HDD Speed and cache

[riley454]

I'm deciding on a HDD for my upcoming build and will be getting 1TB SATA drive, but am trying to keep costs to a minimum without suffering too much in performance.

Ultimately getting SATA3, 64Mb cache, 7200rpm would be best for me, but that combination starts adding a bit more to the overall cost than I would like.

From what I can tell in Australia, SATA2/64Mb and SATA3/32Mb are about the same price so is there much noticeable difference between the performance of each combination? Which would be overall best?

Also as far as speed, 7200 is obviously better than 5400, but how noticeable is THAT difference. And in comparison, WD have their HDDs with speed listed as "IntelliPower". How does their "IntelliPower" speed compare to 7200/5400 rpm HDDs?

This product seems ideal(SATA3/64Mb), but I'm concerned the cheap price may be an indication of second rate performance without knowing the speed of "IntelliPower"!
http://www.umart.com.au/newindex2.phtml?bid=7
Am I going to notice much difference for general home use with not much labor intensive programs running?

 

[claptonman]

5400 to 7200 is a big difference.

For the average user, 32mb is plenty. But I'm getting a 64mb cache 750GB for only $59 USD.

 

[Benny Boy]

http://www.umart.com.au/newindex2.phtml?bid=7

Or WD Black w/ FAEX.

The Green and Blue are considered storage drives since the F3 and WDBlack are better/faster for c:\

 

[linkin]

Umart is good, but if you live in Melbourne check out www.pccasegear.com - picking up your order can save you heaps on shipping! Their shipping for small items/orders isn't too bad either, normally $12/$19 for express. But if you buy a case and need it shipped interstate, expect $70+ for regular AAE service.

 

[riley454]

Apologies my previous link seems to be wrong.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=17711
Is this comparable to other SATA3/64Mb HDDs? And is the IntelliPower speed comparable to 7200rpm or is it going to be slower?