Buffalo LinkStation LS421DE Enclosure Review

To test this device we used a variety of tools. Firstly, we connected our device to our Netgear ProSafe 5-port Gigabit Switch which was in turn connected to our Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6500 and our Desktop Test System. We then set the device up, and then mapped the network drive to our Test PC (components listed below). We then ran Crystal Disk Mark on this drive.

Processor: AMD Bulldozer FX 8-core 8150 CPU @ 4.2 GHz.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3.
Cooler: Antec Kuhler H20 920 CPU Cooler.
Memory: 8GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1800+ MHz.
Graphics Cards: AMD Radeon 6450 HD (GPU @ 850 MHZ, Memory Clock @ 1000 MHz).
Power Supply: Akasa Venom Power 750W.
Boot Drive: Kingston HyperX 3K 120 GB (OS only).

OS: Windows 7 Home Edition 64bit.
Software: CrystalDiskMark 3.0.2.
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1 TB x 2.

Each test comprises of transferring 2000 MB to the device (write), and then reading the data back again (read) and it is repeated 3 times to gain a reliable average (we repeated the test several times, and from another Test System to validate the results).

While our read speeds are certainly a little disappointing, the write speeds are positive and show that the Buffalo LinkStation LS421DE can deliver good performance.

We then also decided to test this device by using the software LAN Speed Test, which while it is a very simple application, is a very reliable way of thoroughly testing the network performance of a device. For this test, Lan Speed Test created a 5 GB file, and then sent it to the device measuring how long it takes. It then reads the file back again to give a measure of read/write times, which can then be used to calculate data transfer rates.

Read:  35.8 MB/s
Write: 50.1 MB/s

Over this size file (just larger than a full DVD) this is a decent sustained write speed which will allow you to transfer a lot of data relatively quickly. However, this write speed is still a fair way off the maximum capable of these drives, and the 80 MB/s speed quoted by Buffalo so we were hoping to see slightly stronger performance.

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