View Full Version : Raptor Performance HDTach
JLK03F150
03-19-07, 06:39 PM
I just installed a couple of 36Gb raptors in raid 0 using my AI7's 82801ER (ICH5R) sata I contoller. Looking at HDTach, I'm doing better than sata 150 (which is a good thing) but the graph is very spikey. Is that normal? My ide drives I've tested have a much smoother curve.
Thx
actually the 150 I had and the 74 16mb cache I have both did 78+ and about 8.5 random access single drives.
something is wrong there you should be atleast 115 I would say
could be the ICH5R itself. or the drivers for it. i am getting a similar pix on two raptors 160 with ICH5R.
wow thats lame your better off without raid on that SB
well, m/b mine is not that bad. i went and took a look at it again. it's 2x160 raptors in raid0 on ICH5R with 64k strap. the first partition is about 100Gb.
JLK03F150
03-19-07, 07:36 PM
I guess I'll check for updated drivers & see what that does. If that doesn't seem to help, maybe I'll start over & use the other raid controller. IDK if that would be a good idea though (Sil3112/Sil3114 VIA).
Oh, and I used the default 128k strap.
shadowdr
03-19-07, 08:56 PM
Could also be a loose sata connection, mine has done that and hangs a little detecting array and I hafta push the cables back in good.
nd4spdbh2
03-19-07, 09:33 PM
in my expierence the ICH5R likes 16k stripe over anything else... every other size you get weird performance and results. i currently have a Abit IC-7g in my server with 2 80gb sata 7200.7 seagates... and i grab right abotu 85MB/s... i also tested my 2 250gb perp segates 7200.10's on the ICH5R with 16kb stripe and pulled 130mb/s
Try 16kb stripe i think you will be presently surprised...
ALTHOUGH make sure you are running the long test... as the short one isnt always accurate.
JLK03F150
03-19-07, 09:52 PM
So if I decide to switch to a 16k strip, I will be starting from scratch with a fresh format & Ein install, correct?
nd4spdbh2
03-19-07, 09:53 PM
So if I decide to switch to a 16k strip, I will be starting from scratch with a fresh format & Ein install, correct?
unfortunatly yes.
JLK03F150
03-19-07, 11:12 PM
Well, I just installed Win2k this past weekend. The only programs I've installed are DVArchive/Java & Nero 7 (plus all the freaking Windows updates). It shouldn't be too bad starting over. If it runs better it'll be worth it. Thank goodness my Win2k disk is the SP4 version.
Richie13
03-20-07, 07:13 AM
yeah, I agree with Rattle, those numbers match what I'm getting without a RAID configuration and the rig in my Sig. Check your settings very carefully, something isn't right.
Maviryk
03-20-07, 07:18 AM
There is definetely something wrong with that HDtach. I was running a pair of WD360GDs on the ASUS P4C800ED on the ICH5R controller and they were seeing ~114Mb/s consistently (not sure of the stripe size)
JLK03F150
03-22-07, 09:38 PM
Well I reformatted & set the strip to 16k. There's a definite improvement. I still haven't installed the jpg patch to Win2k so no screenie yet. Thx for the 16k advice nd4spdbh2. :)
Burst Speed 190-195MB/s
Random Access 8.8ms
Average Read 99MB/s :)
Now I have to figure out why my ide drive (channel 2 slave) only shows up occasionally.
tuskenraider
03-22-07, 11:29 PM
Is write-back caching enabled? I believe that would be in the Intel Storage Manager Software(?).
RollingThunder
03-23-07, 07:56 AM
Guys,
What's wrong here? This doesn't look right to me.
JLK03F150
03-23-07, 08:04 AM
Is write-back caching enabled? I believe that would be in the Intel Storage Manager Software(?).
I'll check that tonight, thx. :)
Maviryk
03-23-07, 08:05 AM
Guys,
What's wrong here? This doesn't look right to me.
It doesn't?
Looks normal for a single raptor?
RollingThunder
03-23-07, 08:13 AM
It doesn't?
Looks normal for a single raptor?
Mav, thanks. The above picture from JLK got my curiosity up. I've never run HDTach before.
JLK03F150
03-23-07, 04:51 PM
There seems to be a hitch with enabling write-back caching. The option is greyed out. :confused:
tuskenraider
03-23-07, 05:04 PM
Doesn't look like you have the Intel Application Accelerator RAID Edition or Intel Matrix RAID Storage Manager installed? If not, that's what you'll need to do to get the option I believe.
JLK03F150
03-23-07, 05:20 PM
It's installed & I found the option in there. It was already enabled.
Volume 0
Status: Normal
System Volume: Yes
Write Cache Enabled: Yes
RAID Level: RAID 0 (striping)
Strip Size: 16 KB
Size: 69 GB
Number of Hard Drives: 2
Hard Drive Member 1: WDC WD360GD-00FNA0
Hard Drive Member 2: WDC WD360GD-00FNA0
Parent Array: Array 0
Does the GD make a difference? Isn't there a later, faster version? If so, I'm probably fine with the performance. I disabled write-back caching and it didn't make much difference at all with a HDTach run. I've enabled it again. It's been very consistant with the following...
Burst Speed: 190-195 MB/s
Random Access: 8.8 ms
Average Read: 99 MB/s
Airbornederekc
03-23-07, 05:48 PM
Hey.
if you really want to test stripe size performace without having to reload your os you can use ghost to image the drive onto another and then just change the stripe size and load the image back to the new array. saves alot of time from reloading.
tuskenraider
03-23-07, 05:49 PM
Does the GD make a difference? Isn't there a later, faster version? Yes, the new version is ADFD. Either way, your results don't look bad, but usually you see the old 36GB drives at 110-115MB/s range in RAID0, so that was why I mentioned the write-back cache may not be enabled. It can cause a performance drop in STR's in the 10-20MB/s range depending on the setup. Looks like your drives are setup the best they can be for you, so just enjoy them.
JLK03F150
03-23-07, 06:04 PM
Ghosting would have been nice, but I didn't have much installed anyway. I will keep that in mind if I need to make a change after I have more invested in the install. Thx for the tip.
I'm happy with them now. Even if I got them from 99 to 110, I wouldn't notice the difference anyway. There is a noticable difference on the average read time from the 128k strip to the 16k strip though. Glad I did that.
Thanks to all for the help guys. :)
milano_chris
03-24-07, 09:38 AM
This is my result. 2 X 36GB Raptors in RAID 0. Is that normal with them spikes?
tuskenraider
03-25-07, 09:04 PM
The graph isn't normal, but not because of the spikes, but because the graph is flat, meaning that something is hindering the performance. It should look like a nice taper from left to right like RollingThunder's graph up above. I'd check to make sure write-caching is enabled and NCQ is disabled for the RAID controller/drives.
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