Shootouts

USB 3.0 1TB Portable (2.5-inch) HDD Shootout

By James Lu - 27 Feb 2012

Results - HD Tune Pro 5.0 Read Performance & Random Average Speed

HD Tune Pro 5.0 Read Performance

This benchmark is similar to CrystalDiskMark, testing a hard drive’s performance in sequential read tasks with large blocks of data. Again, the MiniStation Extreme was the clear winner here.

HD Tune Pro 5.0 Random Average Read Speed

This benchmark tests the random average read speed of small data files, up to a maximum of 1MB. This simulates transferring many small files. Here, the Canvio 3.0 Plus narrowly beat out the other drives, but both the Apollo Expert M250 and MiniStation Extreme were within 1 MB/s of it.

These results probably indicate why the Toshiba Canvio also fared better in the PCMark 7 which would draw upon characteristics most often seen in random average read performance as the benchmark mimics real-world scenarios. However, most external drives are used as raw backup dump drives where a files are written en masse from the main system. As such, while the random average speed in this benchmarks and PCMark 7 give credit to the drive's raw capabilities, it's not how it's used in most cases. If however you're the sort who keeps the external drive plugged in at all times and use it to launch programs and other tasks that make the external drive work like an internal drive, these results then become your primary concern.

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