Is a WD raptor HDD really needed for gaming?

[imported_RedStar]

this thread got me into looking at the WD Raptor as an HDD to put an O/S on:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=27&threadid=1902136&enterthread=y

here is an extensive but old (2003) review comparing the raptor (36 gig at the time)
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/wd-raptor.html

--
so for gaming only:

for quite some time i have not really worried about hard drives..considered them just a generic commodity..If you have the right memory/proc/graphics ..then one hdd is same as any other as long as they come with a good warranty i reasoned. (this logic has ment that all of my hdds have failed at some point under warranty --good thing i do backup).

So the 128$ cdn 32 gig raptor does indeed to be quite something and i am now wondering if it would be a great idea to use one for the O/S and a couple of games. I will then have two 160 gig maxtor (79$ x2) for data and other --less important-- games.

But does a person really need a 10k raptor to notice a difference in gaming (ie any current fps game or flight sim). I would imagine intial load times might be a bit faster...but is that it?

It would not be much of a question..is except that there is a huge trade off in capacity (price).

TIA

(i would also mention i did use ultra wide SCSI back before 2000 and did not notice any real difference --except for the tiny capacity and steep price.)

 

[Bobthelost]

Load times, that's it. If you're not playing BF2 then just wait the extra few seconds and save some money.

If you have the game installed on a seperate drive to the OS you may see a little improvement by the way.

 

[imported_RedStar]

ty for response. I remember reading something along time ago that also said games on a diff drive might perform better --something to do with swap file. ty for the reminder..i will have to look that up also.

the one other question is ...would a raptor need its own cooling (not a big deal)

but most importantly ...would a 10k raptor sound too loud? (say in a p180b case)

so far i have read that it is not much louder than a 7200 rpm and actually quieter than a segate barracuda 7200 rpm drive ...but in the same breath ...not so loud as an nvidia fx leaf blower. This is quite a large range

 

[Bobthelost]

Raptors do not need extra cooling. Although it's best to have a fan blowing over any drive, doesn't have to be high powered, an 80mm one @ 5V is plenty.

I've got a Raptor 74 (old model) in a P180, you can hear it when it spins up but it's a smooth noise so it's not annoying (unlike my seagate 7 which clicks :| ) If you want low noise then samsung spinpoints are a good bet, the 7200.10 range from seagate have gotten some good press for both performance and noise for medium to smaller models, the raptors are pretty good too. Check out the SPCR forums for more info.

 

[TankGuys]

Personally, I don't think it's worth it. You can get one of the Seagate 7200.10 drives, at double the capacity, for less money, and lose very little in terms of performance. That's my two cents anyway

 

[imported_RedStar]

seagate 7200.10

http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q2/barracuda-7200.10/index.x?pg=1

not good for multi user environs.

but great for me and my desktop. Seagate took over maxtor..right?

These are indeed worthy of consideration also. Heh, choices.

edit: nice price too Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA NCQ 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache (OEM) $99.00 cdn Add to cart

edit 2: this is the only sata 2 drive at store i will be using (canadacomputers.ca) and is "whisper quiet"

Western Digital Caviar 250GB SATAII @92$ cdn (x 2). So i think i will go with WD and forget about 10k drives --though i am still on the edge about that.

 

[Skott]

Needed? Necessary? No. If you are trying to build the fastest system possible then, yeah, the Raptors help in that attempt. I have found the load times in gaming fastest with Raptors vs 7200rpm drives. Afterall, the Raptor was originally intended for light server duty but the pc enthusiasts discovered just how good they are for desktop PCs. But that doesnt mean a 7200rpm drive isnt good enough for a gaming rig. The biggest drawback for the Raptors is their hefty price compared to 7200rpm drives.

 

[gizbug]

So its not justifiable to purchase it over a regular Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache HD?

 

[Atheus]

Apparently some of the new 7200 drives are rivaling or even beating the raptor now. I'll see if I can find the numbers...

/Edit:

this claims the new seagate 7200.10 is only fractionally slower than the raptor

 

[brikis98]

wow, way to dig an old thread up.

anyways, here's a rule of thumb: a faster hard drive (namely, the raptor) is usually only worth it if:

1. your system is already upgraded to the max in all other ways and you still have money to burn
2. you do very hard drive intensive tasks (such as multi user environments/servers)

In 99% of home user cases, you would see a much bigger benefit from upgrading your CPU, video card, and RAM than you would from getting a faster HD. For most people, the only difference they would see would be that the OS and games load slightly faster. In exchange, you might get an HD that's louder and runs hotter. Is that worth twice the price for half the storage space? You decide.

 

[lastig21]

I have a 74GB raptor and do notice the faster load times for os, apps, games, folder listings. I couldn't say if it was worth the price or not, but I do enjoy it. As for the faster loading times in games . . if you are playing online with friends, you may end up waiting for their 7200 rpm harddrive to load up anyway.

 

[Nocturnal]

Put it this way, if you have the money, buy it, otherwise don't. It rocks. I only use Raptors in my system. I have the 74GB and a 36GB at home and at work. I plan to buy the 150GB in the near distant future.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

simply put, no raptors are not needed in any system.

but it is a nice addition to any system that will give it an overall snappier feel in boot times, program loads, and game map changes

 

[j00fek]

save your $ get a 320gb Seagate 7200.10

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: j00fek
save your $ get a 320gb Seagate 7200.10

seconded. I have it, it pwns - cheap, fast, cold, and whats the point of waiting for friends to connect on there old PCs and slow HDDs?

 

[RallyMaster]

Originally posted by: MegaVovaN

Originally posted by: j00fek
save your $ get a 320gb Seagate 7200.10

seconded. I have it, it pwns - cheap, fast, cold, and whats the point of waiting for friends to connect on there old PCs and slow HDDs?

absolutely. the extra speed just doesn't justify the price.

 

[SuperNaruto]

if you really want performance, get 4 iram and make a 16gb ram boot drive...

 

[AirForceElite]

Hey guys. can anyone clarify what 7200.10 means?
particularly the .10 part.

i understand the speed is 7200RPM...but whats the other number?

if you really want performance, get 4 iram and make a 16gb ram boot drive...

OMG! Will windows load like in 5 seconds? MORE INFO AND LINKS PLZ. HOW DO I DO IT?

 

[Boyo]

I have a 74 GB Raptor that I have my OS, a few important apps and my games and I do notice that it is a fast way for loading up your apps. Then I have a 320GB Caviar that holds everything else. I would recommend a Raptor if you keep it simple and want fast load times.

 

[lamere]

I have one and I noticed the biggest speed gains in game load times and big apps like photoshop. I really dont notice any gains in windows boot times but overall the OS is much snappier
I'm glad I got it, it's quite a big difference over the 7200.9 seagate barracuda it replaced.

 

[FreedomGUNDAM]

I currently have a Raptor 74GB hdd and I love it. But with the new Seagate 7200.10 drives out, I would get the new Seagate 7200.10 drives instead

 

[SuperNaruto]

Originally posted by: AirForceElite
Hey guys. can anyone clarify what 7200.10 means?
particularly the .10 part.

i understand the speed is 7200RPM...but whats the other number?

if you really want performance, get 4 iram and make a 16gb ram boot drive...

OMG! Will windows load like in 5 seconds? MORE INFO AND LINKS PLZ. HOW DO I DO IT?

12 - 18 seconds.. but not worth the cost..

its 7200.10 seagate barracuda .10 is 10th generation

.09 or .9 is 9th generation

.10 are the new perpendicular recording style.. slightly faster..

 

[ch33zw1z]

I'd say the Raptor is worth it for any speed junkie with some extra cash to spend. get 2 36GBs and RAID 0

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: ch33zw1z
I'd say the Raptor is worth it for any speed junkie with some extra cash to spend. get 2 36GBs and RAID 0

IMO, raptor and esp. RAID 0 are not worth it and a bad idea. read some of the links here.

 

[Yellowbeard]

I don't have any specific drive models but, there are some really good drives out that you can use for RAID-0. There were some really fast 80gb Samsung drives out a while back that could be had dirt cheap. 2 of those or the new Seagates in a RAID-0 stripe are certainly faster than any single Raptor and give very good RAID-0 numbers, a big disk capacity, and cost much less overally. At one point, you could get 2 of those Samsung drives for less than a 74gb Raptor.

Yellowbeard
Corsair Tech Support Specialist