Are two hard disks better than one?

[eflat]

I am trying to decide between having two drives - one for programs and windows and the other for multimedia - or just one.

I would rather go with one big one, simply because it would be so easy to back up. But if I'm going to take a performance hit I might not.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

I prefer two disks for backing up. I can reformat the first disk that has Windows & programs on it, and I don't have to worry about the data on the second drive.

 

[oynaz]

There is not really any performance difference between 1 and 2 disks. I find it more practical with 2 disks, but this is purely a matter of personal preference.

 

[MyLeftNut]

Having 2 HDs can be useful, for example having OS and programs on one while the other for pagefile or scratch disk for photoshop or the like, as well as storage.

 

[jfall]

Just get a big one and partition it

 

[gsellis]

Two physical disks can be better than one for multimedia, but it depends on your definition of multimedia. If it is storing songs and videos to watch, not really. If you are doing editing of video or big photoshops and mean that as multimedia, then the answer is yes. In fact, three disks are better for multimedia in that scenario.

 

[Marty502]

In fact, three disks are better for multimedia in that scenario.

How's that?

 

[corkyg]

You can count on almost as many opinions as there are responders. It really is a matter of personal preference. My main box has 5 HDDs in it. Three are identical main drives, only one of which is connected at a time. The other two are "reserve" drives ready to go in case of any problem - HDD hardware or software. Those drives are cloned weekly. The other two drives are a RAID 1 array for data. That is backed up weekly to an external drive. Another external drive is used for digital imagery storage/archiving, and that is also backed up to another external.

 

[JackMDS]

I think that in you case it does not matter.

Why? http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2133207&enterthread=y


It looks like you are Not short of performance.:thumbsup:

 

[Jimmah]

I have 2 but in RAID 0, with a fan on them to prolong life. They're a little old (80gb corvair SE's), but work fine. I use laptop drives for extra storage, using those external usb jazzy things. They're worth every penny IMO.