Install 2nd HD, 5400rpm vs 7200

[Guest_imported]

I have a 20 GB HD@7200 and & wish to install a 60GB@7200. How much slower will the 60GB@5400 be' and is there a problem mixin HD speeds?

Also whenn I install the second one will I need a program to partition?

 

[cdogg]

In regards to your 1st Q:
5400RPM drives can be significantly slower than 7200RPM drives. Just check the average seek times under their specs to see the difference. Also, some 5400RPM drives aren't ATA/100 compatible, meaning that if you place them on the same cable, the faster hard drive might be forced to run at a slower spec (like ATA/66).

In regards to your 2nd Q:
No, you won't have to partition the 60GB drive. You could simply install it and load windows which will just list it as your D: drive (assuming the drive letter D: is available).
However, I recommend that you do. Why, you ask? In the future when you want to defrag it, it would be a lot quicker defragging a 15GB partition versus the entire 60GB hard drive all at once.


Hope that helps...
~cdogg

 

[paparazi]

I think that we can assume a 60gig IDE hard drive is at least ATA 100? as they haven't been around too long have they?
And is the slighly slower access time of the 5,400 HD really going to slow the 7,200 down alot? after all it's actual data transfer rate is the same.
I would like to know if anyone has any actual knowledge of this. Martin Just trying to help, sometimes falling short, I am only human after all.

 

[cdogg]

Well paparazi, the answer depends...

First of all, I'm not trying to bash 5400RPM drives. Most users will not notice a big difference between 5400 and 7200 for everyday tasks. Only when performing more advanced tasks like transferring large amounts of data (encoding/decoding movies, transferring to other drives, etc), should you notice any difference by having a 7200RPM drive.

Most 5400RPM drives have an average seek time of 11-13ms. Many 7200RPM drives are as fast as 8.5ms.

When it comes to slowing one another down, the fact that the RPMS are different shouldn't matter. In other words, a 5400RPM drive won't slow a 7200RPM drive assuming both are using DMA and ATA/100. The bandwidth may run a little short at times when being accessed at the same time, but other than that, it shouldn't hurt things too much.

You're right, most 60GB 5400RPM drives are ATA/100 compatible.


~cdogg

 

[Guest_imported]

Hey thanks guys, You info has helped. I'm gonna get the 60GB@7200 and use it for audio files and images.