Testing

Benchmark System:
Intel STL2 Server Motherboard
Intel 1Ghz Processor
Visiontek Geforce3
256MB PC133 SDRAM
IBM Deskstar 30GB 7200RPM ATA/100
Maxtor 60GB 7200RPM ATA/100
Microsoft Windows 2000

Finally, we are at what really counts, performance. Here I will be testing out the adapters to come to a conclusion as to which provides the best performance.

I will be using the following benchmarking applications to conduct my comparison: HDTach, Sisoft Sandra, Winbench 99.

HDTACH

(Promise Raid 0)

(AMI Raid 0)

The results show that the Promise controller outperforms the AMI in both read/write, burst speed. It also shows a noticeable difference in CPU utilization. Winbench will be a good test to verify these scores.

(Promise Raid 1)

(AMI Raid 1)

In comparing RAID 1 results it is clear to see that the Promise greatly outperforms that of the AMI in all areas.

Winbench 99

(IDE Raid Controller Comparison)

AMI RAID0 STR Graph
Promise RAID0 STR Graph

AMI RAID1 STR Graph
Promise RAID1 STR Graph

Winbench results seem to correlate with that of the previous benchmarks. High-End and Disk Winmarks for the Promise in both RAID0 and RAID1 outperform that of the AMI. CPU Utilization also correlates as it shows that the Promise controller uses quite a bit less CPU utilization that that of the AMI. Overall I think there is no doubt that the Promise beat out the AMI.

In looking at the STR RAID1 results you can see a noticeable difference. While both start out about the same, while the MegaRaid100 slowly drops, the FastTrack100 TX2 seems to maintain its course, while fluctuating a little.

Conclusion
Overall, I think it is clear who the performance winner is, the Promise FastTrack100 TX2. While the AMI MegaRaid100 has great features like its support for RAID0+1, it just doesn't seem to have what it takes to keep up with the Promise FastTrack100 TX2. If you're looking for a great IDE RAID solution to speed up your gaming system or performance workstation, the Promise FastTrack100 TX2 is a very wise choice.