Need help: Win7 64bit experience index rates my Raptor only 5.9 because of I/O?

Hello,

I just built a brand new system with a fresh install of Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium.  The “Experience Index” is rating everything I have installed at a 7.5 or above EXCEPT for my 150 GB WD raptor drive, which it only assigns a 5.9!

Now, I would think this drive would produce a nice score in the I/O category…it is the model#: WD1500HLFS

As this is a 150 gb drive, I have it partitioned into two 75 Gb drives, with the OS and only the OS on the first 75 gb partition, and the second partition has only 1 app installed. 

I have an Asus P6X58D-E motherboard and the BIOS correctly identifies the drive, and I can see nothing out of the ordinary that would limit performance.

Does anyone have any ideas why this score is so low?  Could it be that it is also measuring total capacity and not just I/O?  (Note: I have a second 350 GB drive also installed that is just for data, a Samsung Spinpoint F4)

Thanks, this is puzzeling to me!  The drive’s score brings down the overall EI score to 5.9…

The drive structure itself limits the performance, as it’s the slowest part in the computer. 5.9 is about the maximum you can get for a mechanical hard drive. If you wish to push the score to the limit, consider getting an SSD drive.

And be advised that this benchmark isn’t very much reliable.