The value of 7200 RPM vs RPM disk drives for the desktop

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1 The value of 7200 RPM vs RPM disk drives for the desktop IBM recently tested the relative performance of its 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM Deskstar* disk drives to see what effect the higher speed of rotation would have on performance as seen by end users. The results show, on average, more than a 15 percent improvement in performance when measured by the WinBench Business Disk WinMark 99 benchmark. With only a minimal cost increment over the 5400 RPM disk drives, these 7200 RPM disk drives can have a large impact on user productivity.

2 Today, personal computers are being used for many more applications than ever before. These applications are becoming more and more sophisticated, as software vendors add more features to their products. Likewise, the workload demand on PCs is growing, while users continue to want to get more done in a shorter amount of time on their computers. As a result, many users are looking for cost-effective ways to improve the performance of their PCs. Users and manufacturers often focus on processor performance the more megahertz (MHz) the better. But there are other key components that greatly influence how fast applications run. The disk drive is one of the most influential. This is particularly true today, when operating systems and many new applications, such as Internet access and digital content creation, are storage-intensive. Disk drive rotational speed (revolutions per minute, or RPM) is a key factor in selecting a disk drive. New 7200 RPM disk drives, such as the IBM Deskstar GXP series, are now very cost-effective for desktop use. The disks in these drives spin faster than traditional 5400 RPM drives, improving performance dramatically. Just how much faster are these drives, and how will they improve performance seen by users? IBM did some testing and the results show, on average, more than a 15 percent improvement in performance. The proof is in the testing To quantify the benefits of 7200 RPM disk drives over 5400 RPM drives, IBM measured the performance of a typical PC running an industry-standard benchmark using both 7200 RPM and 5400 RPM disk drives. WinBench 99 is a widely used benchmark from Ziff-Davis (publisher of PC Magazine, PC Week, and PC Computing magazines). This benchmark includes tests to measure the performance of PC subsystems such as graphics, disk drive, processor and video. The benchmark tests can be run in Windows** 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT** environments. The WinBench Business Disk WinMark 99 test was used in the testing described in this paper. (For more information, visit The WinBench Business Disk WinMark 99 test addresses the needs of users who spend their time working with word processors, databases, and spreadsheets, as well as navigating the Web. This test runs Corel, Lotus**, and Microsoft** applications, as well as Netscape Navigator. As shown in Figure 1, the WinBench Business Disk WinMark 99 ran an average of 15 percent faster on a 450 MHz system with a 7200 RPM drive compared to a 5400 RPM drive for the same systems. Over the course of a day, the faster performing 7200 RPM drives can enhance System configuration: 450 MHz Pentium II processor with 64 MB ECC SDRAM, 512 KB cache, and Windows 98. Disk drive with UDMA interface, 10 GB of storage, and FAT32 format. Figure 1: WinBench Business Disk WinMark 99 score for a 7200 RPM disk drive compared to a 5400 RPM drive. user productivity and help users work more quickly. How important to PC performance is a faster hard disk compared to a faster processor? To test this, IBM ran two tests. The 2 RPM

3 5 sec. faster Two system configurations: 350 MHz Pentium II processor with 64 MB ECC SDRAM, 512 KB cache, Windows 98, and a 7200 RPM disk drive with UDMA interface, 10 GB of storage, and FAT32 format; 450 MHz Pentium II processor with 64 MB ECC SDRAM, 512 KB cache, Windows 98, and a 5400 RPM disk drive with UDMA interface, 10 GB of storage, and FAT32 format Figure 2: Boot time comparison between 7200 RPM disk drive and 5400 RPM disk drive. The 7200 RPM can boot five seconds faster. Two system configurations: 350 MHz Pentium II processor with 64 MB ECC SDRAM, 512 KB cache, Windows 98, and a 7200 RPM disk drive with UDMA interface, 10 GB of storage, and FAT32 format; 450 MHz Pentium II processor with 64 MB ECC SDRAM, 512 KB cache, Windows 98, and a 5400 RPM disk drive with UDMA interface, 10 GB of storage, and FAT32 format Figure 3: WinBench Business Disk WinMark 99 performance comparison between 7200 RPM disk drive and 5400 RPM disk drive. first test measured the time to boot two system configurations: one system had a 5400 RPM hard drive and a 450 MHz processor; the other system had a 7200 RPM hard drive with a 350 MHz processor. Otherwise, the configurations were identical. The results are shown in Figure 2. The system with the 7200 RPM hard drive and slower processor can boot up to five seconds faster. In another test, IBM ran the WinBench Business Disk WinMark 99 test on the same two systems. As shown in Figure 3, the 7200 RPM, 350 MHz system scored 11 percent better than the system with a 5400 RPM disk drive and 450 MHz processor. These two tests show how important disk drive performance can be: In these cases, it was much more important than the 100 MHz difference in processor speed. Thus, to gain the most performance from a desktop system, it is very important to use the fastest hard disk drive possible. IBM Deskstar hard disk drives lead the way in performance and capacity Desktop users have a wide selection of disk drives from which to choose. But the IBM Deskstar disk drives stand out among the others in terms of performance, capacity, and reliability. IBM Deskstar disk drives consistently lead the industry in terms of performance, as measured by benchmarks such as those shown in this paper. The IBM Deskstar family includes some of the world s highest capacity desktop disk drives. IBM led the industry by introducing the first 7200 RPM hard drives with giant magnetoresistive (GMR) head technology in December This breakthrough is one of the technologies that enables IBM Deskstar disk drives to lead the industry in both performance and capacity. IBM Deskstar drives also have won numerous awards worldwide and have enabled many systems manufacturers to win awards for their systems. 3

4 PC Computing, MVP, November 1998 (IBM Deskstar 22GXP) PC Magazine, Online Technical Excellence, November 1998 Maximum PC, Maximum Award, November 1998 PC World, Product of the Year, November 1998 PC Computing, Perfect Five-Stars, July 1998 PC Magazine, Technical Excellence, July 1998 IBM delivers other exclusive technologies in its IBM Deskstar hard drives such as IBM Drive Fitness Test* and IBM TrueTrack* Servo: Drive Fitn tness s Test is an IBM technology that can significantly reduce the disruption to a user when a hard disk drive is suspected to have a problem. It also can help minimize the expense associated with hard drive replacements. Using a PC program, the user can access special software in the IBM Deskstar hard disk drive to quickly determine whether or not the hard drive is actually defective. Tru ruet etrack Serv rvo is a patented IBM servo technology that reduces self-induced vibration from faster spinning drives. This servo technology adapts to vibration and disk shift over time, dramatically increasing the reliability of the hard drive. The ultimate IBM Deskstar advantage is user productivity The performance benefits of higher RPM disk drives can be quite significant for desktop users with more than a 15 percent improvement (on average) compared to 5400 RPM disk drives as demonstrated by the results described in this paper. With IBM being the leader in desktop disk drive performance, capacity, and reliability, IBM Deskstar hard disk drives are an excellent choice for the demands of today s applications. For a more technical discussion about the benefits of 7200 RPM disk drives, please see the white paper titled, Hard Drive Performance: 7200 RPM Versus 5400 RPM AT Interface Disk Drives (G ). 4 RPM

5 For more information Internet and IBM hard disk drive product information: IBM-5214 (United States) (outside of the United States) International Business Machines Corporation 1999 IBM Storage Systems Division 5600 Cottle Road San Jose, CA Produced in the United States 6/99 All Rights Reserved * IBM is a registered trademark and Deskstar, Drive Fitness Test, and TrueTrack are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. ** Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Lotus is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. References in this publication to IBM products, programs, or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. Product description data represents design objectives and is provided for comparative purposes; actual results may vary depending on a variety of factors. Product claims are true as of the date of the first printing. This product data does not constitute a warranty. Questions regarding IBM warranty terms or the methodology used to derive this data should be referred to an IBM representative. Data subject to change without notice. 5