This drive isn't too different from WD2500SD 250 GB SATA drive, the other WD SATA drive we've reviewed. It's also a 250 GB with 7200 rpm speed, 8 MB buffer and 2 ms track to track seek time. In terms of raw throughputs, this was only a hair lower than the WD SATA drive and higher than Maxtor and Seagate's SATA offerings. In real-world transfer rates (business and high-end disk winmarks), it scored average compared to Seagate and Maxtor, but slightly higher than the other WD drive we tested. While it gave a lower score in the Business Disk Winmark, its high-end disk winmark scores were slightly higher in most apps, making it a better buy for desktop usage. It comes with secure connect feature in its SATA cable, allowing fastening of SATA cable more securely.
Winbench 99 test results |
||||
Test\Model | WD2500SD | WD2500JD | Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 9 SATA |
Seagate Barracuda, |
SATA | Model ST3160023AS |
|||
Business Disk WinMark 99 | 13500 | 12800 | 18400 | 18000 |
High-End Disk WinMark 99 | 35900 | 36300 | 49300 | 43000 |
AVS/Express 3.4 | 46800 | 34600 | 41100 | 40500 |
FrontPage 98 | 162000 | 165000 | 374000 | 332000 |
MicroStation SE | 27400 | 30400 | 61400 | 60300 |
Photoshop 4.0 | 17900 | 18500 | 18200 | 14900 |
Premiere 4.2 | 27400 | 32000 | 53600 | 44200 |
Soundforge 4.0 | 70400 | 55800 | 105000 | 93400 |
Visual C++ 5.0 | 40900 | 46100 | 63600 | 55500 |
Disk Access Time (Milliseconds) |
13.8 | 13.7 | 13.5 | 12.9 |
Disk CPU Utilization (%) | 95 | 94.9 | x | x |
Start Disk Transfer Rate | 60600 | 60500 | 55000 | 56900 |
End Disk Transfer Rate | 37800 | 37800 | 31600 | 32600 |
The bottom line: A good buy considering its price tag. People who require large storage capacity can use it.
CyberMedia Labs