25 Years of HDD History in Benchmarks
Published: (last update )
Test of 46 Hard Drives. Mostly desktop but also some workstation and server types. This article covers 25 years of HDD development, starting with 1992 classic WD Caviar 80 MB and up to 3 TB Toshiba P300.
Test system
Core 2 Duo E6320 @ 2.8 GHz
Asus P5WDG2 WS Professional (i975X + ICH7R)
4 GB DDR2 800 (5-6-6-18)
Samsung HD080HJ (System drive)
Adaptec 29160 PCI-X SCSI Controller
Enermax 630W
Windows XP SP3
Tested Hard Drives
| # | HDD Type | Capacity | RPM | Interface | Platers / Heads | Cache |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung HD080HJ [80 GB, 7k2] | 80 GB | 7200 | SATA 300 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 2 | Hitachi HDS721680PLA380 [80 GB, 7k2] | 80 GB | 7200 | SATA 300 | 1 / 1 | 8 MB |
| 3 | WD WD800AAJS [80 GB, 7k2] | 80 GB | 7200 | SATA 300 | 1 / 1 | 8 MB |
| 4 | Samsung HD083GJ [80 GB, 7k2] | 80 GB | 7200 | SATA 300 | 1 / 1 | 8 MB |
| 5 | WD WD740ADFD [74 GB, 10k] | 74 GB | 10000 | SATA 150 | 1 / 2 | 16 MB |
| 6 | WD WD3000HLHX [300 GB, 10k] | 300 GB | 10000 | SATA 600 | 1 / 2 | 32 MB |
| 7 | Seagate ST3160812A [160 GB, 7k2] | 160 GB | 7200 | ATA 100 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 8 | Seagate ST320413A [20 GB, 5k4] | 20 GB | 5400 | ATA 100 | 1 / 2 | 512 kB |
| 9 | Seagate ST3160815AS [160 GB, 7k2] | 160 GB | 7200 | SATA 300 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 10 | Seagate ST340810A [40 GB, 5k4] | 40 GB | 5400 | ATA 100 | 1 / 2 | 2 MB |
| 11 | Seagate ST3120026A [120 GB, 7k2] | 120 GB | 7200 | ATA 100 | 2 / 3 | 8 MB |
| 12 | Seagate ST3250823A [250 GB, 7k2] | 250 GB | 7200 | ATA 100 | 2 / 4 | 8 MB |
| 13 | WD WD1600JB [160 GB, 7k2] | 160 GB | 5400 | ATA 100 | ? | 8 MB |
| 14 | Quantum Fireball KA18.2 [18 GB, 7k2] | 18 GB | 7200 | ATA 66 | 4 / 8 | 512 kB |
| 15 | WD WD64AA [6.4 GB, 5k4] | 6.4 GB | 5400 | ATA 66 | ? | 2 MB |
| 16 | Seagate ST38422A [8 GB, 5k4] | 8 GB | 5400 | ATA 66 | 2 / 4 | 512 kB |
| 17 | Conner CP30174E [170 MB, 3k8] | 170 MB | 3833 | ATA PIO 0 | 2 / 4 | 32 kB |
| 18 | Seagate ST318436LW [18 GB, 7k2] | 18 GB | 7200 | SCSI 160 | 3 / 6 | 2 MB |
| 19 | Seagate ST318453LW [18 GB, 15k] | 18 GB | 15000 | SCSI 320 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 20 | Maxtor ATLAS 10K IV [36 GB, 10k] | 36 GB | 10000 | SCSI 320 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 21 | Quantum ATLAS 10K III [36 GB, 10k] | 36 GB | 10000 | SCSI 160 | 2 / 4 | 8 MB |
| 22 | Seagate ST336607LC [36 GB, 10k] | 36 GB | 10000 | SCSI 320 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 23 | Seagate ST336607LC [74 GB, 10k] | 74 GB | 10000 | SCSI 320 | 2 / 4 | 8 MB |
| 24 | IBM Ultrastar 36LZX [36 GB, 10k] | 36 GB | 10000 | SCSI 160 | 6 / 12 | 4 MB |
| 25 | Seagate ST373455LC [36 GB, 15k] | 36 GB | 15000 | SCSI 320 | 1 / 2 | 16 MB |
| 26 | Maxtor Atlas 15K II [36 GB, 15k] | 36 GB | 15000 | SCSI 320 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 27 | Maxtor ATLAS 10K V [74 GB, 10k] | 74 GB | 10000 | SCSI 320 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 28 | Seagate ST34572W [4 GB, 7k2] | 4 GB | 7200 | SCSI 40 | 4 / 8 | 512 kB |
| 29 | IBM IC35L036UWDY10 [36 GB, 10k] | 36 GB | 10000 | SCSI 320 | 2 / 3 | 8 MB |
| 30 | IBM DDRS-39130D [9 GB, 7k2] | 9 GB | 7200 | SCSI 40 | 5 / 10 | 384 kB |
| 31 | IBM DCAS-34330 [4 GB, 5k4] | 4 GB | 5400 | SCSI 20 | 3 / 6 | 448 kB |
| 32 | 4 × RAID-0 Seagate ST318436LW [18 GB, 7k2] | 18 GB | 7200 | SCSI 160 | 3 / 6 | 2 MB |
| 33 | 2 × RAID-0 Maxtor Atlas 15K II [72 GB, 15k] | 72 GB | 15000 | SCSI 320 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 34 | WD WD6400AAKS [640 GB, 7k2] | 640 GB | 7200 | SATA 300 | 2 / 4 | 16 MB |
| 35 | WD WD2500AAKS [250 GB, 7k2] | 250 GB | 7200 | SATA 300 | 1 / 2 | 16 MB |
| 36 | Seagate ST3160812AS [160 GB, 7k2] | 160 GB | 7200 | SATA 150 | 1 / 2 | 8 MB |
| 37 | Maxtor 2R015H1 [15 GB, 5k4] | 15 GB | 5400 | ATA 100 | 1 / 1 | 2 MB |
| 38 | Maxtor 2F040L0 [40 GB, 5k4] | 40 GB | 5400 | ATA 133 | 1 / 1 | 2 MB |
| 39 | Quantum FIREBALLP AS30.0 [30 GB, 7k2] | 30 GB | 7200 | ATA 100 | 2 / 3 | 2 MB |
| 40 | Maxtor 6L250R0 [250 GB, 7k2] | 250 GB | 7200 | ATA 133 | 3 / 5 | 16 MB |
| 41 | Seagate ST3300622A [300 GB, 7k2] | 300 GB | 7200 | ATA 100 | 2 / 4 | 16 MB |
| 42 | Maxtor 4D040H2 [40 GB, 5k4] | 40 GB | 5400 | ATA 133 | 1 / 2 | 2 MB |
| 43 | WD WD800BB-22JHA0 [80 GB, 7k2] | 80 GB | 7200 | ATA 100 | ? | 2 MB |
| 44 | WD AC22100H [2 GB, 5k2] | 2 GB | 5200 | ATA | 2 / 4 | 128 kB |
| 45 | WD AC280S [80 MB, 3k6] | 80 MB | 3600 | ATA PIO 0 | ? | 7 kB |
| 46 | Toshiba P300 [3 TB, 7k2] | 3 TB | 7200 | SATA 600 | 3 / 6 | 64 MB |