Fast Hard drive

JRW21JRW21 Dunlap, IL
edited October 2005 in Hardware
I am looking to upgrade to a faster hard drive. Currently I have 2 maxtor 60gig 7200's in RAID 0.

I am looking at the Raptor 10,000RPM drives. Are they the quickest out there for the money?

System:
DFI Lan Party Nf4 Ultra D
3700+ San Diego 1ghz FSB 939
OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB (2 x 512MB)
MSI Geforce 6600GT 128MB PCI Express x16

Comments

  • JChretienJChretien Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited October 2005
    i believe at the moment the 10k rpm raptors are the fastest non-SCSI drives out there..
  • QeldromaQeldroma Arid ZoneAh Member
    edited October 2005
    While I agree that the Raptor is the fastest currently (I have one), I do not think it is the best bang for the buck deal ($175US Newegg for the 74GB version as of today). There are many competitive drives out there that will give you good performance and four times the capacity for LESS $. Even WDs own 320GB Caviars are competitive. If you want to get technical, a pair of 160GBs in Raid0 can be impressive.

    But don't pay attention to me- let the numbers speak for themselves:

    Hard Drive Comparisons
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    I say it all depends on the intended useage.

    If you want the fastest drive for your OS and or apps and games then the Raptors, particularly the 74 GB model is out and out the fastest drive. Because of its 5.2ms seek time for the WD360 and 4.5ms for the WD740 they are much faster than any 7200 rpm drive that average 8.5ms to 9.2ms. Your OS and most other things thrive on short seek time where the average read and write is very small and will benefit as such with the Raptors.

    For a storage drive where seek time is not as important and most files written and read are larger so access time is less critical but cost per GB is I would go with the biggest bang per buck per GB. The difference in sustained transfer rate will only be slighty less than a Raptor so you will not be loosing as much in performance. That is why I recomend people building new systems to get Raptors for the OS and such then get what size they need or can afford for storage as a separate drive or drives.
    Qeldroma wrote:
    While I agree that the Raptor is the fastest currently (I have one), I do not think it is the best bang for the buck deal ($175US Newegg for the 74GB version as of today). There are many competitive drives out there that will give you good performance and four times the capacity for LESS $. Even WDs own 320GB Caviars are competitive. If you want to get technical, a pair of 160GBs in Raid0 can be impressive.
    While I agree that 2 160's in RAID 0 can be very impressive as far as STR is concerned it is only at the upper end of the file size scale. They also will not have anywhere close to the access time of a single Raptor. There is a big difference in the two functions and have experienced both sides of the rainbow so to speak and will stand on my above conclusion as if it were bedrock granite. I have been playing with this stuff for years and learned from the best (Tex). ;)
  • JRW21JRW21 Dunlap, IL
    edited October 2005
    I am not in need of larger storage drives. I am going to use the maxtors as file storage and the faster drives for the OS and gaming.

    Price wise on newegg I can get 2 raptor 36's for $222 in RAID 0 or the raptor 74 for $175 less $20 MIB.

    So... opinions?
  • QeldromaQeldroma Arid ZoneAh Member
    edited October 2005
    Goat, I agree with a lot of that assessment, but I will also stand by this statement: It is NOT the best bang for the buck. It is a cheap machine size, is the noisiest thing in my box, has that dorky interface connector that WD never bothered to simplify and it is abusing its bleeding edge by unnecessarily parting people from their money. The price is the same now as I paid for it nearly a year ago.

    I do not have another drive besides WD because of their reliability track record in my systems. Period. But I can also guarantee you that THIS DRIVE WAS NOT WORTH IT and DID NOT make THAT big a difference from my previous 160GB.

    Because I video edit, I am caught in that netherworld of not having enough of either size or speed. An update to the SIZE of this drive is beyond overdue and I am continually palying off size vs. speed. And I simply don't have the disposable capital I'd willingly spend on another Raptor for a RAID0.

    If you are a pro or wealthy with nothing better to toss money at- go for it. If you are a college or high-school kid who can't rub two nickles together for a date, or want to have money to spend on something, especially look for something else and you won't be THAT much worse for the money spent.
  • QeldromaQeldroma Arid ZoneAh Member
    edited October 2005
    JRW21 wrote:
    I am not in need of larger storage drives. I am going to use the maxtors as file storage and the faster drives for the OS and gaming.

    Price wise on newegg I can get 2 raptor 36's for $222 in RAID 0 or the raptor 74 for $175 less $20 MIB.

    So... opinions?


    If you go this route JRW, I'd go the 74GB. Like mtgoat says, RAID0 is effective only in a very few circumstances and makes about zero difference just about anywhere else.

    EDIT ADDED: It is really a function of what you really want them for (like large files). You can always RAID0 the 74GB later if you wish as well.

    :D
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    I have tried every possible scenario with both sizes of Raptors.
    • single 36GB
    • 2x 36GB in RAID 0
    • single 74GB
    • 2x 74GB in RAID 0
    • 3x 74GB in RAID 0
    • 4x 74GB in RAID 0

    IMHO one 74GB Raptor will outshine 2 36GB Raptors in RAID 0 for most uses including running your OS. I currently own 1x 36GB model and 2x 74GB version and can see a big difference between them. The increased platter density along with improvements in general design make the larger model far superior to its smaller first generation brother.

    Qeldroma
    I never use the WD connectors and just use regular SATA cables and SATA power cords off my PSU. I have noticed a good increase in running multiple apps and especially in modern games with the 74GB Raptors but limit them to that useage. I totally agree with you on the bang for buck when you need lots of space GB/$$ rules! I have always been most impressed with Seagate drives for overall performance and dependability. I currently have 3 Seagates that are over 6 yrs old that run like brand new. Also, since Hitachi took over IBM drives I have been very impressed with their newer drives of their new design.
  • QeldromaQeldroma Arid ZoneAh Member
    edited October 2005
    mtgoat wrote:
    I have tried every possible scenario with both sizes of Raptors.
    • 2x 74GB in RAID 0
    • 3x 74GB in RAID 0
    • 4x 74GB in RAID 0

    ** SIGH **. I should have known you were going to do that! Sweeeeeeeet!

    :: Did I buy that lottery ticket? :: ;D
  • JRW21JRW21 Dunlap, IL
    edited October 2005
    Interesting, ok the raptor 74 is it then! Thanks!!
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