FC-Test Results

Website: FC-Test

Our FC-Test benchmark is split into three parts. First is a write test involving the creation of a file pattern similar to common files such as MP3s or large video files. Once created on the drive, we then copy the file pattern from the drive back to a different folder on the same drive producing a combined read/write test. Finally we test the read speed of the drive by performing FC-Test's read test of the files copied.

For our benchmarks, we're using both the MP3 pattern, consisting of two hundred and seventy small files totalling 0.99GB, and the the ISO pattern, consisting of three large files totalling 1.6GB in size. We feel these file patterns represent the most common files people will be frequently copying to and from an drive, and can be interpreted as as close to a real world file transfer test as possible.


Wow! The X25-E's SLC memory certainly shows us why the drive is so extortionately expensive as it's able to create the 0.99GB MP3 file pattern in a staggering 4.8 seconds, almost three times as fast as the next best drive, the Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB.


The awesome write performance carries over into the copy test, with the X25-E just as quick when asked to simultaneously read and write data. There's literally no difference between write and simulataneous read/write performance thanks to the dual state SLC making writing data that much quicker.


Sadly though, it seems that the SLC X25-E's read performance isn't up to the multi state MLC based X25-M's speed and is a good 1.5 seconds slower when reading the MP3 file pattern. This was certainly a surprise considering that flash memory read speed is usually limited by the controller, and both the X25-M and x25-E share the same one.