Drive for OS, smaller 8 mb cache or larger 32 mb ????

[rob25]

I have been investigating a lot lateley in order to set up my rig for large file photo editing in photoshop cs4 , autopano & photomatix stitching & rendering software.

I am not sure about what conclusion to come up with about hard drives for OS, I have been looking at the segate 7200.12, they seem to be the best $/value.

What I would like to know is if I buy a small 160 gb 8mb buffer segate 7200.12 drive for OS & apps. would it be as fast/adecuate as a 500 gb 16 mb buffer segate 7200.12 ????
Why do the buffer sizes decreas on smaller drives, cant they use all of it ??

If is as fast then I think I would also get another 160 gb one as a scratch disk, does anybody know how to calculate how much scrath disk space to assign???

I think the ideal setup would probably be :
160 gb for Os
160 gb for scratch disk
500 gb 16mb buffer for Data/files.

*** Please do not suggest raptors or ssd, they are out of my price range,
considering that this setup might cost 35+35+54= 124? .

 

[jkresh]

160gb drive will be slower then the 500, less cache and smaller platter sizes means slower. How much slower and if it will make a big difference to you is questionable (and to some extent depends on which 160gb drive you use).

 

[rob25]

Thanks, jkresh. I thought I was invisible for a moment.

By the time I set up my rig I will be an expert builder :roll:

Hd technology seems very strange, I would have thoght the smaller disk sizes would have been faster !

Its a bit of a bummer when you only need less than 100 gb for os & programs that you have to buy a 500 gb drive, I suppose the best would be to partition it & use the other 400 for storage.The only thing is that if the disk goes you loose all that data i suppose.
Am i right to consider the os drive as being the highest risk for failure considering viruses ,activity e.t.c. ?????

 

[Nothinman]

Am i right to consider the os drive as being the highest risk for failure considering viruses ,activity e.t.c. ?????

Viruses won't kill a drive and activity depends on your usage patterns.