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The PCI-E Solution:
Next we have Vantec's PCI Express solution. This card is nearly
identical to the PCI version with an internal SATA port, but instead of
using a PCI slot, this one uses one of the short PCI Express slots on
your motherboard. This card should help answer the question everyone has
been asking since the new PCI-E motherboards came out; what the heck are
those short PCI-E slots for on my motherboard??? Now you know...
Specifications:
-
Interface:
x1 PCI EXPRESS
-
Connections: 1x Internal SATA port - 1x External SATA (eSATA) port
-
Dimension:
90mm x 56mm x 12mm (Not including mounting plate)
-
Pentium or
equivalent PC with one available PCI- E slot
-
Windows
98SE/NT4.0/ME/2000/XP
Test
System:
|
Motherboard |
Abit AW8D
Crossfire |
|
CPU |
Intel Pentium D
940 |
|
Video |
Connect3D X1900
XTX |
|
Memory |
2 x 1 GB Kit of
OCZ PC2 5400 |
|
Power Supply |
NZXT 650 Watt
Precise Power supply |
|
Storage |
250GB Hitachi
Deskstar, 7200RPM, 8MB Cache, Hard Drive
500GB
Seagate, 7200 RPM, 16MB Cache, External Hard Drive |
|
OS |
Windows XP SP2 |
Test Drives:
Out of Box Experience:
This device is easy to install
using Windows, just insert the disk and let Windows find the drivers
Automatically.
Testing:
For
testing we used HD Tach 3.0.1.0 which is available in a freeware version
here. First we tested using the Motherboard controller and the
Hitachi. All tests were performed using the Quick Test which uses 8mb
zones.
Then we plugged into the Vantec to
test the same drive.
When Testing this drive, we
discover the Vantec card is doing a little better than the onboard SATA
controller, increasing average read by.7 MB/s while random access goes
down by 25.3 ms. Also Burst speed is increased by 9.2 MB/s. Next
we tested the external eSATA Seagate drive.
It looks
like the eSATA did not fair quite as well as the internal. Burst speed
was down by 2.3 MB/s, CPU utilization took an increase of 14% (plus or
minus 2%). But the average read only took a 2 MB\s increase.
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