PCMark Vantage

To make this part of our test session complete, we are going to run the latest version of PCMark called Vantage. Compared with the previous versions, the benchmark has become more up-to-date and advanced in its selection of subtests as well as Windows Vista orientation. Each subtest is run ten times and the results of the ten runs are averaged.

Here is a brief description of each subtest:

• Windows Defender is when the HDD is under multithreaded load, one thread scanning files for malicious software.
• Gaming emulates the typical load on the disk subsystem when the user is playing a video game.
• Photo Gallery emulates loading of images from a photo gallery.
• Vista Start Up emulates the disk subsystem load when booting up Windows Vista.
• Movie Maker emulates video editing load.
• Media Center. This is the load on the hard disk when the user is running Windows Media Center.
• Media Player emulates the loading of files into Windows Media Player.
• Application Loading shows the drive’s speed when loading popular applications.

Basing on these subtests, the drive’s overall performance rating is calculated.

The change of the operating system and employed application has affected the drives’ standings in the scanning subtest. The Seagate 7200.11 is in the lead now, the WD Scorpio Black and Seagate 7200.2 being second and third, respectively. The new Seagate 7200.3 is second worst here.

Gamers should appreciate the new 2.5-inchers: the WD Scorpio Black is the best of all in this subtest. The Seagate 7200.3 is good, too. It equals the 3.5-inch products and is superior to the drives based on previous-generation platters.

Photographers should use large 3.5-inch HDDs. The Seagate 7200.3 is the best of the 2.5-inch products in this test, yet it is far inferior to the 3.5-inchers. Western Digital’s 2.5-inch HDDs don’t like this load and perform poorly.

The 3.5-inch HDDs are better than their compact counterparts when booting Windows Vista up although the WD Scorpio Black is close to the leaders. The Seagate 7200.3 is in last place, losing to the lower-density drives of the previous generation as well as to the 5400rpm WD Scorpio Blue.

This subtest always produces odd results. It is usually won by HDDs with low response time rather than with high sequential speed as might have been expected. This time, the 2.5-inch drives are unrivalled, the WD Scorpio Black taking first place. Curiously enough, second place goes to the old Seagate Momentus 7200.2 while the 7200.3 is fourth, giving way to the 5400rpm WD Scorpio Blue.

This load is very sensitive to caching. This time the Seagate Momentus 7200.2 proves to have the best algorithms for this subtest. Judging by its result, which is much higher than its sequential speeds, this HDD processed most of the subtest in its cache. The new 2.5-inch 7200rpm drives are good, too. They take second (Western Digital) and third (Seagate) places.

This is yet another test where the drive’s read response time is highly important. The WD Caviar Black is in the lead, followed by the two old 2.5-inch 7200rpm models. The new Seagate Momentus 7200.3 is slow in this subtest.

PCMark Vantage runs under a new OS and uses new applications, producing new results. We’ve got one leader now, the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11. The WD Scorpio Blue and the Seagate Momentus 7200.2 are the losers. The other drives deliver similar performance.

The overall scores are interesting enough. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 is first here although has not been brilliant in the previous tests. Second place goes to the old Seagate Momentus 7200.2. The Western Digital Scorpio Black is third while the Seagate Momentus 7200.3 is fourth.