domingo, enero 28, 2007
Flash drive performance marketing lies - Caveat Emptor
This information was edited from a blog by George Ou (Category: Vista, Hardware, Desktop, Storage) January 18th, 2007 at the TechRepublic website. Thanks for this Information George!
Flash media performance will become a big issue for ordinary computer users because of Vista's "ReadyBoost feature," an option provided to boost the performance of Vista.
According to Ou, there are flash drive cards on the market that do not achieve their advertised performance specifications:
"Take the following two compact flash cards for example from A-Data and PQI. (cf. above pictures)
I bought these cards looking at the "120x" or "Hi-Speed 100" rating in the advertisement thinking that these must perform much better than normal flash cards that use to have the 40x and 80x on them. I took them home and both of them failed the ReadyBoost performance test which means they can't be used for Vista ReadyBoost.
It is almost impossible to determine what kind of flash drive and/or reader is needed until it is plugged in into a Vista computer and wait for Vista to report whether it is ReadyBoost capable or not, according to Ou.
There is a user-submitted database of ReadyBoost compatible devices at URL:
http://www.grantgibson.co.uk/misc/readyboost/
Some Tech writers feel that the "Lexar JumpDrive Lighting" and "Kingston DataTraveler Elite" USB drives seem to lead the pack for both read and write performance. They are typically twice as expensive than the cheaper flash cards. The individual end-user will probably have to engage in some personal research before deciding exactly which specific card and interface will ultimately suit his or her personal preferences.
USB memory sticks are the safest bet because you don't need to worry about the performance of the card interface. But this may not be a solution that everyone would choose. There is a "form factor" issue because it sticks out of the computer whereas a flash card can be hidden inside the PCMCIA slot.
Make your choice and pay the money.
Ideally, the device would have a ReadyBoost multiplier rating with a 1.0x exactly meeting the 3.5/2.5 read/write MB/s specification and a 2.0x representing double the 3.5/2.5 specification.
Unfortunately, Vista doesn't report the actual raw data for its ReadyBoost test since it only gives you a pass/fail score, making it useless and confusing.
I hope this note will help clear up some of the confusion that is out there if you are considering the purchase of the Vista OS.
Other commentary:
I hope this note will help clear up some of the confusion that is out there for those considering the purchase of the Vista OS.
Pat
This information was edited from a blog by George Ou (Category: Vista, Hardware, Desktop, Storage) January 18th, 2007 at the TechRepublic website. Thanks for this Information George!
Flash media performance will become a big issue for ordinary computer users because of Vista's "ReadyBoost feature," an option provided to boost the performance of Vista.
According to Ou, there are flash drive cards on the market that do not achieve their advertised performance specifications:
"Take the following two compact flash cards for example from A-Data and PQI. (cf. above pictures)
I bought these cards looking at the "120x" or "Hi-Speed 100" rating in the advertisement thinking that these must perform much better than normal flash cards that use to have the 40x and 80x on them. I took them home and both of them failed the ReadyBoost performance test which means they can't be used for Vista ReadyBoost.
I am aware of the fact that the 120x rating may be referring to large file transfers used in digital photography applications, but even that theory collapsed when I performed my own throughput and I/O tests showing bottom of the barrel performance. Rob Galbraith runs a photography website and he has one of the most complete large-file sequential transfer rate databases on the Internet. When we look at his chart for CF (Compact Flash) cards, we see that the ratings have little to do with actual performance. Even the card reader has a lot of impact on the final performance. My two particular cards were not in these databases but it's safe to say that they would place near the bottom of the pack based on my testing with the card reader I'm using. I even tried an IDE to CF adapter and it was still terribly slow though the results were much better than going through the USB card reader (note that IDE to CF adapters are not supported in Vista though I really wish they would be).
Windows Vista ReadyBoost requires a different kind of performance that requires high IOPS (Input Output Per Second) on small file transfers. If large file sequential transfer can be thought of as drag racing, IOPS can be thought of as street racing in the city with lots of tight turns. AnandTech has this USB flash drive roundup that's gives you an idea how much of a difference there is in flash drive perform (sic). Vista ReadyBoost requires 3.5 MB/s (megabytes per second) on 4 KB random reads and 2.5 MB/s on 512 KB random writes. That translates to a blazing 896 IOPS which is about ten times faster than a typical hard drive. Both of my compact flash cards scored around 2 MB/s for the 4 KB random read test which means they're not even close to being fast enough for Vista ReadyBoost."
It is almost impossible to determine what kind of flash drive and/or reader is needed until it is plugged in into a Vista computer and wait for Vista to report whether it is ReadyBoost capable or not, according to Ou.
There is a user-submitted database of ReadyBoost compatible devices at URL:
http://www.grantgibson.co.uk/misc/readyboost/
Some Tech writers feel that the "Lexar JumpDrive Lighting" and "Kingston DataTraveler Elite" USB drives seem to lead the pack for both read and write performance. They are typically twice as expensive than the cheaper flash cards. The individual end-user will probably have to engage in some personal research before deciding exactly which specific card and interface will ultimately suit his or her personal preferences.
USB memory sticks are the safest bet because you don't need to worry about the performance of the card interface. But this may not be a solution that everyone would choose. There is a "form factor" issue because it sticks out of the computer whereas a flash card can be hidden inside the PCMCIA slot.
Make your choice and pay the money.
Ideally, the device would have a ReadyBoost multiplier rating with a 1.0x exactly meeting the 3.5/2.5 read/write MB/s specification and a 2.0x representing double the 3.5/2.5 specification.
Unfortunately, Vista doesn't report the actual raw data for its ReadyBoost test since it only gives you a pass/fail score, making it useless and confusing.
I hope this note will help clear up some of the confusion that is out there if you are considering the purchase of the Vista OS.
Other commentary:
- Inserting a memory stick into your computer may in very rare instances cause the computer to freeze up. If this happens, The computer itself may need hardware cleaning/repair/replacement.
- Each Microsoft Windows operating system upgrade iteration has needed more CPU and memory power, as well as hardware improvements.
I hope this note will help clear up some of the confusion that is out there for those considering the purchase of the Vista OS.
Pat
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