Page 4 - Performance Benchmarks
For our tests, the QNAP TS-409 is placed in the networking room in my basement, where all the network outlets in my house leads to. The test system is two stories away from the NAS to simulate real world performance in a centralized networking environment. A NETGEAR GS-108 Gigabit switch handles the communication between the two.
Test system as follows:
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 @ 3.50 (333*10.5, Yorkfield/12MB L2)
- Noctua NH-U12P w/Noctua NF-P12 + Arctic Cooling MX-2
- Asus Striker II NSE
- Super Talent Project X PC3-14400 2x1GB @ 6-6-6-18
- Western Digital 500GB AAKS 7200RPM 16MB PMR SATA2
- NEC AD-7170A 18X DVD+/-RW
- Asus NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS TOP 512MB @ 740/1035
- Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
- Silverstone KL-02; Noctua NF-P12 - Front (Asus Q-Fan), Noctua NF-S12-1200 - Back (Asus Q-Fan)
- Seasonic M12II 500W
- Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1
In our benchmarks, we used our standard test folder to calculate performance of the drives. Our test folder contains thirty additional folders inside. Inside the folders are 515 files; consisting of EXE, INI, DAT, BIN, DLL, ZIP, JPG, AVI and more. The total combined file size is 399 MB (418,666,235 bytes).
We also used a single 399 MB file (418,666,235 bytes) by adding the 515 files and 30 folders listed above to an uncompressed ZIP file for single file performance. Each test was ran at least twice to ensure accuracy.
- Write means copying from the test file from our test system to the device. (Write performance test)
- Copy means to copy the file from the reference device to our test system. (Read performance test)
Real-world throughput for our Multi File benchmark was really consistent while reading our networking performance graph -- not lag spots or sudden drop in data output. Consistent input/output is especially important for media streaming. We measured the TS-409's read performance to be at a decent 13.75MB/s, and 13.11MB/s for write performance -- not bad at all.
The Single File real world performance benchmark also pulled some very decent results. Again, fairly consistent and no extreme drops, but the maximum unsustained speed peaked at 29.3MB/s for a couple seconds. It never dropped below 11MB/s during our tests according to the network performance graphs observed. Again, these results are pretty darn good, but it would be really nice if the average sustained performance was a little higher.
The QNAP TS-409 is actually a very power efficient NAS. With two hard drives under load, the maximum power consumption is only 28W -- the Thermaltake Muse NAS RAID we reviewed last year had significantly lower performance and features than the TS-409, yet consumes in excess of 30W with one single drive. In idling state, the TS-409 takes 23W of power with two hard drives -- impressive. Not that the 10-15W difference between the Thermaltake NAS and the QNAP TS-409 is a lot, but for something that runs 24/7, you'll want the power consumption to be as low as possible in the long run.
Page Index
1. Introduction and Specifications
2. A Closer Look
3. Configuration and User Interface
4. Performance Benchmarks
5. Final Thoughts and Conclusion
