
Read Performance : 247 operation(s)/min (8431 kB/sec, 47x)
Write Performance : 36 operation(s)/min (1229 kB/sec, 6x)
Delete Performance : 345 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 90 operation(s)/min

Read Performance : 247 operation(s)/min (8431 kB/sec, 47x)
Write Performance : 123 operation(s)/min (4198 kB/sec, 23x)
Delete Performance : 1905 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 203 operation(s)/min

Read Performance : 135 operation(s)/min (4608 kB/sec, 26x)
Write Performance : 46 operation(s)/min (1570 kB/sec, 8x)
Delete Performance : 2861 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 90 operation(s)/min

Read Performance : 212 operation(s)/min (7236 kB/sec, 41x)
Write Performance : 71 operation(s)/min (2423 kB/sec, 13x)
Delete Performance : 4409 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 141 operation(s)/min

Read Performance : 237 operation(s)/min (8090 kB/sec, 45x)
Write Performance : 164 operation(s)/min (5598 kB/sec, 31x)
Delete Performance : 5318 operation(s)/min
File Fragments : 1.0
Combined Index : 229 operation(s)/min

Comments - Well.. Amazing that the more expensive Ultra 2 card got it's ass whopped by the cheaper Kingmax Platnium. Too bad I don't have it to test, given the performance, it's possible that the write speed will still be faster than the ultra 2 card even when used in a converter. the MD is slow in writing still.. Read speed is no slouch though.

Well, provide a bit more here for your info..
Endurance Benchmark Breakdown
Repeated Sector ReWrite : 448 kB/s
Sequential Sector Write : 299 kB/s
Random Sector Write : 10 kB/s

Repeated Sector ReWrite : 147 kB/s
Sequential Sector Write : 386 kB/s
Random Sector Write : 10 kB/s

Repeated Sector ReWrite : 125 kB/s
Sequential Sector Write : 109 kB/s
Random Sector Write : 3 kB/s

Repeated Sector ReWrite : 117 kB/s
Sequential Sector Write : 142 kB/s
Random Sector Write : 3 kB/s

Repeated Sector ReWrite : 314 kB/s
Sequential Sector Write : 382 kB/s
Random Sector Write : 6 kB/s


Final comments.. From what I rememberd, when i tested a normal kingston CF card, it gave me write speed performances equal, if not worse than the MD. Read speed of the MD is not bad, close to the specs given.. Ultra 2 is way BELOW the specs given. the SD-CFII converter eats speed, but it's not THAT bad. Kingmax Platinium SD card rocks the socks off everyone else.

Of course, they're all fine for photo taking, as long as you don't burst.. with the MD I can burst 6 shots in raw, with Ultra2 about 7 (using a 350D). But hey, the 1gb ultra2 is about 1/2 to 2/3 the price of a 8gb md..


edit
LOL Right.. to show how bored I was.. here are two sound captures of my 350D doing burst
the Seagate MD
the Ultra 2 card

Method:
take hold the shutter down for 10 RAW shots.
stop recording when the busy light goes off. (accounts for the silence at the end)
Feel free to draw whatever conclusions you want. If someone can lend me a few other types of cards, can test more.. but.. is there a need?

 

[zcf]

Thanks for sharing the result. Interesting to know that, a bit dissappointed on the MD write speed, but it's still cheap, good for non-burst shoot.

 

[n0d3]

http://bobatkins.photo.net/photography/seagate_8gb.html

http://www.rojakpot.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=293&pgno=1

 

[n0d3]

The test results at Page 5: http://www.rojakpot.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=293&pgno=5

 

[unseen]

heh 1 day i'll go write a proggie to test and benchmark copying 100mb of raws in and out, to better reflect the situation for photographers.. I know it doesn't tally with the Rojakpot's results.
I think perhaps 2mb is too small to make use of the cache, thus perhaps slower? Anyway this is a synthetic benchmark. May not reflect real world performances..

As mentioned, take it with a pinch of salt..

Another aim is also to test the SD-CFII converter that I've been using.

But all in all, I'm not out to diss the drive, it's actual results that I have obtained, which is not TOO far from my experience shooting raw in burst mode with my 350D.

 

[Hexlord]

Sorry ah, unseen.. is the Ultra II a SD or CF card?

 

[unseen]

Hexlord => CF

 

[Triton]

thought i share a little test i did recently...
The reader is the Kingston FCR-HS215

 

[Canew]

Triton,

Thanks for doing the benchmarking. Wow! It looks like the Seagate's Microdrive has a very high read/write speed eh!

 

[espn]

Triton,

Thanks for doing the benchmarking. Wow! It looks like the Seagate's Microdrive has a very high read/write speed eh!

Look carefully, look at the x-axis numbers.

 

[Triton]

Yes the scales are different for the charts. Of course cannot compare to higher-end flash memory but "price-per-megabyte", the Seagate is still a pretty decent product. So far using 2 pieces of the 8Gb and have not lost any image. I accidentally dropped one of them on the floor from a height of about a metre and it still works. As long no power is supplied to it, such a drop is actually quite harmless. Once power is not supplied to its circuitry, the head is parked automatically.

 

[Canew]

Look carefully, look at the x-axis numbers.

Ah! My mistake. Thanks for pointing it out. :sweat:

 

[elcap]

Just Curious, what software did you use to test the cards?

 

[Triton]

ATTO Disc Benchmark. google it.