Black Magic Disk Speed Test

[macuser1232]

Hi, I just recently got the Black Magic Disk Speed Tester and I got around 60 megabyte readings for writing and reading. Is this slow? I'm on a Early 2011 13-inch MacBook Pro i5 processor with 8gb of ram. I know this is only for my hard drive but I just wanted to tell you my specs.

 

[Intell]

Yes, but do note that Black Magic Disk Speed Test has been giving incorrect results based on its feedback and my own general use of it.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You can also use the following applications to benchmark the speed of your HDD / SSD:

• AJA System Test
  
• Xbench

Normally modern 2.5" HDDs get 70 to 100 MB/s read and write speed.

 

[macuser1232]

hm. So what causes a slow hard drive? I am really interested to know.

 

[Intell]

Age, limits of technology at the time, damaged cable, failing hard drive, heat damaged hard drive (130F+), bad controller, poorly written controller drivers, bad drive firmware

 

[simsaladimbamba]

hm. So what causes a slow hard drive? I am really interested to know.

As already noted, BMST sometimes reports inaccurate numbers.
To confirm, that you have a slow HDD, first use the two other applications linked to in post #2 to verify the numbers BMST gave you and then open System Report > Hardware > Serial ATA > to find out your HDD model.

 

[macuser1232]

Age, limits of technology at the time, damaged cable, failing hard drive, heat damaged hard drive (130F+), bad controller, poorly written controller drivers, bad drive firmware

Well I don't think my hard drive or computer fits any of those. So can I compare my schools with anyone? I am a little concerned about my hard drive's speed(etc.).

 

[spoonie1972]

You can also use the following applications to benchmark the speed of your HDD / SSD:

• AJA System Test
  
• Xbench

Normally modern 2.5" HDDs get 70 to 100 MB/s read and write speed.

haha, just remembering the pains i went through with my micropolis scsi UW... had a muffin fan on top of it so it would not set fire to itself. all for.. i think, 23meg/s max. ahhh, memories.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Well I don't think my hard drive or computer fits any of those. So can I compare my schools with anyone? I am a little concerned about my hard drive's speed(etc.).

Post #3 and #6. And as mentioned, modern HDDs offer 70 to 100 MB/s, depending on model (post #6). Most of my 500 GB HDDs are 5,400 RPM models and get 75 MB/s via a direct S-ATA connection, my Momentus 7200.4 has 7,200 RPM and gets 95 to 105 MB/s.

 

[Orlandoech]

You can also use the following applications to benchmark the speed of your HDD / SSD:

• AJA System Test
  
• Xbench

Normally modern 2.5" HDDs get 70 to 100 MB/s read and write speed.

Why doesnt AJA let me benchmark my native rMBP SSD or any installed HDD/SSD on my 13" MBP, only external drives?

 

[macuser1232]

I actually have a 320gb hard drive.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I actually have a 320gb hard drive.

Which will probably be a 5,400 RPM drive, thus a speed of 70 MB/s should be alright. Maybe those other two applications I linked to can verify that. Or the exact model number and a quick www search for benchmarks of that drive can do that too. Or not.

Why doesnt AJA let me benchmark my native rMBP SSD or any installed HDD/SSD on my 13" MBP, only external drives?

That seems to be a bug, as I sometimes have the same problem, though restarts seem to fix that, sometimes. Btw, I am using 10.6.8 on both my Macs with both having an SSD and one having an additional HDD.

 

[macuser1232]

Hm Ok. Yeah the black magic disk speed test gave me pretty low speeds but the Xbench gave me around normal speeds like 70(if I read correctly).

 

[hfg]

Why doesnt AJA let me benchmark my native rMBP SSD or any installed HDD/SSD on my 13" MBP, only external drives?

Do a "Get Info" on your installed drive, then, at the bottom, unlock and add yourself to the list, making yourself read/write capable. Then try the test again and it should work.



-howard

 

[Orlandoech]

Do a "Get Info" on your installed drive, then, at the bottom, unlock and add yourself to the list, making yourself read/write capable. Then try the test again and it should work.



-howard

just did, even rebooted and it didnt work

 

[robvas]

Hm Ok. Yeah the black magic disk speed test gave me pretty low speeds but the Xbench gave me around normal speeds like 70(if I read correctly).

Different parts of your HD are going to be faster or slower than others.

80-40MB/s depending on whether you are using the inside or outside of the drive.

 

[macuser1232]

Different parts of your HD are going to be faster or slower than others.

Image

80-40MB/s depending on whether you are using the inside or outside of the drive.

oh ok that makes sense now.

 

[derbothaus]

just did, even rebooted and it didnt work

Works for me. No reboot needed. You can also open app as root:
Navigate to directory of Aja app and:

sudo AJA\ System\ Test.app/Contents/MacOS/AJA\ System\ Test &

 

[Orlandoech]

Works for me. No reboot needed. You can also open app as root:
Navigate to directory of Aja app and:

sudo AJA\ System\ Test.app/Contents/MacOS/AJA\ System\ Test &

Same thing, doesnt let me run the native SSD

 

[hfg]

Same thing, doesnt let me run the native SSD

Hmmmm ... that is very strange. This has worked for every system that I have wanted to run the AJA disk test on the built-in system drive.

If, after setting your permissions for the drive, you again select to view the drive info on that drive ... do you still see your login name with read & write permissions in the sharing/Permissions table at the bottom. It may also say "you have custom access" just above the table.


-howard

 

[cvcjebus]

Post #3 and #6. And as mentioned, modern HDDs offer 70 to 100 MB/s, depending on model (post #6). Most of my 500 GB HDDs are 5,400 RPM models and get 75 MB/s via a direct S-ATA connection, my Momentus 7200.4 has 7,200 RPM and gets 95 to 105 MB/s.

My 2009 MB has a 500GB 5400RPM drive and yes it does achieve around 75 MB/s, my problem is that my 2011 27" iMac 1TB@ 7200RPM is getting between 65-80 MB/s I can't find any helpful information on the topic so far. any thoughts?

 

[Usergnome]

Move the app

Why doesnt AJA let me benchmark my native rMBP SSD or any installed HDD/SSD on my 13" MBP, only external drives?

AJA must be run from a drive other than the one being measured. Does that help?

 

[yjchua95]

Hi, I just recently got the Black Magic Disk Speed Tester and I got around 60 megabyte readings for writing and reading. Is this slow? I'm on a Early 2011 13-inch MacBook Pro i5 processor with 8gb of ram. I know this is only for my hard drive but I just wanted to tell you my specs.

Buy an SSD to speed it up.

Problem solved.