Seagate Turbo SSHD Enterprise SSHD Review

4K Random Read/Write

Each QD for every parameter tested includes 300 data points (five minutes of one second reports) to illustrate the degree of performance variability. The line for each QD represents the average speed reported during the five-minute interval.

4K random speed measurements are an important metric when comparing drive performance, as the hardest type of file access for any storage solution to master is small-file random. One of the most sought-after performance specifications, 4K random performance is a heavily marketed figure.

The Seagate Enterprise Turbo SSHD outpaces both of its competitors with an average of 608 IOPS. The Enterprise Performance 15K lags behind with an average of 529 IOPS, while the Toshiba MK1401 averages 522 IOPS at QD256. The SSHD's increase in speed is impressive due to the span of the entire LBA for these tests. With this testing, there really isn't any chance for the clusters of I/O the SSHD thrives on. The NAND acceleration still provides a benefit even in widely distributed workloads.

The Turbo SSHD averages 509 IOPS, the Enterprise Performance 452 IOPS, and the MK1401 averages 456 IOPS at QD256.

Our write percentage testing illustrates the varying performance of each solution with mixed workloads. The 100% column to the right is a pure write workload of the 4K file size, and 0% represents a pure 4K read workload.

As we move across our full-span mixed read/write workloads, we witness the Turbo SSHB enjoying a big lead in every category.

The Turbo SSHD provides more accesses in the lower latency ranges.

We record the power consumption measurements during our test run at QD256. The Turbo SSHD pulls fewer watts than its 15K counterpart, averaging only 6.63. The Enterprise Performance averages 6.97 and the MK1401 averages the lowest with 6.12 Watts. The MK1401 has fewer platters, which leads to low power draw across the board.

IOPS to Watts measurements are generated from data recorded during our test. The Turbo SSHD beats its sibling, yet falls behind the diminutive MK1401.