Quickest mechanical drive after Raptor?

PapaLazaru

PapaLazaru

PapaLazaru

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I chaps.

My rig is not liking the Samsung F3 I bought recently, even after a firmware update. The drive has been checked and is 100% ok. Bit annoying, but my Seagates have run out of space and I need a new games drive.

Would I be correct in thinking that these are the fastest to get at the moment? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-342-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=

I know the Raptors are faster but they cost 4 times as much and I cannot see the point myself.

Cheers. :)
 
Some copypasta:

I took some time to do the math. Perhaps this will shed some light.


WD6400AAKS

Access Time: 12.8ms
Rotational Latency: 4.2ms
Seek Time: 8.6ms


Raptor 150gb

Access Time: 7.7ms
Rotational Latency: 3ms
Seek Time: 4.6ms

HOW TO CREATE A RAPTOR KILLER

1) Create a 150GB Partition, Equal to a Raptor

--This will directly reduce drive head Seek Times.

150/640 = 23.4% So roughly, we are quarter-stroking the drive,
reducing the distance drive heads have to seek by 76.6%.

Take the Seek Time of 8.6ms, multiply by .234 and you get a
reduced Seek Time of 2ms.

If Access Time = Seek Time + Rotational Latency,
then our WD6400AAKS' new Access Time = 6.2ms

2) Here's what we end up with

A 150GB partition, equal to the size of an entire Raptor, to be used for our
Operating System, and a 2nd 490GB partition of fast data storage.

3) Here's how the new numbers compare

150GB Raptor - $170
Access Time: 7.7ms

640GB WD6400AAKS - $130
Access Time: 6.2ms
 
Solaris said:
2) Here's what we end up with

A 150GB partition, equal to the size of an entire Raptor, to be used for our
Operating System, and a 2nd 490GB partition of fast data storage.

3) Here's how the new numbers compare

150GB Raptor - $170
Access Time: 7.7ms

640GB WD6400AAKS - $130
Access Time: 6.2ms
Click to expand...
Surely if you actually use the remaining 490gb of the drive you'd slow it down since the heads would sometimes be over in that section and take just as long to seek back? wouldn't it be better if you left that space unallocated?
 
This review might be of use:

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Definitive-2TB-Hard-Drive-Roundup/?page=6

I've always found it beneficial to buy the bigger drives even if you don't need that much space yet - because they're the latest tech they tend to be fast. SATA 6gbps is (so far) unnecessary on single mechanical drives.... SATA 3gbps will handle 250 megabytes/sec which is plenty of mechanical hard disks.
 
Last edited:
PapaLazaru said:
So I reckon, looking at those figures, is that the one I linked to is probably my best bet?
Click to expand...
well the one you linked to was the 640gb version... so completely different platters, hence you can't go off the performance of the 1tb or 2tb versions. But if you're sure that's the one you like then go for it. Might not be the "fastest" tho. But then you also have concerns about the "value for money" so I guess maybe it is the one you like the price of?
 
Stickman said:
well the one you linked to was the 640gb version... so completely different platters, hence you can't go off the performance of the 1tb or 2tb versions. But if you're sure that's the one you like then go for it. Might not be the "fastest" tho. But then you also have concerns about the "value for money" so I guess maybe it is the one you like the price of?
Click to expand...

It is purely for gaming purposes so don't think I will need 1TB for a while. The 640GB is with a five year warranty over the 500GB, which only comes with one so seems the best in the price bracket of around £50.00. :)
 
Fair enough. :) Personally I need all the storage I can get: starting to remove any drives below 2TB from my system to free up connectors for the 3TB ones when they finally arrive. :)
 
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