Extremely slow HDD speeds - Z3000 Pro

Hi all,

Just received my brand new Z3000 Pro and I'm experiencing disappointingly slow transfer speeds to the internal hard drive. Hoping someone can help me figure out if this is normal or if I have a faulty unit.

My setup:

Zidoo Z3000 Pro (firmware v1.2.40_G)
Internal: Seagate 4TB 7200rpm HDD
Source: USB 3.0 SSD connected to blue USB 3.0 port on Zidoo, SMB from 10G Synology NAS

The problem:
When transferring large 4K remux files (74GB MKV) from the USB SSD, USB Drive or SMB from my Synology NAS to the internal HDD, I'm seeing:

First ~2GB: ~90MB/s (great!)
After cache fills: drops to ~31MB/s sustained

What I've tried:

• Formatted as exFAT - slow
• Formatted as NTFS - slow
• Tried ext4 from Ubuntu laptop - Zidoo wouldn't recognise it, only offered to format as exFAT/NTFS
• Updated firmware from v1.2.40 to v1.2.40_G - slight improvement
• Reformatted via Zidoo after firmware update - slight improvement

Confirming the drive is fine:
I connected the Seagate to my PC and tested with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test - speeds were as expected for a 7200rpm drive (150MB/s+). So the drive itself isn't the issue.

Questions:

• Is ~31MB/s sustained write speed normal for the Z3000 Pro's internal SATA interface?
• Are other owners seeing similar speeds when copying from USB to internal HDD?
• Could this indicate a hardware issue with my unit's SATA controller?
• Any settings I should check? (I did disable SMB server in settings)

I've read that the Amlogic S928X units are generally slower than the older Realtek models, but 31MB/s seems quite low for what should be a straightforward USB 3.0 to SATA transfer.

Playback is fine, but these transfer speeds make loading up the drive quite tedious and I paid extra to have a model with an internal HDD bay.

Any input appreciated!

Thank you

 

there is a couple of threads about this. I have the same experience, but no solution.

but seems like most people doesnt have this issues and it gets boiled down to network issues on the most part..

 

There's definitely something wrong. I need to find the root cause while I'm still within my exchange period as it might be a faulty SATA controller. I don't understand why the SATA speeds are so slow.

 

I forgot to mention something important. My internal SATA drive appears as a USB drive to the Zidoo. Even on power on, a notification window appears asking if I wish to view the contents of the external drive. Nothing else is connected to the system except for the internal drive.

 

here are the topics i could find by searching.

https://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?th...nas-and-internal-hdd-in-zidoo-3000-pro.99303/

https://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?th...-to-transfer-a-file.101484/page-2#post-266916

https://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?th...-a-locally-attached-drive.101856/#post-270914

 

Zidoo stated that the usb appearing is 'normal' and should not be a concern .

I find it troubling. Sata over USB should not be a big issue but I don't want the extra overhead.

 

The 30MB/s speed is ballpark speed for USB2.0 speeds on mass storage devices.

It's a real shame that ext4 is not supported. It would be the most appropriate file system for internal and permanently attached drives.

 

Update: So I mounted my Zidoo internal drive using SMB and I'm transferring a 400GB folder at 140MB/s directly from my Synology NAS to my Zidoo. (10GB Fiber optic SFP from my Synology to my local UniFi UDM Switch, then a CAT7 rated ethernet to my Zidoo). So the issue isn't the storage controller then. There is clearly something bottlenecking the speeds when transferring data locally using USB. I've asked the retailer to exchange my unit to be on the safe side.

 

Can you clear what is the difference between two cases:

 

Apologies, it was running slow over SMB, but now it's only running slow when transferring data internally over USB.

 

Over the network from the desktop PC to the Ziddo with the HDD connected via USB, the maximum speed is only 30 MB/s in my case, while to the internal disk it increases to 80/90 MB.
The same disk connected to the PC directly via USB transfers at 180 MB/s.
This is quite disappointing with a UHD 8000.

 

I agree! It's a real shame that the speeds are really slow. Using SMB from my Synology NAS direct to my Zidoo Z3000 Pro, the speeds are around 100MB/s, which isn't too bad. However, when I connect a USB 3.1 SSD drive (or any USB drive), the transfer speeds are horrendous! I'm not using any of the other USB ports on the Zidoo, so it's not like there is a bandwidth limit being hit.

I had a replacement Z3000 Pro delivered to me yesterday and the issue still occurs, so I'm confident that this is either a firmware bug, or a hardware limitation of the new AML S928X chipset. I wish one of the admins could chime in here.

 

Why did you think the problem was specific to your unit?
I don't think they'll ever fix this, like several others, unfortunately.

 

I also own a z3000pro, can only comment on speed transfer from my PC via 20meter Cat5 network cable to the Z3000pro.

On average 55 MB/s, just did a test on Win11pro 23H2 and the transfers peed increased to
an average of 80 / 85 MB/s.

So in my set up the change to 24H2 and now 25H2 resulted in lower transferspeeds.

 

Zidoo Z30 Pro speed testing

(6GBram,64GB flash)

Firmware v1.2.40

Testing: SD card Test Pro:


internal HDD Toshiba 3.5" 16Tb 7200 rpm speed read 120MB/s, write 200MB/s

extrrnal HDD 2.5" 1TB USB C 3.0 7200 RPM read 115MB/s, write 150MB/s

internat menory 64GB read 220MB/s , write 110MB/s

LAN 1Gbit SAMBA v1.0
Switch TP-Link TS T2600G-18TS
Source Qnap: read Zidoo 90MB/s

LAN 1Gbit SAMBA v1.0
Switch Asus AX88U
Source Qnap: read Zidoo 45MB/s

 

I have the same problem of slow speed with Z3000 Pro only when transferring to HDD connected to the left USB 3.0 port. It does not matter if I send data over the network or just between HDDs inside the device. The problem with the speed dropping below 30 is the same. The right 3.0 port is fast normally.

 

By applying this setting to my Win11pro, the transfer speed via the wired network to my Z3000Pro increased to an average
of 80 MB/s versus the 55 MB/s.

Quote
Common Fixes for Win 11 Pro

1. 1. Disable SMB Signing (Most Common Fix)
      • Open PowerShell as Administrator.
      • Run: Set-SmbClientConfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false.
      • Restart your PC.

Unquote.

 

I only have a problem with one USB 3.0, where the speed drops below 30. On the other USB 3.0 and the internal HDD, the transfer from the PC over the network is at full speed around 90. The same problem with this USB 3.0 occurs when copying internally in the device, without other connection influences.

 

Here is another thread from me:

SMB Speed comparison Realtek vs. Amlogic | Zidoo forum

This is a problem with Amlogik media players, not just Zidoo, but also Dune.

Personally, I have no hope that it will ever get better if it hasn't been fixed after such a long time.

 

After reading your post, I decided to switch ports on my external HDD to test it, and like magic, the drive now transfers files at 80 MB on the other port, compared to the slightly lower 30 MB it was stuck at on the other one.
So, it's something they actually built into their hardware, not a faulty model.