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SeriTek/6G Direct Connect Performance

SeriTek/6G + 2011 MacBook Pro + 3G OWC Extreme Pro RE SSD's = 376MB/s
The FirmTek SeriTek/6G ExpressCard provides ultra high performance when used with the 2011 MacBook Pro 17-Inch model and OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro RE Solid State Drives. With dual 200GB OWC SSD devices mounted on the SeriTek/6G ExpressCard/34 adapter, RAID 0 average read performance of 376MB/sec. can be achieved.

Area Full	Write - Read [MB/s]	Write - Read [MB/s]	Write - Read [MB/s]	Write - Read [MB/s]
empty	117 - 239	129 - 375	119 - 143	129 - 276
10%	117 - 239	129 - 373	118 - 140	128 - 262
20%	117 - 239	128 - 377	119 - 135	129 - 260
30%	118 - 238	129 - 375	119 - 132	128 - 251
40%	118 - 238	129 - 374	119 - 129	128 - 244
50%	117 - 239	129 - 375	116 - 114	129 - 229
60%	118 - 238	129 - 375	119 - 120	128 - 223
70%	118 - 239	129 - 376	112 - 107	128 - 207
80%	118 - 238	129 - 376	105 - 102	129 - 193
90%	118 - 238	133 - 384	89 - 85	129 - 170
100%	118 - 238	133 - 374	82 - 78	128 - 149
Average	117 - 238	130 - 376	111 - 117	128 - 224
Configuration	Single Disk OWC SSD	RAID 0 Two OWC SSD	Single Disk Samsung F3	RAID 0 Two Samsung F3
Volume Size	199.4GB	398.98GB	999.2GB	2TB

Table 1 Testing Detail: The SeriTek/6G ExpressCard was tested with the 2011 Apple 17" MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.7. 200GB OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro RE Solid State Drive(s) and 1TB Samsug F3 SATA 3.5" hard disk(s) were performance tested while connected to the SeriTek/6G using driver version 6.0.5. DiskTester 2.0 1GB read and write tests were performed using a run area test to provide the results in MB/s.

SeriTek/6G + SeriTek/5PM Port Multiplier Enclosure = Virtually Unlimited Data Storage
The combination of a single FirmTek SeriTek/6G ExpressCard with multiple SeriTek/5PM enclosures can provide large data storage volumes and superior read performance when connected to the 2011 Apple 17" MacBook Pro. With ten 1TB Samsung F1 SATA hard disks mounted in two SeriTek/5PM enclosures, FirmTek obtained RAID 0 average read performance of 377MB/sec.

The SeriTek/5PM enclosure provides several interesting advantages.
1. Reduced cable clutter (a single cable per enclosure)
2. Stable RAID performance as the volume fills
3. Huge storage capacity (5x greater than a direct connect configuration)
4. Up to ten hard disks can be supported with a single SeriTek/6G

# of Drives	5	10	4	4
Area Full	Write - Read [MB/s]	Write - Read [MB/s]	Write - Read [MB/s]	Write - Read [MB/s]
empty	115 - 230	128 - 377	120 - 231	121 - 249
10%	115 - 228	128 - 376	120 - 233	121 - 249
20%	113 - 231	130 - 377	119 - 240	121 - 249
30%	114 - 230	128 - 376	115 - 230	121 - 228
40%	112 - 231	128 - 377	119 - 219	121 - 247
50%	112 - 232	128 - 377	122 - 208	121 - 247
60%	112 - 233	128 - 376	120 - 197	121 - 250
70%	112 - 234	128 - 378	120 - 186	121 - 222
80%	112 - 234	131 - 377	120 - 155	121 - 220
90%	113 - 234	128 - 377	120 - 151	116 - 184
100%	112 - 230	128 - 377	120 - 117	121 - 162
Average	113 - 232	129 - 377	120 - 197	120 - 228
Configuration	SeriTek/5PM 5-Samsung F1 1TB RAID 0	2-SeriTek/5PM 10-Samsung F1 1TB RAID 0	Oxford 936QS 4-Hitachi 1TB RAID 5	Oxford 936QS 4-Hitachi 1TB RAID 0
Volume Size	5TB	10TB	3TB	4TB

Table 2 Testing Detail: The SeriTek/6G ExpressCard/34 adapter was tested with the 2011 Apple 17" MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.7. Samsung F1 hard disks were mounted in the FirmTek SeriTek/5PM enclosure(s). RAID 0 configurations were created with Disk Utility. Hitachi 1TB hard disks were installed in the 936QS based enclosure. DiskTester 2.0, 4GB read and write tests were performed using a run area test to provide the results in MB/s.

The SeriTek/6G ExpressCard adapter provides impressive read performance capabilities when matched with the 2011 Apple 17" MacBook Pro. In addition, the SeriTek/6G is bootable with the 2011 MacBook Pro. These two features offer some interesting opportunities. Consider using a fast external SSD or SATA RAID boot volume for special high performance applications like uncompressed 1080i 10-bit RGB 4:4:4 video playback, amazingly quick external boot drive read performance, creating ultra fast bootable backups and more!

With Read performance capabilities in excess of 370MB/s, the SeriTek/6G ExpressCard offers a new performance standard for the eSATA ExpressCard/34 category. Add Boot capability, high quality SATA 6G hardware, third party S.M.A.R.T application support, a native eSATA interface, Boot Camp support, Time Machine compatibility and SiI-3726 port multiplier enclosure support to round out this huge product feature set, found only on the FirmTek SeriTek/6G.

This information was produced by FirmTek, LLC for Macintosh users desiring an in-depth analysis of the performance options available with the FirmTek SeriTek/6G. We hope you find this data helpful. Results will vary with third party enclosures and different hard disk models.