WinBench 99 measures the SpinPoint V30's
access time at 14.4 milliseconds... interestingly, the exact same figure we culled from two of the drive's predecessors, the 20 GB/platter
V20400 and the 10 GB/platter
V10200. 14.4 ms is easily enough to lead the pack. Subtracting 5.6 milliseconds to account for the average
rotational latency of a 5400 RPM drive yields a measured
seek time of 8.8 milliseconds. The V30 thus beats its specs by 0.2 milliseconds. Not a lot, but certainly better than erring in the other direction as do many other drives.
The V30's outer-zone transfer rate comes in at 30.8 MB/sec, a figure that's pretty much in line with the 20 GB/platter competition. Note however that Western Digital's 30 GB/platter Caviar WD600AB bests the SpinPoint by over 4 MB/sec. An inner-zone rate of 17.9 MB/sec, again fairly average, completes the low-level look.
WinMarks...
