Fast Harddrive

[Stump1000]

I'm looking for the fastest harddrive I can find for my new gaming computer setup. I don't wanna go with solid state because of the price. I know the Raptor X has lower seek times and such, is that the best thing to look for in a harddrive? I want something that will be faster at loading programs and games. I'm also thinking about using 4 x 300gb drives raid 0. I heard it was faster at reading than with one drive.

 

[Tweakin]

Samsung F1 or WD 6400AAKS. Take a look at this Thread.

 

[sutahz]

It sounds like you're in a great position to do some testing for the AT community.
Sounds like you're willing to spend gobs of money on this gaming rig so let's do it.
Buy 4 F1's or 4 6400AAKS's as well as the number of raptors you'd like to test (1-4).
Do the test's yourself. Windows startup/shutdown times. Game level load times and whatever other real world things you will be doing with your super computer.
In the end you'll have to pay a restocking fee for the hdd's you don't keep but really, knowing that you have the fastest setup possible for you're price range is worth it right?

 

[UpstartXT]

Originally posted by: sutahzWindows startup/shutdown times. Game level load times and whatever other real world things you will be doing with your super computer.

That's the problem with a lot of the HD comparisons I see, I can't really tell how the results are going to relate to my gaming performance as this is all I care about

 

[Stump1000]

Originally posted by: sutahz
It sounds like you're in a great position to do some testing for the AT community.
Sounds like you're willing to spend gobs of money on this gaming rig so let's do it.
Buy 4 F1's or 4 6400AAKS's as well as the number of raptors you'd like to test (1-4).
Do the test's yourself. Windows startup/shutdown times. Game level load times and whatever other real world things you will be doing with your super computer.
In the end you'll have to pay a restocking fee for the hdd's you don't keep but really, knowing that you have the fastest setup possible for you're price range is worth it right?

Apparently you misunderstood me. I don't have an unlimited amount to spend on a computer, but I am looking for the best I can get for my money. I have an 8800GT video card I'm going to use, and add another one pretty soon. But for now, I have 1k$ to spend on my new "super computer". I need case, power supply, motherboard, processor and ram. So thats my budget for those items. Right now its looking like two raptor 150's with raid 0.

 

[Stump1000]

I might as well tell the rest of my setup, I'm getting a c2d q9300 and an Asus Sli mb. 4gb ram and I'm looking at an antec case thats about 129$.

 

[SickBeast]

You would be much better off with either a single 6400AAKS or else that plus a single Raptor (one for OS, the other for apps).

I would also go to 8gb of ram and get a second videocard for SLI if you haven't done so already.

The 6400AAKS is overall considerably faster than the Raptor. There is an article at the Tech Report that proves this. They say it's the fastest 3.5" drive they have ever tested.

 

[Stump1000]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
You would be much better off with either a single 6400AAKS or else that plus a single Raptor (one for OS, the other for apps).

I would also go to 8gb of ram and get a second videocard for SLI if you haven't done so already.

The 6400AAKS is overall considerably faster than the Raptor. There is an article at the Tech Report that proves this. They say it's the fastest 3.5" drive they have ever tested.

I was under the impression that it was crazy expensive. I can't find a price on tiger or newegg. Where would I purchase this?

 

[Stump1000]

I just found it on newegg, I guess tiger doesnt have it. Its 129$ and will be my next drive for sure. Probably get two of them. Thanks for the input

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: Stump1000

Originally posted by: SickBeast
You would be much better off with either a single 6400AAKS or else that plus a single Raptor (one for OS, the other for apps).

I would also go to 8gb of ram and get a second videocard for SLI if you haven't done so already.

The 6400AAKS is overall considerably faster than the Raptor. There is an article at the Tech Report that proves this. They say it's the fastest 3.5" drive they have ever tested.

I was under the impression that it was crazy expensive. I can't find a price on tiger or newegg. Where would I purchase this?

The 6400AAKS? Newegg has them at around $125.

DDR2 ram costs around $15-20 per gb, so 8gb would cost you around $150.

What videocard do you have? You can get good midrange cards now for around $120-200 each, and if you SLI them you can actually beat out a top-end card (for much less money).

IMO the Raptor is redundant and you would benefit much more by upgrading your ram or else something else like a better GPU.

Your processor is a beast so you should make sure that your system is balanced otherwise.

 

[Stump1000]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: Stump1000

Originally posted by: SickBeast
You would be much better off with either a single 6400AAKS or else that plus a single Raptor (one for OS, the other for apps).

I would also go to 8gb of ram and get a second videocard for SLI if you haven't done so already.

The 6400AAKS is overall considerably faster than the Raptor. There is an article at the Tech Report that proves this. They say it's the fastest 3.5" drive they have ever tested.

I was under the impression that it was crazy expensive. I can't find a price on tiger or newegg. Where would I purchase this?

The 6400AAKS? Newegg has them at around $125.

DDR2 ram costs around $15-20 per gb, so 8gb would cost you around $150.

What videocard do you have? You can get good midrange cards now for around $120-200 each, and if you SLI them you can actually beat out a top-end card (for much less money).

IMO the Raptor is redundant and you would benefit much more by upgrading your ram or else something else like a better GPU.

Your processor is a beast so you should make sure that your system is balanced otherwise.

Thanks for all the help.

I just bought an nvidia 8800GT OC so I'm gonna get another one of those. I was looking at ram after you posted earlier and I think I'll go with the patriot pc8500 4x2GB.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Just go with the Samsung 750gb F1. It's $112 at Zipzoomfly right now, is as fast as the WD 640gb drive, and has more storage for about the same price.

Both drives are the top performing 7200rpm drives right now, and are probably faster than a Raptor in most cases.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: EarthwormJim
Just go with the Samsung 750gb F1. It's $112 at Zipzoomfly right now, is as fast as the WD 640gb drive, and has more storage for about the same price.

Both drives are the top performing 7200rpm drives right now, and are probably faster than a Raptor in most cases.

To thread jack slightly... Are there any smaller drives that have comparable performance? I'd like to get something in the 250gb-320gb range, as I don't need the extra storage, and won't in the future. I've heard that some of the newer single platter drives are fast, will they match the 2 mentioned above?

 

[Ratman6161]

Its my opinion that the hard drive will have very little impact on gaming as far as actual game play goes. A faster drive will probably load the game faster and speed up going from one level to the next. But while you are actually playing, it hardly matters.