Samsung Spinpoint HD203WI 2TB HDD review - HDD Performance HD Tach 3.0.4.0

HD Tach 3.0.4.0

HD Tach is a physical performance hard drive test that uses a special kernel mode VXD to get maximum accuracy by bypassing the file system.

The HD Tach sequential read test is a little bit different from other benchmarks. Most benchmarks create a file on the hard drive and test within that file. The problem is that modern hard drives use a zone bit recording technique that allows different read speeds depending on where the data is located. Data on the outside of the drive is much faster than data recorded on the inside.

This rate depends on the track location, so it will be higher for data on the outer tracks (where there are more data sectors) and lower toward the inner tracks (where there are fewer data sectors).

Overall we see roughly 93 MB/sec performance, which is substantial and perfectly fine.

When we look at write performance we still get close to 75 MB/sec in this test, that's decent perf for a product like this. And sure, we test SSDs mostly, so that does make any HDD a bit of a stranger in these charts :)