Time for a new buid - HDD question.

W

Westkhan

New Member
How do RPM vs. Cache vs. SATA type interplay in what relates to performance?

For instance, is a SATA-3, 32Gb cache a better performer that a SATA-2 with 64Gb cache (...assuming the MoBo has a SATA-3 controller, obviously...)?

...or is it worth it to go for a Velociraptor with a spindle speed of 10000 rpm,in a SATA-2 guise (...the SATA-3 ones are way too expensive....) in spite of the fact they seem to only have 16Gb caches?

...I am lost, regarding this, can you guys please help?

Thanks! :)

WK
 
SATA 2 will support a traditional hard drive. You aren't going to get faster than SATA 2. For the Velociraptors, I am unsure, but the 10000RPM with lower cache is going to outperform a 7200RPM with a higher cache. Have you considered a SSD? They are expensive but the performance between an SSD and a traditional drive are very different. You could do a set up like I have, a smaller SSD and a large HDD for storage.
 
Thanks for the reply!

claptonman said:
SATA 2 will support a traditional hard drive. You aren't going to get faster than SATA 2.
Click to expand...

I know....but the Mobo I am targeting on has a SATA-3 controller.

claptonman said:
Have you considered a SSD? They are expensive but the performance between an SSD and a traditional drive are very different. You could do a set up like I have, a smaller SSD and a large HDD for storage.
Click to expand...

I have...but the thing is, my typical set up is 1 HDD for the OS and main programs, 1 HDD for general storage and a third, very large one, for photo storage, backed-up by an external e-sata twin.

In the first one I now have 100GB of data and I usually try to double that capacity when planning a new build, to avoid future problems. This means a 200Gb (minimum) SSD and these are, still, way too expansive.

I will most probably go the SSD way in the next build from this one.

WK
 
claptonman said:
SATA 3 is backwards compatible with SATA 2, so you could use a SATA 2 drive on it.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know...

But my question is: How does the step-up from SATA 2 to SATA 3 measure up against cache size or spindle velocity increases, in what relates to overall performance?

For instance, is a SATA 3 disk with a 16GB cache preferable to a SATA 2 one with 64GB?

WK
 
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