Is it worth getting Velociraptor?

sab0tage · 22 Apr 2011 at 13:40

I've currently got a 64GB SSD for my boot drive which has Windows and all program files except for games, which are currently on an old Samsung Spinpoint F1. I don't want to put games on the SSD because I've got 20GB of space free but about 200GB of games if not more and the F1 is getting full so I need more storage!

So I was thinking of getting a 600GB VelociRaptor just for putting games on which should reduce loading times a bit. Psychologically I can accept games taking time to load unlike apps which now they're on the SSD they do. I'll leave the F1 with videos and music and work on for now but with the intention to moving it to one of the slower/bigger eco drives eventually; the F1 is the noisiest part of my system at the moment.

So is it worth it or is there a better solution? I've got 3 6GB/s SATA ports and 2 3/GBs SATA ports free on the motherboard but they can be re-jigged a bit.

Cheers.

Surveyor · 22 Apr 2011 at 13:53

If you want a large capacity without spending stupid amounts of money then a mechanical HDD is your only choice.

No point in spending over £200 for a 600GB VelociRaptor.

A 7,200RPM 1TB Samsung F3 will serve you just as well for £42.98:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-082-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1279

Or just pick one of the other 7,200RPM 1TB drives for around 40 odd quid.

andy_mk3 · 22 Apr 2011 at 13:55

I think you'll be better off getting a Samsung F3 drive for a quarter of the price. They're very quick drives, the access times are a bit slower but read/write aren't a lot different.

d_brennen · 22 Apr 2011 at 14:07

RAID0 500GB F3s (two disks) makes that 'raptor look a bit pointless IMO. A lot of games (mp especially) don't really benefit from faster storage either I.E. Fixed loading times.

A single modern 7200rpm is good enough, Eco type drives not so

Cycrow · 22 Apr 2011 at 14:23

u could get a 500gb hybrid drive instead, cheaper and faster than a velicoraptor

Antelopethy · 22 Apr 2011 at 14:44

Aye I think raptors are more or less obsolete these days - the benefits over a standard mechanical drive probably don't outweigh the negatives (cost, heat, noise etc.)

sab0tage · 22 Apr 2011 at 15:29

Thanks guys. The hybrid drive seems a bit pointless unless it's a boot drive so that's out. Would putting two disks in a RAID config be a significant performance improvement over one big disk? I'm not too worried about one drive failing as I can re-download games from Steam.

Cheers.

Surveyor · 22 Apr 2011 at 15:54

sab0tage said:
Thanks guys. The hybrid drive seems a bit pointless unless it's a boot drive so that's out. Would putting two disks in a RAID config be a significant performance improvement over one big disk? I'm not too worried about one drive failing as I can re-download games from Steam.

Cheers.

In theory RAID0 doubles the speed.

In practice it's faster but not double.

Disco Boy · 23 Apr 2011 at 14:39

Surveyor said:
In theory RAID0 doubles the speed.

In practice it's faster but not double.

To add a little to this.

If you are using a decent dedicated controller then sustained read should be exactly double a single drive (or not far off). They are not double the performance because they still have the same seek times as a single drive, this is the main benefit of a SSD, and why they seem so "snappy".