7200rpm or 5400 rpm HDD?

[Guest]

Am currently building a new computer. I was just wondering if there is significant performance gain (by experience please, coz i think d answer is obvious if its theoretical) in HDD with spindle of 7200rpm than 5400 rpm....

I read in this site's storage reviews that the more rotation speed the more heat it dissipates. But i want to know first if there would be any noticeable difference in overall performance specially that i'm gonna use the computer for games (NBA Live 2K1, Quakes, UT, SOF, Red alerts, Starcraft).

Am choosing a 30GB HDD between Seagate Barracuda or Maxtor with 7200 rpm. But if 5400 rpm woint make any significant difference after all... tell me and help me save some more bucks then.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! =)

 

[Guest]

Well spindle speed contributes a lot. It increases Avg Seek times and sustained transfer, etc. It has a bigger factor than most other characteristics of a hard drive.

But just from a Gaming point of view... Overall performance of the game.. not much there. But new levels ..initial program starts will improve some. Only two games I ever played I wished for a faster hard drive. When I betaed Everquest and you crossed a boundary (whatever they were I don't remember and it may not be the same) you had to load the whole next "tile?" or whatever. I actually grabbed my first 7200 IDE drive for this and it did improve it quite a bit (at least noticeably).

Falcon 4.0 ...OOooo 1 drive setup is just not enough.. I don't think they make one fast enough that would make this loading of mission more tolerable (this might have been CPU limited some too). ONLY time I wished I had RAID for a game.

Overall system performance will improve some though as all programs will probably load a little better depending on your system and the performance of the current hard drive. If it's an older 5400, you might see some serious overall system improvement with today's 7200 drives. If you've got the money and need some more space as well, it's not a bad investment. But if it's just for games, you don't really want to spend the money, and/or you've got plenty of space, I wouldn't worry about it.

You're not really gonna get fragged in Quake3 because your hard drive gets called upon at the wrong time (could happen). More likely it's due to ping or low frame rates.

***Hey I run Intel... but let's get real***

 

[Arrow]

Spindle speed determines a lot in a hard drive's performance. If you're a hardcore gamer, I would definitely recommend that you go for the 7200RPM drive(s).

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048" target="_new">http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048</A></b>

 

[Guest]

There are places where it makes sense to skimp, but hard drive performance isn't one of them. With a 7200 RPM disk, Windows loads faster, the games load faster, levels load faster--the system just feels a lot smoother overall. The price difference between a 7200-rpm disk and a 5400-rpm disk is often just $20 or so. Hard drives are so critical to the overall feel of the system, it's just about the last place I'd skimp. If it means you have to get a slower CD-ROM drive or a different network card, sacrifice that first.

---
Dave Farquhar
Author, <i>Optimizing Windows for Games, Graphics and Multimedia</i> (O'Reilly)
<A HREF="http://thesiliconunderground.editthispage.com" target="_new">http://thesiliconunderground.editthispage.com</A>

 

[Guest]

I heard somewhere that the difference between the two speeds can be as much as a 30% access time.

just a note.

 

[Guest]

Of course if you read Tom's recent article on the Fujitsu, it may make you wonder how much difference is really there. The truth is most 5400 RPM drives don't perform this well to 7200 (kudos to Fujitsu). So I would also say this points out regardless of spindle speed it sometimes depends on the model as not all drives are created equal.



***Hey I run Intel... but let's get real***

 

[phsstpok]

I'm afraid you can't always generalize. It is better to compare specific models. WWW.STORAGEREVIEW.COM has a nice online database that allows the user to choose which drives to compare test results. There are some 5400 RPM drives that perform very well and there are some 7200 RPM drives that do poorly. Check it out.

 

[Arrow]

I would say get the IBM 75GXP 30GB. Just my recommendation.

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048" target="_new">http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048</A></b>

 

[rcf84]

there is alot of differences. 7200rpm would lower the seek time. only value computers and people sort of money use 5400rpm now.

ATI RADEON 32MB DDR RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Guest]

My Duron650 with Fujitsu 13.6GB 66 mb/s 7200rpm doesnt run ANY faster than exactly the same system with a Maxtor 15.3GB 66mb/s 5400 rpm drive. BUT, now at least I know it's not the specs that hold me back, maybe only the quality of the material itself.... I think Maxtor makes the better drives, together with IBM.

 

[Guest]

I have to agree with Arrow IBM 75gxp is the best thing since sliced bread

 

[Guest]

7200rpm. But dont expect much difference without a fairly hefty program to clock it with. I load huge data bases and 80mg graphics in photoshop (I design magazine ads on the side) I can detect a difference there, but not much elsewhere.

 

[Guest]

7200 RPM drive do offer a significant performance gain, especially with current generation Hard Drives. 5400 RPM drives will soon be phased out and it will be difficult to get a new one.

 

[seanmcne]

All I have to say is 7200 all the way. Spindle speed is a key factor. As far as heat goes I haven't noticed much of a difference.
Good luck!
-=-Sean-=-

 

[Guest]

If you think abt it, rest of the comp sys is running in nanosecs or <7ms (abt best seek time of bestest HDD). So, theoretically, HDD is the weakest link & anything is only as strong as its weakest link. Why skimp?

7200rpm yes.

anandtech's ATA66 vs ATA100 comparison article is required reading.

 

[Crashman]

There is a sometimes significant difference. Data density, cache size, continuous transfer rate, and seek time are also important factors.

Suicide is painless...........