Silly question...?

[complex.]

Hey guys,

I've recently upgraded my PC and i've noticed that when Windows 7 first boots up, it takes longer than I would expect to start up all my programs. I can hear my HDD working away.
The time it takes to load up all my programs is probably the same as my significantly older spec (using the same HDD). During this time i I get delays when trying to load up Firefox, for example.

My question is, does a hard drive affect my computers performance? I thought it would be the CPU that handles most of these tasks but I know the HDD will be involved aswell.

My spec:
ASUS P8P67 LE
Intel i5 2500k 3.3GHz
8gig corsair ram
AMD Radeon 6850
Maxtor 6L200M0 ATA HDD

Your thoughts?

Thank you

complex.

 

[TechFunctions]

Yep the Hard Drive will have an effect of the speed when starting up programs. What hard drive have you got? SSD are well worth the extra money if you want quicker start up times etc

 

[TechFunctions]

Your motherboard supports 6Gb/s SATA I'd definitely upgrade your hard drive to one that supports 3Gb/s or 6Gb/s if you can afford it. If you are going to upgrade the hard drive act quick as prices are going up!