HD benching very low

Dom · Sep 10, 2003, 03:15 PM

My WesternDigital SE 120Gb drive is benching low in SiSoft Sandra 03 and in PCMark 02...in Sandra it scored half that of which it should and in PCMark 02 it scored a grotesque 800.

I am assuming it is some setting doing it, but I don't know which.

Any ideas?

Warpy · Sep 10, 2003, 03:26 PM

I have the same probelm and my HDD is the same.

UberLord · Sep 10, 2003, 03:28 PM

WyreTheWolf had a similar problem with some Maxtor SCSI disks. Real world performance showed the benchies were invalid

I would take HDD benchies with a grain of salt - moreso than GPU benchies.

Shadow Lady · Sep 10, 2003, 03:39 PM

well, benchies for system, are different from benchmarks for gaming, I trust them all time as they tell me the truth, and I havent see anyway to cheat on 'em

JavaFox · Sep 10, 2003, 04:04 PM

Dom, did you install nVidia's IDE drivers?

If so, you shouldn't have...

Dom · Sep 10, 2003, 04:07 PM

Nope.

merry · Sep 11, 2003, 09:10 AM

I had trouble with a brand new WD 80GB SE, it proved to be defective. It was VERY slow on some partitions; the DLG util (from WD) showed Raw Read errors on that area, but for some reason the OS didn't mark any bad sectors. They have both DOS and Windows versions of the utilityhere.

Judas · Sep 11, 2003, 09:58 AM

I'm actually getting pretty bad results for Write speeds..... but my Read Speeds are fantastic..... PCMark2002 game my HD's a 700ish score.... Thing is, not to long ago i was getting 1400ish...

Warpy · Sep 11, 2003, 02:39 PM

I did install the nvidia hdd drivers i mean IDE------

Errr what should i have installed? And were do i get em from?!

Zardon · Sep 11, 2003, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mitchelson
I did install the nvidia hdd drivers i mean IDE------

Errr what should i have installed? And were do i get em from?!

the current offical line up of Nvidia IDE nforce2 drivers has been appalling with many problems occurring, if you ever get the option of installing the nvidia IDE drivers for nforce 2, DONT.

whether they sort this out in the future or not, remains to be seen.

Zardon · Sep 11, 2003, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dom
My WesternDigital SE 120Gb drive is benching low in SiSoft Sandra 03 and in PCMark 02...in Sandra it scored half that of which it should and in PCMark 02 it scored a grotesque 800. I am assuming it is some setting doing it, but I don't know which.

Any ideas?

Pcmark is not a particulary great benchmark for harddrives, and when I benched my WD80 gig JBSE drive it would score around 1100 on a fresh install. after a few weeks of installing programs and normal use it would drop to 1000, then down to 900 after a month or longer. This of course could be related to fragmentation, but even when defragmented would remain lower than a fresh install.

Sandra benchies are better for hard drive testing and would remain fairly consistent, what scores did the drive get in Sandra and more importantly how is the drive performing for everyday use? is it slow booting up, slow loading apps?

Incidentally I have 2 of these 120 GIG WD drives in raid and I score around 1800 in pcmark2002 and just under 60k in sandra.

Warpy · Sep 11, 2003, 03:17 PM

So what drivers should i install over the top of my nvidia ones>

~~HawK~~ · Sep 11, 2003, 03:22 PM

Mine (WD800jb 7mnth's old) did when it was new 31600 in SSoft, these day it is around 27000, but still the fastest IDE Hdd i've seen could it be Smart or Acoustic damping is on, on yours?

WildChild · Sep 11, 2003, 04:39 PM

I actually havent had a problem with the ide drivers from nvidia....seems some system devices dont like em others work fine with em

Dom · Sep 12, 2003, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zardon
Pcmark is not a particulary great benchmark for harddrives, and when I benched my WD80 gig JBSE drive it would score around 1100 on a fresh install. after a few weeks of installing programs and normal use it would drop to 1000, then down to 900 after a month or longer. This of course could be related to fragmentation, but even when defragmented would remain lower than a fresh install.

Sandra benchies are better for hard drive testing and would remain fairly consistent, what scores did the drive get in Sandra and more importantly how is the drive performing for everyday use? is it slow booting up, slow loading apps?

Incidentally I have 2 of these 120 GIG WD drives in raid and I score around 1800 in pcmark2002 and just under 60k in sandra.

Everything seems fine other than the benchies...

chissafi · Sep 17, 2003, 05:44 PM

how much cache does it have? 2mb?

FluffyChicken · Sep 17, 2003, 05:58 PM

The cache will have no effect (ok only a liitel) but nothing noticable and certainly not the that degree in Bencmarks)
Grab AIDA32 and use it benchmarks (in the Plugins) they are similar (but work better than) HDTach. Unfortuanatly you'll have nothing to compare with :-( You should be between 50 and 60mb/s at the start of the drive and it should be a relativly smooth drop to the end. (Linear Read)
If you think something is wrong chack these.

In device manager, check your drive is running at the full UDMA speed your board/drive are capable of.
Use the tools at WD site to check the drive.

If all else fails, pop along to www.storagereview.com

Sep 10, 2003, 03:15 PM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	HD benching very low My WesternDigital SE 120Gb drive is benching low in SiSoft Sandra 03 and in PCMark 02...in Sandra it scored half that of which it should and in PCMark 02 it scored a grotesque 800. I am assuming it is some setting doing it, but I don't know which. Any ideas?

Sep 10, 2003, 03:26 PM	#2
Warpy DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 0	I have the same probelm and my HDD is the same. __________________ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Sep 10, 2003, 03:28 PM	#3
UberLord A Legend in Underwear Join Date: May 2002 Location: Unknown Posts: 5,255 Rep Power: 0	WyreTheWolf had a similar problem with some Maxtor SCSI disks. Real world performance showed the benchies were invalid I would take HDD benchies with a grain of salt - moreso than GPU benchies. __________________ Gentoo Linux - Developer (baselayout) Read my blog "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." Stephen Roberts

Sep 10, 2003, 03:39 PM	#4
Shadow Lady Avril Fan Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: somewhere in colombia, okok, bogotá city :p Posts: 1,262 Rep Power: 0	well, benchies for system, are different from benchmarks for gaming, I trust them all time as they tell me the truth, and I havent see anyway to cheat on 'em __________________ Oblivion ftw

Sep 11, 2003, 09:10 AM	#7
merry gargouille Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha Posts: 962 Rep Power: 0	I had trouble with a brand new WD 80GB SE, it proved to be defective. It was VERY slow on some partitions; the DLG util (from WD) showed Raw Read errors on that area, but for some reason the OS didn't mark any bad sectors. They have both DOS and Windows versions of the utilityhere. __________________ There is a war between the ones who say there is a war and the ones who say there isn't. ~~Leonard Cohen

Sep 10, 2003, 04:04 PM	#5
JavaFox E Pluribus Unum Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 3,203 Rep Power: 0	Dom, did you install nVidia's IDE drivers? If so, you shouldn't have...

Sep 10, 2003, 04:07 PM	Thread Starter #6
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	Nope.

Sep 11, 2003, 02:39 PM	#9
Warpy DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 0	I did install the nvidia hdd drivers i mean IDE------ Errr what should i have installed? And were do i get em from?! __________________ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Sep 11, 2003, 03:17 PM	#12
Warpy DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 0	So what drivers should i install over the top of my nvidia ones> __________________ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Sep 11, 2003, 03:22 PM	#13
~~HawK~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,092 Rep Power: 0	Mine (WD800jb 7mnth's old) did when it was new 31600 in SSoft, these day it is around 27000, but still the fastest IDE Hdd i've seen could it be Smart or Acoustic damping is on, on yours?

Sep 11, 2003, 04:39 PM	#14
WildChild I'm Still Watching Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Jersey,U.S.A. Posts: 1,068 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I actually havent had a problem with the ide drivers from nvidia....seems some system devices dont like em others work fine with em __________________ Knowledge is SCARY,Stupidity is REALLY frightening

Sep 17, 2003, 05:44 PM	#16
chissafi DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	how much cache does it have? 2mb?

Sep 17, 2003, 05:58 PM	#17
FluffyChicken DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: England Posts: 320 Rep Power: 0	The cache will have no effect (ok only a liitel) but nothing noticable and certainly not the that degree in Bencmarks) Grab AIDA32 and use it benchmarks (in the Plugins) they are similar (but work better than) HDTach. Unfortuanatly you'll have nothing to compare with :-( You should be between 50 and 60mb/s at the start of the drive and it should be a relativly smooth drop to the end. (Linear Read) If you think something is wrong chack these. In device manager, check your drive is running at the full UDMA speed your board/drive are capable of. Use the tools at WD site to check the drive. If all else fails, pop along to www.storagereview.com __________________ [COLOR=#455b64]Team mauisun.org [/COLOR]