When I approached comparing the hard drives, I realized early on that synthetic benchmarking just wouldn't work. So I devised a few real world copy/move tests to really give these hard drives a fair chance against each other. I simulated an installation of Windows 95 Service Release 2 (the copying part) by transferring a collection of files totaling 79.4MB, 81,305.6KB, or 8,325,6934.4 Bytes (a megabyte in this case is equal to 210 kilobytes or 1024KB). I tested each hard drive's ability to transfer files from one partition to another, simulating simultaneous read/writes, as well as the ability to transfer from one hard drive to another.
Test Configuration
| Processor(s): | Intel Pentium II - 300 |
| BIOS Revision: | Megatrends FX83-A |
| RAM: | 2 - 32MB 50ns Micron EDO |
| Hard Drive(s): | Quantum Atlas II
XP34550 Quantum Fireball ST 3.2A Western Digital Caviar AC21600H |
| Busmaster EIDE Drivers: | Intel v3.01 |
| OS: | Windows 95 Service Release 2 |
| Cooling Configuration: | Enlight 7230
Mid-Tower ATX Case 2 - Secondary Brushless Case Fans OEM Pentium II Heatsink |
Quantum Fireball ST Performance w/ Ultra33
| Score (lower is better) using UltraTune | ||||
| Test | Business | Desktop Publishing/CAD | A/V Editing | Games |
| Move Test File from Partition 1 to Partition 2: | 28.26s | 29.63s | 39.08s | 35.72s |
| Move Test File from Partition 2 to Partition 1: | 30.15s | 31.26s | 31.11s | 29.94s |
| Move Test File from Fireball ST to EIDE Test Drive: | 31.09s | 31.37s | 29.37s | 32.71s |
| Move Test File from EIDE Test Drive to Fireball ST: | 24.98s | 25.13s | 21.00s | 24.70s |
| Move Test File from Fireball ST to Atlas II: | 13.24s | 18.17s | 16.14s | 15.56s |
| Move Test File from Atlas II to Fireball ST: | 23.38s | 24.97s | 18.07s | 24.70s |
| Load Time for Microsoft Frontpage 97 Editor: | 10.07s | 9.93s | 11.42s | 11.15s |
| Load Time for Microsoft Word 97: | 2.71s | 3.02s | 4.82s | 3.05s |
| Best Scores in Green, Worst Scores in Red | ||||
The above chart shows you the effects of the different settings UltraTune gives you with the Ultra33 Controller card and your hard drive. The Business Application setting is by far the best and fastest setting, however for the best possible read/write performance you will want to use the A/V Editing setting. As you might be able to tell be both of these charts, the Promise Ultra33 controller sped up performance with the Quantum Fireball ST a small amount over that of the TX based motherboard with the exact same hard drive!
Quantum Fireball ST Performance w/o Ultra33
| Test | Score (lower is better) |
| Move Test File from Partition 1 to Partition 2: | 30.08s |
| Move Test File from Partition 2 to Partition 1: | 31.25s |
| Move Test File from Fireball ST to EIDE Test Drive: | 34.98s |
| Move Test File from EIDE Test Drive to Fireball ST: | 24.55s |
The Ultra33 combined with the Quantum Fireball ST is an unbeatable team, and approaches SCSI performance closer than any other hard drive. It is definitely worth the extra $70, the perfect addition to any powerhouse system.
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