The settle time specification (sometimes called settling time) refers
to the amount of time required, after the actuator has moved the head assembly during a
seek, for the heads to stabilize sufficiently for the data to begin to be read. Since it
is a component of access time and therefore part of the time required to position for
reading a random file, I include it here for completeness. However, since settle time is
usually so short (typically less than 0.1 msec) it is dwarfed in importance by seek time and rotational
latency, and differences between drives in this regard are not really significant.
Some manufacturers do not even bother to specify settle time, and some just lump it in
with seek time.
Settle time, like seek time, is a function of the drive's actuator characteristics.
Next: Command Overhead Time
