7.2k SATA 6GB/s 64mb cache vs 10k SATA 3GB/s 16 mb cache

[Snass117]

Looking to replace my WD 10k 74GB Raptor with either WD's 10K RPM 300GB 3GB/s 18MB CACHE VelociRaptor or WD's 7200 RPM 1TB 6GB/s 64 MB CACHE Caviar Black HD.
Does 4x the cache and 2x transfer rate make up for the RPM difference?

 

[davel_68]

The spin speed will most likely affect access time (check this in the drive specifications), but for sheer data transfer rates, the 6GB/s would be a much better deal. It really depends on how you use the drive how the cache will affect things - it is there to read data off the disk (and store data to be written to the disk) to avoid having to wait for the head and platter to get to the right point.
I recently upgraded a drive, and found the faster data transfer rate a huge boon...

 

[WyomingKnott]

Not sure I agree, davel_68. I'm not aware of any platter-based drive that will benefit from using SATA III, since none of them can transfer above the 3Bg/s rate of SATA II. (I had to edit that from USB II and USB III; that would have looked silly.)

I voted with my wallet; my boot drive pre-SSD was a VelociRaptor.