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Do All External HD's have only 2mb cache?? External HD vs. IDE in external usb 2.0 Case

cheezy321

cheezy321

Diamond Member
I was getting ready to purchase a 80gig external HD and realized all the ones I was looking at only had 2mb cache. Does anyone make an 80gig with 8mb cache? Or does is make more sense to but a ide 80gig 7200rpm 8mb cache drive and put it in an external case that goes to usb 2.0? Would the ide --> usb 2.0 cause a major slow down in transfer? I really had no idea so I figured someone might know the best route to take. Thanks!
 
Almost all of the major brands have 8mb buffer external drives, including Maxtor, Lacie, Western Digital, and Seagate. The larger the drive, usually the higher the memory. Hell, my 250GB Maxtor OneTouch II has a 16MB buffer.
 
Just buy the 3.5 HDD you want with 8mb cache and a seperate USB enclosure and you are set.

The added bonus is that the do-it-yourself method will cost you less.

Mark
 
Originally posted by: powerMarkymark
Just buy the 3.5 HDD you want with 8mb cache and a seperate USB enclosure and you are set.

The added bonus is that the do-it-yourself method will cost you less.

Mark
Click to expand...

Oops, I forgot to answer that part of your question.

The custom route is definitely cheaper and scalable, but from my own experience, the pre-made external HDs seem to be faster, have more options, and run cooler and quieter. Well worth an extra $30 or so, IMO.
 
I must be losing it. I'm on Newegg and almost all the external drives I'm looking at are 2 mb buffer. Can you reccomend a 80-120gig WD External 7200rpm 8mb or more buffer drive?
 
Originally posted by: MadMan2k
You could go the DIY route if you must have 8mb cache...

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=35-150-746&depa=0

and

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=22-144-118&depa=0

It has 8mb of cache, it's a WD, and it has lights 🙂


WD appears to use their BB series (2mb cache) for external drives. I don't think the perfomance benefit of the extra cache is so great, though...
Click to expand...

According to various benchmarks online, the cache does affect performace, especially as HDs get larger and larger.
 
large drive/small cache = torture

(actually, small cache on any drive can be a pia, compared to large buffers.)
 
It doesn't make much sense to put a larger buffer on an external drive. The limiting speed factor is the ATA to IEEE/USB2 bridge chip which will negate the speed advantage of the cache, since there is no "burst" speed. When USB2 drives are limited to 30-35MB/s well below the STR capability of today's drives, their is little gain from a a cache hit that will produce the same 30-35MB/s.
 
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