7200.11 vs 7200.12 seagate

[Jay316]

Hi

I am currently using an old 40gb harddrive that i put in my computer along side a 500 gb seagate ST3500320AS. this harddrive is the 7200.11 series.

i originally didn't want to use a 40gb but i had to wait a few days to get that harddrive. and close to a year later im finally not lazy enough to take that harddrive out.

what i wanted to do was set up a RAID 0 configuration with two 500gb harddrives.

now what i know from reading the toms hardware article is that it is better to have two of the same drives vs different drives. but what i was wondering is since now there is the 7200.12 series of the seagates that are out and i can get it for about 65 bucks or so. the model im talking about is the ST3500418AS.. and it has 16mb cache which is what is different from the model i have.

im not sure how much the current harddrive i have is going around for right now, ill have to call the shop and see.

Now what i wanan know is if i should go ahead and pick up the new series and just raid it with my current 500gb harddrive. or will it be better to just get the same model i have even though its of the 11th generation.


Thanks

 

[Dougx1317]

RAID 0 would still work if both drives have the same capacity, rpm, and cache size. The faster drive will be slowed by the slower drive, I think.

 

[Jay316]

so would you think its just better to go with a .12 series rather than buying another one of the same harddrive? ive been reading that cache size is rather negligible after 16mb.

im primarily using this computer for gaming, videos surfing etc.

 

[Dougx1317]

I think their may be some issue with the difference in cache sizes. Maybe someone else here can confirm if that's a small performance loss or something worse. Even though it's usually best if the hard drive models match, I'd personally probably take the newer one. (If they're priced the same.)

For gaming and video surfing, you don't really need RAID 0. It would be a lot of hassle for no noticeable difference. If just need more space, I'd suggest a 1TB for $79. If you want speed, you should start saving for a SSD.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The .11 had issues and for the little amount of money involved, I'd do the .12's and use the .11 as an external backup in a BlacX

 

[Dougx1317]

It depends if he wants more capacity or more speed. The .12 is faster, but not enough to constitute an upgrade.

 

[cjl]

The .12 is faster, but the main reason I would replace the .11 is the reliability issue. The .12 is quite a bit more reliable.

 

[jsc]

The .11 drives had a fairly common firmware problem that turned the drive into a brick. It is supposed to be fixed in the .12's.

 

[Jay316]

ya but what i want is to use both harddrives in a raid 0 configuration to get the extra capacity + a speed boost by using it in raid 0.

 

[Jay316]

i think ill just get the 12th generation newer harddrive, its going on sale so im gonan pick that one up over the same model of my current harddrive and then just set up a raid drive.

Thanks