PowerBook G3 - compare Harddisk / Compact Flash / SSD

[MikeatOSX]

Hello,

I‘ve compared Harddisk, Compact Flash and SSD in two different PowerBooks G3.

First (pic 1+2)
PowerBook G3 Firewire (Pismo) 400 MHz, 1 GB Ram (ATA-5 HD interface)
with 3 data-storages, which still are available at this time at almost the same price:
Seagate HD ST980210A 80GB
SanDisk Extreme Compact Flash 16GB
KingSpec SSD (KSD-PA18.6-008MS) 8GB

*

The second test (pic 3+4) is different, because of the ATA interface:
PowerBook G3 Series II (PDQ) 266 MHz, 384 MB Ram (ATA-2 HD interface)
Same CF and SSD but older harddisk from 2006: Fujitsu MHV2100AT 100GB

FYI, Mike

 

[bunnspecial]

Thanks for posting this.

I'm actually fairly surprised to see the CF do as well as it did-I had always expected SSDs to outperform them.

I do, however, remain concerned about the long-term viability of them for a system drive. I've also been concerned about the cost/gb, especially considering how inexpensive mSATA drives (which can readily be fitted in 44 pin IDE enclosure) are these days.

 

[MikeatOSX]

I was surprised too.
But I only tested a single SSD, maybe there are other SSDs which outperform the KingSpec...

 

[MacTech68]

Interesting to see. Thanks for taking the time to compile the data.

What I'd love to see is a comparison to 7200 RPM HDs, since the two used in your tests are only 5400RPM and 4200RPM.

I also wonder what ATA spec the KingSpec works at. I see the sticker says "PATA II", which may imply a max thruput of 16MB/sec.

Also, were these tests done with virtual memory on or off ?

 

[bunnspecial]

Interesting to see. Thanks for taking the time to compile the data.

What I'd love to see is a comparison to 7200 RPM HDs, since the two used in your tests are only 5400RPM and 4200RPM.

I also wonder what ATA spec the KingSpec works at. I see the sticker says "PATA II", which may imply a max thruput of 16MB/sec.

Also, were these tests done with virtual memory on or off ?

I've been using Xbench for a while to benchmark HDD speeds.

A while back, over in the PPC forum, we had a "test off" between between a couple of different HDDs and SSDs. There was a Kingspec in the mix, as well as my preferred mSATA drive and adapter combo. I did all my testing in a 15" DLSD Powerbook, which has an ATA/100 bus.

I don't recall specific numbers, but do recall that a 7200 rpm drive provided a decent boost over a 5400 rpm. I took that particular drive out of my DLSD because it used too much power and vibrated uncomfortably right under the trackpad. It's currently in a seldom used 867mhz TiBook(my 867 has been mostly replaced by a 1ghz TiBook, although there are a few programs I haven't taken the time to install on the 1ghz).

I currently have mSATA drives installed in three different Powerbooks-one in a 12" that I didn't install myself, one in a 15" DLSD, and the third in a 17" DLSD. I've found that in certain tests in Xbench, the mSATA drives will come close to saturating the ATA bus. There is some "overhead" loss in the adapter, which I've found to be a consistent 8mb/s in the adapters I use regardless of the bus speed(i.e. I get 92mb/s over ATA/100 and 58mb/s on ATA/66). The drive in my 12" maxes out at about 86mb/s

From what I recall, the Kingspec performed about equal to the 7200 rpm drive in some tests and better than it in other tests. It still performed significantly worse than an mSATA drive.

Of course, due to the nature of the computers used, all testing was done under OS X. All of mine were done in 10.5.

 

[Dandu]

The Kingspec SSD, inside, it is just a CF card with a nice enclosure. I have a SSD like that, and it's a Compact Flash controller.

The other solution to have better performances is to use mSATA SSD with a PATA adapter (but many low capacity SSD are slow) or the OWC SSD, they use SandForce controller and microSATA SSD with an adapter.

I have a mSATA Crucial M4 32 GB, and he write only at 55 MB/s (the 128 GB version are very faster)

 

[bunnspecial]

I have a mSATA Crucial M4 32 GB, and he write only at 55 MB/s (the 128 GB version are very faster)

I've been able to buy new 128gb Toshibas for $40-50 each on Ebay. These are what I use for all my Powerbooks when I install an SSD.

 

[MikeatOSX]

I see the sticker says "PATA II", which may imply a max thruput of 16MB/sec.



Also, were these tests done with virtual memory on or off ?

VM was off, as the two PowerBooks have max. RAM.

Kingspec: der seller writes
Read: 100MB/s
Write: 70MB/s
MLC NAND Flash

Don't know if I should believe that...

 

[MacTech68]

VM was off, as the two PowerBooks have max. RAM.

Kingspec: der seller writes
Read: 100MB/s
Write: 70MB/s
MLC NAND Flash

Don't know if I should believe that...

I've seen the KingSpec SSDs very cheap on eBay, and I've always thought there has to be some drawback in their lower price.

I've toyed with the mSATA to IDE solution as a cheap alternative, but I've also picked up some Hitachi Travelstar 100GB 7200RPMs which perform quite well.

The OWC IDE SSDs sound excellent but the landed price here in AU makes them pretty pricey.

 

[MikeatOSX]

I've also been concerned about the cost/gb, especially considering how inexpensive mSATA drives (which can readily be fitted in 44 pin IDE enclosure) are these days.

OK, new Test
PowerBook G3 Firewire (Pismo) 500MHz with
Seagate HD ST980210A 80GB
Crucial CT128M550 mSATA SSD 128GB with Delock 62495 adapter

 

[MacTech68]

OK, new Test
PowerBook G3 Firewire (Pismo) 500MHz with
Seagate HD ST980210A 80GB
Crucial CT128M550 mSATA SSD 128GB with Delock 62495 adapter

Any chance of separate Read & Write benchmarks on those two?

Since the Seagate is only a 5400RPM, I'm not too surprised, but it's certainly an improvement!

Are you able to do a direct compare to the CF you used earlier? The "Scores" don't seem consistent.

Thanks for posting!

 

[MikeatOSX]

I used different Versions of MacBench: their data files are different, MacBench 4 files cannot be read nor converted (!) by MacBench 5.
Sorry, the CF is already in use in a different PowerBook.
The Seagate is slow NOS but completly silent. Until now I thought it was quick enough.

 

[MacTech68]

Always fit a 7200RPM.

Still looking for a cheap hybrid 500GB for my MacMini - the factory drive is horrid when it comes to uncompressed video!

 

[MikeatOSX]

Any chance of separate Read & Write benchmarks on those two?

Here are the missing tests.
The Crucial CT128M550SSD3 128GB mSATA SSD is now in my Cube, as a a Cube doesn't like hot items.
It replaced a good known Seagate HD ST980210A 80GB 2.5" 5.400, which also fits two of my Pismos.
Pismo G3 400MHz and Cube G4 450MHz are fitted with their slow ATA-5 HD Interface.

 

[MacTech68]

Thanks for that. It certainly does make a difference. Interesting to note that on small reads and writes, performance appears to have saturated the ATA5, but larger read/writes obviously benefit from the vastly improved (or non-existent) seek times of the SSD.

 

[MikeatOSX]

My Cube is booting like a rocket now, which I did not really expect.