Hard drive testing ,SATA 7200 drive using a IDE/sata adapter VS the SamsungHM160HC

There is an ongoing thread on the sata adapters here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/503103-problem-ssd-cooldrive-ide-sata-adapter.html

I would like someone to test the 7200rpm sata drive + adapter and compare with my ide 5400 Samsung
I am wondering if the sata drive is superior or if the limitation of the ide interface and the adapter hinders performance
The ebay seller from canada stated that he has tested different brands and some have slow throughput
The savings of a few dollars here means nothing if you not only loose some shock absorbing properties and you have reduced performance

Note:
There is a reason
Rick ,Teo and myself have never used the adapter in a laptop we sell

 

Alex , I have a 1.6 MK5 with 1.5GB memory with a Hitachi 120GB 7200RPM HDD with the Cooldrive SATA. It takes 45 seconds to startup. My 1.4 MK3 has 1.5GB memory and a newer Samsung 160GB 5400RPM HDD and it takes 64 seconds to startup. To just get to the XP splash screen 39 seconds and 54 seconds.
Since I was using this in my shop and never left the desk I never really worried about the lack of foam padding in the caddy BUT I can tell I did this mod to my MK3 which I take back and forth to my camp and it was a big problem. You had to handle it very carefully.....unless you want HDD error.
Yes THIS is the why....

If you guys want to do this mod I have the perfect logo for your lid

 

Run HD tune pro on the sata unit please
I will check my c-29 Mk-4 and look
My mk-4 should compare with your mk-5
45 seconds from power button on to where I open up IE, thats fast but it is a fresh load from the resore disks with no anivirus etc , using the Samsung
HD tune Benchmark on the Samsung
52.9MB/s Average transfer rate
18.3 ms Access time
80.0 MB/s Burst rate
CPU usage 3.7%

I think a 7200 drive should beat my scores in the access time
I ran the test twice , defragmented hard drive for the second pass , and Burst rate increased 5MB/s

 

Is this what you want to see

 

You beat me only slightly in the access time
My transfer rate and cpu utilization are so much better
33.9 for you in throughput and 52.9 on mine

Startup programs and software loaded will not change these results but a defragmentation will , so deframent and retest

I am going to run the test on my 250GB seagate 7200 in my CF-30 and check what the full sata is capable of

 

I am running defrag now but will have to get back to you on the test. Its been a while since I run it . Just run the test on my 30

 

Here is my CF-30 sata test
Its best to defrag your cf-29 , that way its a fair comparison

You beat me in access time on the the cf-30 test
My drive has the shock sensor and that might have an effect

 

After defrag.
39.1 MB/s Average tranfer rate
15.8 Access time
57.6 MB/s Burst rate
3.4% CPU usage

I run this test twice and was much the same

 

Yours
39.1 MB/s Average transfer rate
15.8 Access time
57.6 MB/s Burst rate
3.4% CPU usage
Mine
52.9MB/s Average transfer rate
18.3 ms Access time
80.0 MB/s Burst rate
CPU usage 3.7%

Lesson learned here is that the IDE bus is capable of good throughput , but the adapter is holding it back

Over 30% better transfer speed on the samsung
And your access time beats my Samsung by 15% , and I expected a small increase as your drive is a 7200

All the adapter's might loose something , or maybe some are better than others?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...worlds-fastest-ata-ide-mobile-hard-drive.html

I will stick with my Samsung drives until the production stops and they are not available new

 

This would be good to have in mnementh's F.A.Q.

I have 3 of these drives and never had a problem with them. 2 in my 51's and one in my 29 MK3.

 

Yes , at least you drive is reliable
Could you retime your start up
Start when you hit the power on , and open a folder on your desktop end

I rechecked my boot time and get 47 sec when acrobat opens

 

Alex , 48 seconds from start to open folder

So really this SATA mod does nothing, stick with a good Samsung drive. you are just as well off. I picked up mine in the $40.00 range

 

We will call the boot times which are good by the way, equal between the 7200 sata and the 5400 Samsung

 

This good to know! I was thinking about the adapter but now? I don't think so. The better IDE is the better way to go.

 

I am taking out my adapter and putting it back to the way it was. It did work good but had to handle it like my Dull XPS.......very carefully .

 

Lol..Blair! Sorry, man! to dissapointed you but thats the truth about it. If they(the manufacturer) can redesign it the way the two connector is on both side of the adapter it will be fine coz there is no need to take out any on the hdd caddy of the CF-29.


ohlip

 

I would like more feedback though from others that might be using a different sata/ide adapter , as this compairison was with only one of the many adapters out there
Btw the tests run on the sata drives in our cf-30's show that the sata is a good drive , it's the adapters that are the problem
And Blair what is your adapter part #

 

I got it from Cooldrives . Not sure about the part #. Will look when I get off tonight.

 

Well Tomcat,
I knew I put a Samsung in this CF-51 when I got it, but forgot what size it was. After looking around a bit I decided I'd better see what I've got. It is a HM160HC! Fell into that on pure dumb luck! JohnP

 

Well I tested my very capable Hitachi 60GB 5400 IDE drive that I have in my CF-72
These drives are common in later toughbooks that use an IDE interface
32.6 MB/s Average transfer rate
19.0 Access time

In comparison to yours

39.1 MB/s Average transfer rate
15.8 Access time


So in this test the sata 7200 drive and ide adapter is quite an improvement over the standard type drive that the mk-4 or mk-5 is shipped with

 

too bad there isn't either a quality version of that product, or a $7 one to tinker with, DealExtreme: $6.80 2.5" 44 Pin Female IDE to SATA Male Fast Chips Adapter I think this one works the other way around. They did strange things for a little while using those PATA bridges on laptops awhile back, while using a SATA chipset. It's too bad there isn't some way to mod them easily and use a SATA drive with the native chipset....

 

Buy a different one than Blair was using if you want to try it out
We have proved it was too slow
We have only benchmarked that one adapter , and I am curious if there is a better available

For those of you that like the idea of large storage , there are external hard drives available that interface using usb 2

 

You could try this one. I have had success using it in CF 50's. One CF50 was shipped from PA to Colorado by USPS and worked fine upon arrival.

SATA to IDE

I have tried the following one also and can confirm that I had issues with it. Sometimes it recognized the drive other times it did not. I tried reflowing the solder with no luck. Oddly if I laid the drive out of the CF50 it would boot fine. If I put it in place or put ANY tension on the board, it failed. I put the previous adapter in the same CF50 and it works fine. I wonder if it is a chipset issue or just a quality issue with the JM20330 boards?

SATA to IDE NO WORKY

 

Would you get roughly the same drive speed/power usage/ruggedness results from a larger MB version of Samung's HM160HC? Any limit on how much larger you could go (in a XP/Sp3 Mk5 CF-29)?

 

I believe the HM160 is the largest of the single disk drives and that the speed will fall off on the drives with multiple disks.
CAP

 

Cap is right, if you start adding larger drives to a 29 you are going to slow it down. When I was using my 29 I never had more than 40GB on the HDD (Samsung 160GB), the rest I kept on a external drive...movies , music and a few games. When I had all this on one drive it slowed it down by at least 30%.

 

@ Kardan

WESTERN DIGITAL make up to a 320GB 2.5 IDE drive that is still available new, Toughbook Rick has used them, if you really want a high capacity drive

It will not have the same performance as the 160GB Samsung , but will exceed the performance of the adapter using a sata drive

Plus you keep the reliability

 

Or you could keep your nice fast drive for OS & programs, and keep all your data on up to a 1TB (at last check) drive w/SATA to PATA adapter installed in one of these:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/471261-2nd-hdd-caddy-dvd-bay-sata-pata.html

mnem
Hard. Drive.