time to upgrade Again

[Peerzy]

now am confused

Your life story. There are five things that vary on a hard drive

1)Make (WD, Maxtor and so on)
2)Size (20GB, 120GB, 300GB and so on)
3)RPM (5400, 7200, 10000)
4)Cache (2Mb, 8Mb, 16Mb)
5)Type (SATA, IDE)

Make isnt really important, i find they all work as good as each other, i go for the cheapest usually. Size is how big you want it. RPM is speed, 7200 is pritty much what everyone has, you can spend more money and loose Size but increase your RPM to 10000. Cache is also the speed it works. 2Mb is pritty weak and 8Mb only costs maybe £5 more. 16Mb is amazing but is only on SATA drives. IDE is the standard, CD Rom's use it most HDD's use it. SATA is a new type of connection it needs drivers but the drive preforms much faster.

So the perfect HDD setup imo is:

Drive 1) 40GB 'Raptor' 10000 RPM 8Mb Cache (I think thats the highest cache they do)
Drive 2) 160Gb/200Gb SATA 7200 RPM 16Mb Cache

Thats 200Gb/240Gb of space with a very fast loading windows and a second drive for downloads and games that will preform extreamly well when loading files (Games) and un-raring and burning files.

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

i would definitely get the raptor 10000rpm sata drive. my freind has it along with 1gb dual channel ram 3.2ghz HT, and i never seen a computer fly like that. games are awesome on that thing. I can compare results because we have the same mobo. i have 3.0ghz, and that is the only difference. that drive DRASTICALLY improves performance IMO.

[Virtualbody1234]

... 16Mb is amazing but is only on SATA drives...

Not true. The 16 MB is also available on IDE:

Check this link and look at models 6B250R0 and 6B300R0. Maxtor IDE 250 GB and 300 GB with 16 MB cache.

http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/...data_sheet.pdf

[Peerzy]

Not true. The 16 MB is also available on IDE:

Check this link and look at models 6B250R0 and 6B300R0. Maxtor IDE 250 GB and 300 GB with 16 MB cache.

http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/...data_sheet.pdf

My bad i had only seen it on SATA but VB is right

[clocker]

Were I able to start again I think I'd go for the 76GB Raptor over the baby version.
The big boy has lower seek times and is generally considered to be the best performer of the pair.

but VB is right

What did you expect?
He is a robot.
Which explains why he took to Linux so easily.

[Virtualbody1234]

Is there really a noticeable difference with the Raptor over a 7200 RPM?

About being a robot... Talk about "the pot calling the kettle black".

I thought I was vulcanized. I guess i'm a Vulcanized robot. The possibilities are virtually 2,734 to 2,867 that I am...

[clocker]

Is there really a noticeable difference with the Raptor over a 7200 RPM?

About being a robot... Talk about "the pot calling the kettle black".

Define "noticable difference".
Oh nevermind, the answer to your question is "Not really".
One would like to think that the money spent on a Raptor ( even if it was purchased secondhand as mine was) is justified, but I'm not sure how that could be quantified short of breaking out a stopwatch.
My Seagates bench just short of the Raptor using HDTach and the difference is so minute that I don't think it could be detected by a human (which exempts both you and I, VB).
I have read of owners who claim their Raptors (or HDD of choice) make the PC "feel smoother" and "crisper", but to me, these are nonsense terms in the context of a computer and seem to be justification rather than explanation.

On the other hand, I could be a totally insensitive dolt- not capable of experiencing the nuanced improvement offered by a drive with the highest dollar per gigabyte ratio known to man.


BTW,
I have never stooped so low as to call any kettle black.
Many of my best friends are cast iron and it would be ridiculous to discriminate on the basis of material.

Those copper SOBs on the other hand....they can just rot in hell.


Now I have to go wash out my mouth with soap.
I hope you're happy.

[Virtualbody1234]

It's good to know that there isn't a marked performance improvement.

... I could be a totally insensitive dolt- not capable of experiencing the nuances...

Hmmm.

[bigdawgfoxx]

He probably doesnt want to spend a ton of money..At this point I would recommend him a nice 160 or 200GB Seagate 8mb drive...sata if you have the capabilities.

I would also recommend an Athlon 64 system.

Clocker...I liked you post about not seeing much difference in the raptor..and totally understand how people say it is faster and smoother...but only because its SUPPOSED to be..not because it is. I was thinking of going for a small one maybe..but I dont go through windows folders much at all so I think i will be staying with 7200RPM.

[SingaBoiy]

Might as well get a hd with 15,000 RPM.