UDMA 66 Performance (HPT 1.28 -> HPT 1.25)

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ulutas
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UDMA 66 Performance (HPT 1.28 -> HPT 1.25)

Post by ulutas »

80 GB, 7200 rpm disk was on UDMA 33 because of the much lower performance of the UDMA 66 chip. Decided to downgrade HPT bios from 1.28 to 1.25 (as explained in the article at Ruwebit.net) for better disk performance. Here are the Read Burst Speed results reported by HD Tach 2.70:

RU Bios with HPT 1.28, and HPT 1.30 XP drivers, UDMA 66:
Max: 11.6 MB/s, Min: 9.3 MB/s, Avg: 10.9 MB/s, CPU Utilization: 4.0%

RU Bios with HPT 1.25, and HPT 1.30 XP drivers, UDMA 66:
Max: 49.4 MB/s, Min: 28.7 MB/s, Avg: 41.8 MB/s, CPU Utilization: 9.8%

RU Bios with HPT 1.28, UDMA 33 (for comparison):
Max: 24.0 MB/s, Min: 13.3 MB/s, Avg: 20.2 MB/s, CPU Utilization: 5.1%

Conclusion: Use RU Bios with HPT 1.25 unless you have a better alternative.
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InactiveX
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Post by InactiveX »

Welcome ulutas.

Some interesting results there. Thanks!
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s4brains
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Post by s4brains »

ulutas,

I agree with your findings regarding the performance of HPT 1.25 versus HPT 1.28. HPT 1.25 will "generally" provide the best performance. Certainly, one's individual results will vary depending on the make and model of hard drive, so the performance difference is not always as significant as the results you have posted.

However, I think I would recommend "RV BIOS with HPT 1.25". The RV BIOS fixes an undocumented flaw in the RU BIOS which I believe was only problematic for those using certain o/s's derived from UNIX. The RV BIOS also extends support for a number of processors which weren't available in the RU BIOS.

Aahh, and if I may compliment myself, I think the image substituted for the "energy star" logo in the "RV BIOS with HPT 1.25" (available in the "files section" here) is superb.

Of course, the best performance of all is achieved with a Promise (a.k.a. Maxtor) Ultra ATA adapter card which also provides 48-bit LBA large drive support when the adapter has the latest BIOS.

Best Regards,

s4
Derek
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Post by Derek »

http://www.ruwebit.net/article/64/chapter/3

That article still links to our old address! :eek:
-Derek
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