Help with HDD Configuration

[Vlad16]

I'm trying to figure out the best HDD configuration performance wise for my new build that will be coming in on 12/15. I have a 74GB SATA Raptor and a WD 120GB IDE 7200 on hand with a WD Caviar Black 750GB coming in on 12/17. I was planning on using the Raptor as the OS/App drive and the Caviar as the data/storage drive but maybe somebody could point me in the right direction for this.

As for for the WD 120GB drive, I am trying to figure out what to do with it (maybe a page file drive?) as I don't intend to convert it into an external drive since I already have a Maxtor Touch 500GB drive and another external 250GB drive. The only reason I'm keeping the 120GB drive is because I'm keeping my IDE DVD/RW for now so I figured I might as well use that HDD internally to fill out the IDE.

And yes, I am drooling over the SSDs but I am going to wait til those come down in price a bit.

Here are my new specs

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
ASUS EAH4650/DI/1GD2/A(LP) Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit DDR2
Antec 650W PSU

Thanks for any help!

 

[Slugbait]

I would use the Black as the OS/App drive. I'd probably partition it.

I would put a permanent 4GB pagefile on the Black, and another permanent 4GB pagefile on the Raptor.

The Raptor would store my music (as well as a transcoding drop) and various archive files.

The IDE drive would hold my disc images and SyncToy backups.

 

[Vlad16]

I would use the Black as the OS/App drive. I'd probably partition it.

I would put a permanent 4GB pagefile on the Black, and another permanent 4GB pagefile on the Raptor.

The Raptor would store my music (as well as a transcoding drop) and various archive files.

The IDE drive would hold my disc images and SyncToy backups.

Thanks Slugbait. I was looking at the drive that has my recent clean install of W7 Ultimate and the majority of the apps on my laptop that will also be installed on this new build and it's @ 27GB. Would I see a noticeable performance difference using the Black over the Raptor as my OS/App drive?

Just asking because I will be migrating over to a SSD (probably 2 in a Raid0) as the OS/App drive once they start becoming more reasonably priced.

Just wondering as I figured it would a little less painless installing the OS/Apps on the Raptor until I make the switch to the SSDs rather than making a specific partition on the Black for the OS/Apps.

 

[Slugbait]

Would I see a noticeable performance difference using the Black over the Raptor as my OS/App drive?

Not much, actually. For some situations, the Raptor is still faster. In fact, knowing now what you wanna do later, I'd like to change my advice: go ahead and use the Raptor for the OS/Apps.

I would still split the pagefile between the Raptor and the Black, and the IDE drive would still be for images and backups.

 

[betasub]

Slugbait's second post makes sense to me. And keep the install size on the Raptor well below that of the SSD that you are considering buying, to make the transfer straightforward.

 

[Vlad16]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!!