HDD Test

[Guyzerr]

Over the last week or two I stuffed a new 1 gig video card and 500 watt PSU in my box and have those working like a charm. On Monday I installed a new CPU and I don't think I'm getting the full benefit out of it because I have an older 250 gig HD with the name ACER on it ( don't ask... the HD is the only thing left inside that's ACER :24: ) . Whenever I open a program it sounds like it's working hard just to try and keep up. So............... I'm looking for a free utility that I can download from a trusted site and test that sucker out to see if that's what's holding things up. Anyone have any suggestions.

For shits and giggles here's the info on the CPU...

Old one was... AMD Dual Core 64 4800+
New one is.... AMD Phenom ll Black Edition X4 955 ... yes I updated the BIOS to the newest ver so this thing should put the old one to shame but as far as I can tell it seems to be preforming at the same speed.

Further info.... XP w/4 gig RAM

Thanks for your help.

 

[Guyzerr]

Bump...........

Where the hell are all the computer geeks?

 

[Tim]

You will not get the full benefit of the new hardware until you get rid of that crap hard drive. And JFYI Acer does not make hard drives. They may put a label on it, but it's made by someone else.
Download Sandra and it will tell you everything you want to know about your computer. It will benchmark it and run it through it's paces. It will also tell you who makes the HDD

http://www.techspot.com/downloads/160-sisoftware-sandra-lite.html

 

[Guyzerr]

You will not get the full benefit of the new hardware until you get rid of that crap hard drive. And JFYI Acer does not make hard drives. They may put a label on it, but it's made by someone else.
Download Sandra and it will tell you everything you want to know about your computer. It will benchmark it and run it through it's paces. It will also tell you who makes the HDD

http://www.techspot.com/downloads/160-sisoftware-sandra-lite.html

Tim that's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.... I'll run it and see what the hell is goingt on. Keep your eyes peeled cuz I might have a couple more questions.

ps: I know Acer doesn't make HD's and I know they put their stickers all over everything. I was just telling folks in a sheepish kinda way I got fucked by buying an Acer. I knew I was getting fucked when I bought it but I needed a computer real fast... quick like a bunny fast.

 

[PoopaSwoof]

There are a few things that affect hard drive performance.
Spindle speed-> 7200 rpm = good, 10,000 rpm = better
Interface-> PATA = meh, SATA 1.5 mbs = good, SATA 3.0mbs = better
Seek time-> the lower the better
If you can afford one get a SSD for the best performance.

I gave up on Maxtor brand drives and have had pretty good luck so far with Western Digital.

If you just want to keep what you got and run a speed test then try HD Tach.
http://www.simplisoftware.com/Public/index.php?request=HdTach

 

[Francis]

There are a few things that affect hard drive performance.
Spindle speed-> 7200 rpm = good, 10,000 rpm = better
Interface-> PATA = meh, SATA 1.5 mbs = good, SATA 3.0mbs = better
Seek time-> the lower the better
If you can afford one get a SSD for the best performance.

I gave up on Maxtor brand drives and have had pretty good luck so far with Western Digital.

If you just want to keep what you got and run a speed test then try HD Tach.
http://www.simplisoftware.com/Public/index.php?request=HdTach

Yup, I agree..

The controller on that hard drive is also important but most people would not know who makes it.. JMicron makes the biggies..

The new 6GB SATA write SSD drives are about to be released into the market ( 3 to 6 months ) and I would wait for those.. The faster you can write to a drive the better..

 

[Guyzerr]

I ran Tims tests but that shit is way over my head.

Then I ran Poops and just wtf is this telling me? I'm not that computer savvy anymore.




If I have to get another HD, which was my initial suspicion, take a look at this site and tell me what I want to buy. I picked this site cuz I can walk in tomorrow and grab one. I don't have the time to wait if you get my drift. Please don't pick the $400 one.

http://www.mikescomputershop.com/hard-drives-c-1.html

 

[PoopaSwoof]

Your sustained read rate is ok for a regular internal hard drive, burst rate is pretty darn good too
I cant reconcile the price point for a SSD drive myself so I couldnt recommend one but as usual you get what you pay for.
Here is a quick video overview that might help.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/197485/the_abcs_of_ssds.html

 

[PoopaSwoof]

This may be redundant but, Have you defragged your hard drive recently?

 

[Guyzerr]

This may be redundant but, Have you defragged your hard drive recently?

Good question and the answer is yes. Yesterday as a matter of fact.

I watched the video re ssd and it makes sense but I think I'll wait until the prices drop. I remember paying $500 for a tape back-up when they came out cuz I just had to have one. I don't want to get myself trapped in that scenario again even though I used it almost daily.

Maybe it's a RAM issue. I'm running 4 gig but who knows what it is. Got a test for that?

 

[PoopaSwoof]

Good question and the answer is yes. Yesterday as a matter of fact.

I watched the video re ssd and it makes sense but I think I'll wait until the prices drop. I remember paying $500 for a tape back-up when they came out cuz I just had to have one. I don't want to get myself trapped in that scenario again even though I used it almost daily.

Maybe it's a RAM issue. I'm running 4 gig but who knows what it is. Got a test for that?

If you are running XP 32 bit, then you are only using 3 gig. To make full use of your 4 gig of ram then you need either XP 64 bit or any flavor of Windows 7. Nothing beats a fresh install of any OS but that can be a pain.

For Memory testing, try Memtest86+

http://www.memtest.org/

 

[Guyzerr]

Poop I'll run that test in a bit. Lemme go off on a tangent for a bit first. I found this nice little app called " Speccy ' and when I ran it I discovered I'm running two entirely different sets. Here's the info and it's making me wonder if that's a big part of my problem. Don't axe me how I ended up with that mix cuz I have no idea.

Slot 1 & 2 each have one stick in 'em. Both are...
Type DDR2
Size 1024 MBytes
Manufacturer Avant Technology
Max Bandwidth PC2-5300 (333 MHz)

Slots 3 & 4 each have one stick in 'em. Both are...
Type DDR2
Size 1024 MBytes
Manufacturer Hyundai Electronics
Max Bandwidth PC2-4300 (266 MHz)

Here's the link to Speccy download if anyone is interested ( freeware ). It's better than Everest Home Edition as far as I'm concerned.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_speccy/

 

[Guyzerr]

Nothing beats a fresh install of any OS but that can be a pain.

I'm trying to avoid that as you can tell. I almost went for Windows 7 a couple of weeks ago but changed my mind. I didn't like the prospect of a week of work gettin' all my stuff reinstalled. .... and yes I did investigate all my hardware and software to ensure the vendors have updates for W7. That was very important to me.

 

[Guyzerr]

For Memory testing, try Memtest86+

http://www.memtest.org/

I don't wanna run that test cuz I don't have a fucking clue what to do with it. I'm so out of touch with this stuff it's not even funny. I saw the DOS screen examples and said to myself... wtf is this? I don't remember any of my DOS shit! That was 20 years ago for shit sake.

 

[Francis]

Poop I'll run that test in a bit. Lemme go off on a tangent for a bit first. I found this nice little app called " Speccy ' and when I ran it I discovered I'm running two entirely different sets. Here's the info and it's making me wonder if that's a big part of my problem. Don't axe me how I ended up with that mix cuz I have no idea.

Slot 1 & 2 each have one stick in 'em. Both are...
Type DDR2
Size 1024 MBytes
Manufacturer Avant Technology
Max Bandwidth PC2-5300 (333 MHz)

Slots 3 & 4 each have one stick in 'em. Both are...
Type DDR2
Size 1024 MBytes
Manufacturer Hyundai Electronics
Max Bandwidth PC2-4300 (266 MHz)

Here's the link to Speccy download if anyone is interested ( freeware ). It's better than Everest Home Edition as far as I'm concerned.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_speccy/

Guy I am not surprised you have two different types of DDR's in your machine.. Often stores will mix and match DDR's knowing the faster speeds will slow down to the older technology and are often cheaper then the older stuff, so it doesn't matter as long as your MOBO can handle both as long as they are the same technology.. Hence you could not use DDR1 with DDR2 but could well us DDR2 + DDR2 as long as they are acceptable to the MB..

That said, some have issues with using the controller on Hyundai DDR2 and Samsung DDR2.. It really can be that touchy..

Poopa, pricing for SSD Drives are a part of what I sell at the OEM level. Just one segment of many products we represent Pricing is in the tank right now due to what I mentioned earlier about a transition between 3GB to 6 GB write speed and a dump on the market but it wont last.. As soon inventory is gone you will see a drastic price increase again for a while..

 

[PoopaSwoof]

Francis is right about the memory.
I dont like to mix and match memory speeds and manufacturers.
Get the faster memory usually means a faster data bus speed and should increase performance some.

Your new cpu runs at a higher clock rate but your memory may be holding you back.

 

[Guyzerr]

Francis is right about the memory.
I dont like to mix and match memory speeds and manufacturers.
Get the faster memory usually means a faster data bus speed and should increase performance some.

Your new cpu runs at a higher clock rate but your memory may be holding you back.

I know he is that's why I was so surprised when I seen what I saw.

I've done quite a bit of foolin' with this thing over the last couple of days and when I sit back and think about it it really is honking right along actually. Maybe just to be sure I think I'm gunna get some new matched RAM sticks along with a new HD just to be sure I've done what I can for the time being.

When I bought the new CPU the guys were telling me it's capable of being overclocked but I dunno how to do that so I'll just leave well enough alone. I kinda like the KISS principal.

 

[PoopaSwoof]

I know he is that's why I was so surprised when I seen what I saw.

I've done quite a bit of foolin' with this thing over the last couple of days and when I sit back and think about it it really is honking right along actually. Maybe just to be sure I think I'm gunna get some new matched RAM sticks along with a new HD just to be sure I've done what I can for the time being.

When I bought the new CPU the guys were telling me it's capable of being overclocked but I dunno how to do that so I'll just leave well enough alone. I kinda like the KISS principal.

AMD Black editions have an unlocked multiplier that makes for an easy overclock but your cpu is about at the top of its clockspeed range already so you probably wont get much more out of it by overclocking.
Your best speed boost potential is with the ram and SSD hard drive.

 

[Tuffdisc]

Let me get this right, you changed everything apart from the motherboard?

 

[Guyzerr]

Let me get this right, you changed everything apart from the motherboard?

To make a long story short this thing started off as an Acer w/Vista. The only thing left from the original build is the hard drive, two sticks of 1 gig RAM, the dvd and the box. Everything else has been replaced over the past year or so and I mean everything. So you axe why didn't you build a new one to which I answer. I dunno but it almost new now and will be by the end of the week. I'm keeping the box though.

Poop I'm gunna wait on the SSD. They are too bloody expensive for the storage size of the things. Once the price comes down I'll grab one.