(Resolved) Upgrade decision: New HD...

[Col_Kiwi]

I need some advice on which bottleneck in my system needs replacing more badly.

Specs:
-P4S533 Mobo (SiS645DX chipset)
-P4 1.8 @ 2557MHz
-GF4 Ti4200 128MB
-28.6GB ATA66 HDD (Bottleneck)
-256MB DDR333 RAM (Bottleneck)

I'm getting a 40GB ATA133 drive and another 512 MB of ram, but money is an issue so I must decide one to get quite soon and wait for the other.

I'm leaning towards the HDD, i figure it'll make a bigger difference...

I could use some advice though. Thanks in advance.

-Col.Kiwi

 

[4Ryan6]

Hardrive 1st Ram 2nd in this situation. Ryan






Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.

 

[Col_Kiwi]

Thanks for the input.

I also talked to a friend tonight who agreed that HD was more important, so I've decided on that.

-Col.Kiwi

 

[4Ryan6]

You're Welcome! Ryan





Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.

 

[Jusphil]

why not spring for an extra 15 bucks and get an 80 gig?

 

[lhgpoobaa]

I suggest a western digital 800JB.
Lots of performance.
And then at least 256Mb more ram.


<b>I'm THE THGC Strumpet! Hear me Roar! *Squeak!* </b>

 

[Col_Kiwi]

Is 800JB the 8MB cache version? I think it is...

I don't think it is in my budget... the one i'm looking at, a Maxtor 40GB ATA133 is $130 CDN... and the 800JB is $191... i've got around $185 to spend right now (and there are taxes to consider)...

Plus, 40GB is already more then I really need, i'm currently using 14GB out of my 29

How big is the speed increase of the 800JB over the Maxtor drive I mentioned? I've heard that the fact its ATA100 instead of ATA133 doesn't make a difference... this really true? How major a difference is 8MB cache?

Better idea; instead of trying to answer my spree of questions, can anyone link to some benchmarks?

-Col.Kiwi

 

[upec]

You should be able to find a lower price on the hard drive.

 

[Napoleon]

Well, we've haggled over the 2MB vs 8MB thing in <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=56696#56696" target="_new">this thread</A>. It has some links to HD reviews as well, and you could always check the Storage Guide at THG. If you find a HD there that you like, just look for the smaller capacity version (same platter density, but less platters), the performance should be the same.

ATA100 and ATA133 might make a small difference if you have two ATA133 vs two ATA100 drives in master/slave configuration. As long as the HD has a dedicated IDE channel, doesn't matter if it's ATA100 or ATA133.


<font color=red><b><i>You want WHAT on the [-peep-] CEILING?!</i></b></font color=red> -Michelangelo

 

[lhgpoobaa]

The 800JB is nice, although a tad more expensive.
Its not wise directly comparing drives of differing capacities, allthough useful benchmarks can be found for the 800JB over at
<A HREF="http://www.storagereview.com" target="_new">http://www.storagereview.com</A>, click the 800JB link on the main page.

additionally i have both the 800JB and the maxtor 80Gb D740X. The 800JB is significantly more zippy, especially handling lots of small files.

<b> I think :frown: I'm :redface: addicted to these ever so :tongue: cute smiley :lol: faces! </b>

 

[Col_Kiwi]

I currently have, and in the future will have, only one HDD and no other devices on my primary IDE. my CDR and CDROM are on secondary, and i have no other IDE using devices. I suppose its not an issue for me

I've decided to get the WD800JB after reading its read speed benchmarks absolutely raping a maxtor ATA133 drive. It costs more, but i'll just wait longer. 80GB is so much more then i need that i won't need to upgrade for a long time anyway, probably not until my next new mobo when i go SCSI or serial ATA.

thanks for your help guys.

-Col.Kiwi

 

[lhgpoobaa]

Enjoy

<b> I think :frown: I'm :redface: addicted to these ever so :tongue: cute smiley :lol: faces! </b>

 

[Col_Kiwi]

Well. After a brief budget crisis ( ) i picked up one of tose WAD800JB drives last night. I found that this drive is totally amazing speed! I got it on sale for $181 CDN ($115 USD)

My load times before and after:

WarCraft III-
Before: ~30 seconds
After: 7.4 seconds

UT2k3-
Before: ~60 seconds, followed by about 20 sec of lag
After: ~20 sec load, no lag

needless to say, great drive.

thanks again for the reccomendation!

-Col.Kiwi

 

[EvilHammie]

*squeak*
[good result]

<b>Small.Cute.Fluffy.Evil. But looks so cute attached to your leg smiling up at you! </b>

 

[hoserb2000]

get a high end 40 gig HDD with your $185 at least 72rpm and 8mb buffer

one day, intel'ers will see the errors of there ways...