|
AKASA
Luminous Round ATA100/133 IDE Cables
|
|
Author : Wayne
Date : 22nd July 2002
|
HDTach v2.61 HDD Benchmark :
Where HDTach is unusual is in that it takes readings
across the entire capacity of your hard disk rather than creating
a data set at one point and working with it. This averages out
the zonal nature of hard drives which read data faster on the
outside of the platters than on the insides.
The same testing procedure was used with each
run being repeated three times and the third result used.
Maxtor ATA-133 HDTach Performance :
Maxtor ATA-133 on Standard IDE Ribbon Cable
Maxtor ATA-133 on 45cm AKASA Round Cable
Maxtor ATA-133 on 60cm AKASA Round Cable
Maxtor ATA-133 on 90cm AKASA Round Cable
Maxtor ATA-133 Performance
This time we see a more familiar pattern to the
Maxtor's results with the 45cm cable having a slight performance
advantage and with all three cables once again showing the conventional
ribbon cable who's boss. I should remind you again that the
scale of the graph is greatly exaggerating the differences but
the results are now getting fairly predictable.
Let's fire up the Western Digital again and see
what it has to say.
Western Digital ATA-100 HDTach Performance
:
Western Digital WD1000 on Standard IDE Ribbon Cable
Western Digital WD1000 on 45cm AKASA Round Cable
Western Digital WD1000 on 60cm AKASA Round Cable
Western Digital WD1000 on 90cm AKASA Round Cable
The WD's higher data rates means we're seeing
much closer scores across the range but once again we need to
realise the relevance of AKASA's 90cm cable matching the 45cm
ribbon cable stride for stride. Even allowing for natural error
the ribbon cable has failed to take a single test win over 48
runs and this as far as I'm concerned is conclusive proof that
what ever AKASA have done has worked incredibly well.
Conclusion :
The craze for rounded cables may have subsided
recently but the benefits clearly still make them a worthwhile
investment. The whole case airflow deal has been pretty well
documented and the exact improvements will vary depending on
your case layout and the number of fans you've got running but
in our Chieftech
Black Dragon full tower the difference between all ribbon
and all rounded cables is 2 degrees Celsius. Doesn't sound much
but considering rounded cables look better, are easier to route
and perform better it's a win-win situation.
Because it doesn't appear to be grounded I'm not
sure just how much EMI shielding the braiding provides but it
certainly isn't doing anything detrimental to the performance
and offers that extra level of protection against any sharp
edges that might make their way through the outer rubber over
time.
If I'm being honest the "glow in the dark"
feature's a bit of a gimmick. They do glow in the dark and it's
quite an intense glow too but it doesn't really last long enough
to be effective. To get the benefits you need a side window
which means you've probably also got some sort of lighting so
you'll only get the benefit of the glowing when your system's
powered down, which is probably the time when nobody's taking
taking any notice of it. It's a nice touch but it's certainly
not a reason to buy them.
What is a good reason to shell out on these cables
though is the performance. AKASA have done the unthinkable and
created a product with cosmetic appearance in mind that outperforms
the original mechanically driven design. This plus the looks,
ease of use and airflow improvements make these cables almost
too good to not buy! With sizes from 45cm through to 90cm plus
floppy the AKASA range should have you covered from the tiniest
of MicroATX cases to the largest of full towers and though not
as cheap as generic flat ribbon cable the differences are chalk
and cheese. We said it with their Silver mountain and now we
get to say it again, hat's off to AKASA for another product
that performs as well as it looks!
Most of AKASA's product range can be found at
~
www.overclock.co.uk
www.overclockers.co.uk
www.theverclockingstore.co.uk
And in the US at www.plycon.com
<<<
Back to Review Index >>>
