Partishoned HD's really faster?

T

TrainTrackHack

VIP Member
...somewhere i read that you should partition big HD's, as massive partitions tend to slow down the computer. Is this true? If so, what would be a good size for a partition? Or is it perfectly fine if I have one HD appear as one drive, no matter how big it is?

Answers strictly from performane point of view, please.
 
Its not really partition hard drives are faster but partitioning is always a neat idea, especially if we're talking backups.
you can sync your Data or C to the D drive

Or is it perfectly fine if I have one HD appear as one drive, no matter how big it is?
Click to expand...
nah, if you have a 500GB, well even a 200GB it's always better to partition them

But partitioning is better than leaving your drive as a whole, even in performance terms
 
It's fine to have it partitioned with 1 big partition.

Performance wise, do you get better performance from the outer edge (start) of the track than you do off the inner edge. A partition will start on the outside, so if you make a partition to store the OS and other frequently used programs first, it will use the faster part of the disk. Then you can make a second partion (or even more if you want to seperate it further) for things like downloads and stuff that can be slower without you really noticing.

The partition will also keep the files from fragmenting to the inner edge. That tends to happen over time for drives with 1 big partition.
 
i always partitioned my drives!
i think it makes it look neater, and it is easier to find all my things.
also if u do it u can keep your C drive clean.
i have 2x500G HDDs in a RAID0(which i regret) but i have a 100G C drive, 400G games drive, 400G video drive an a 52G drive for my game patches, drivers, an the setup files for programs i download.
it has made it a lot easier for me.
 
I believe most people confuse a partitioned drive being the same as two independent drives. While you can keep files more separate with partitions, realize you're still running on a single drive and the head's are having to jump back and forth between partitions(if you're using both at the same time...) Now I suppose if you use one partition for Windows and the other for applications you may see some difference than if you used a single drive, but I seriously doubt it'd be anything worth the trouble.
 
Well, I'm building a new system w/ a single 160 GB HDD, and thinking about partitioning... hows this breakdown look

1. 60 GB OS System, apps, XP PRO
2. 50 GB Games
3. 50 GB Misc. files i.e. audio, video

or just 2
1. 60 GB OS
2. 100 GB Misc. Files

Any opinions on this setup? i've read that keeping the OS on the 1st partition is beneficial b/c it can be formated w/out losing all your files and it won't get fragmented as bad.
 
If you are just going to put windows on you don't need 60GB. If you are going to include games and other apps then you'll probably want more than 60 unless you only have a couple installed at a time.
 
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