Windows 7 HD and SSD Performance Analyzed

Now that we know Windows 7 is a better choice when it comes to disk performance, we ran an array of benchmarks on various  drives within Windows 7 to showcase how the operating system responds to disks of all shapes and sizes. Enjoy.

Test System Details Specifications and Revisions

• Intel Core i7 920 Quad-Core (2.66 GHz) Processor
• Asus P6T Intel X58 Motherboard
• 3 x Kingston HyperX DDR3-1333 Memory (3 x 1 GB)
• 1 x Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 896 MB
• 1 x Plextor PX-755SA DVD+/-RW Drive
• 1 x Corsair HX620W 620W Power Supply
• Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Release Candidate (Build 7100 x64)

• Western Digital Green 1 TB SATA-II
• Western Digital VelociRaptor 300 GB SATA-II
• Western Digital Raptor 74 GB SATA
• OCZ Vertex 120 GB SSD SATA-II (1.10 Firmware)
• Intel X25-M 160 GB SSD SATA-II (04098820 Firmware)

Windows 7 Performance Windows 7 Ultimate Boot Time

Windows 7 definitely shows better overall operating system performance when using a solid state disk compared to a traditional platter-based hard disk. Even the high-end VelociRaptor drive trails our two SSD drives across the board. These SSD drives can boot up Windows 7 in roughly 30 seconds from hitting the power button, which is pretty impressive. Our traditional hard drives take roughly 20 seconds longer to get to the login prompt, which frankly, isn't too bad either. Windows 7 boots very fast, even on slower hard drives.