Data performance
We ran the MX-1 through its paces using the HD Tach 3.0.1 synthetic benchmark tool. This allowed us to test the fitted Hitachi 250GiB SATA2 drive through the enclosure's USB and eSATA sockets.
The full test rig specifications are below:
| HEXUS HDD enclosure - test-equipment specification | |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | Intel D975XBX2 |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 |
| CPU cooler | Corsair Nautilus 500 water cooling |
| Memory | 4GiB (4 x 1GiB) Corsair XMS2 DHX PC6400 |
| Graphics card | BFG Tech GeForce 8800 GTS 640MiB |
| Power supply | Tagan 480W |
| Hard drives | 3 x Seagate Barracuda 160GB SATA2 |
| Hard drive (in enclosure) | Hitachi HDT722525DLA380 250GB SATA2 - 8MiB cache, 7,200rpm |
| Optical drive | Pioneer 110 DVD re-writer |
Under USB, the MX-1 returned an average read speed of 33.8MB/sec with a random access time of 13.2ms and a burst speed of 37.5MB/sec. Three runs were performed with all results coming in within 3% of the figures reported here.
Under eSATA, the MX-1 produced an average read of 56MB/sec, random access of 12.7ms and a burst speed of 127.5MB/sec. Again three runs returned figures within 3% of one another.
Of course, these figures will vary according to the drive fitted into the enclosure but we were perfectly happy with the performance of our Hitachi 250GB SATA2 drive within the Antec.
