HP Workstation SSD Quest

So, this article will focus on the SSD performance, in order to put the HP Workstation performance to the next level, after giving you the information of RAID-0 config in previous article.

At this stage, Intel is so kind to lend me the their latest Solid State Drive (SSD), the 520 Series. Further information about the 520 Series can be found, here. Generally, it can deliver up random writes up to 80,000 IOPS and sequential write of 520 MB/s. The best feature of this latest SSD from Intel, is their End-to-End Data Protection, that will secure your data inside the drive and let you sleep smiling from ear to ear.

The picture below, is the first SSD box received from Intel. It's the 120GB model.

The blue box tells that it comes from Intel for sure, with the big "Intel" logo on it. So, you can't miss it.

One good thing about this package is, it doesn't contain conventional spinning drive. Of course, it's an SSD. So, with eveything still inside the box, you will have no fear when you accidentally dropped the box as there isn't any spinning disc of moving heads inside the SSD. That's the beauty of it.

Opening the box will simply show you additional documentations, cables and, one thing you need to place the SSD into a 3.5" drive slot: a metal bracket.

Preparation
In order to have identical test, I decided to duplicate whatever inside the Dual SATA RAID-0 drives, into the Intel SSD. The process itself didn't take long. About 3-4 minutes.

However, since it's just a quick test, I put the SSD outside the Z800 chassis. Some of you might think it's unsafe. Howver, since the SSD doesn't have any spinning parts that is common in any conventional HDDs, so it's safe. But I wouldn't recommend the methods to any newbies. Short circuits danger still apply. So, it feels good to say: "Don't try this at home, kid."

The Results
I give you the numbers of my practical tests, using common Windows Experience Index Numbers and couple of HDD benchmark applications.

Dual SATA RAID-0

Intel 520 SSD 120GB

Intel SSD 520 120GB CrystalMark Test

Intel SSD 520 120GB ATTO Bench Test

Summary
Intel SSD 520-series 120GB, shows its strength against its contender, the Dual SATA RAID-0 Striped Array, within the HP Z800 Workstation, delivering averagely around 250MB/s data transfer. The closest feel about its difference is  the boot time. I can straightly tell, that it cuts down the boot time, and performs just half time needed for the previous Dual SATA RAID-0 to boot the Windows. It hits 33 secs, compares to the Dual SATA RAID-0 at 54 secs.

In my next article, I will try to have DUAL SSD RAID-0 performance, tested. However, I'm still waiting for the arrival of another box of Intel 520 SSD. Stay tuned, guys.