Upgrade to Velociraptor

[Mwing]

My specs:

q9450 @ 3.2
4gb ddr2-800 ram
vista 32bit
8800gt
p35c-ds3r
24" samsung 245b monitor

upgrading from 2 x seagate 7200.10 16mb cache (not raid) to a velociraptor + 1tb samsung spinpoint for storage, will i see windows, applications, gaming, and avi, rmvb movies faster?

if i upgrade i will put the seagates to my other computer, eventho i dont need big storage upgrade for now but will need later on.

 

[bob4432]

the computer will be a bit more responsive overall. personally i have run high (10-15K) rpm scsi hdds for my system drives for years (long before the raptor was around), mated w/ a larger 7.2k sata/pata hdd for storage.

the raptor is a good drive. if you do a lot of computing that uses the hdd then you will see a difference, if you just start up a movie and let it play, you won't see a difference. also, gaming, the only advantage will be level changes.

hope this helps

 

[Mwing]

thanks for the quick reply

so i think i can only see applications start up faster, level loading faster only right?

if i dont do video editing, large word or spread sheet processing (i dont do these at home computer) i dont see spending that $300 worth it correct?

 

[bob4432]

personally i wouldn't spend $300 for one. the scsi drives i get are current generation but are usually refurbished and are much cheaper (and smaller, usually 74GB) including the card. if i was paying full price i would be fine w/ a regular 7.2k sata hdd

plus i use to be able to write a lot of stuff off as a consultant, so i had to know how things would affect each other.

how you liking your 8800gt? which one did you get? ram? manf? is that a 1920x1200 monitor? possibly looking at moving up the ladder from my x1800xt 256MB card....but still pc game on a 17" lcd

 

[Mwing]

my 8800gt is evga one with 512mb ram, it is fine for my monitor samsung 245b 1920x1200, and games like wow, aoc, wc3, bioshock.

cpu, ram and mobo are fine for me, so that leaves hdd as the bottleneck, and thats y i started that post.

but if i dont see a big performance boost, consider that is $300, then i would just not touch it.

as half year ago i was running a barton 2500+ socket A system, then i started reading here again and i upgraded my full system and then cpu recently.

the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade. maybe i should just stop browsing here =)

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Mwing
the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade. maybe i should just stop browsing here =)

i hear you on that end. i still do some mild consulting for friends, so that keeps my personal upgrading in check

wanted to get back into shooting more and pick up a couple more guns before november, so my $$$ has been going in there lately, plus it is a better investment , actually holds the value, something electronics don't

 

[Old Hippie]

the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade.

You'll have that! :laugh:

The top medical researchers are working on it, but as of right now, there is no cure! :shocked:

 

[Mr Fox]

Originally posted by: Mwing
my 8800gt is evga one with 512mb ram, it is fine for my monitor samsung 245b 1920x1200, and games like wow, aoc, wc3, bioshock.

cpu, ram and mobo are fine for me, so that leaves hdd as the bottleneck, and thats y i started that post.

but if i dont see a big performance boost, consider that is $300, then i would just not touch it.

as half year ago i was running a barton 2500+ socket A system, then i started reading here again and i upgraded my full system and then cpu recently.

the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade. maybe i should just stop browsing here =)

These are as fast as the Raptors and are cheap.. Go RAID 0 and you will be amazed.

5 year warranty, etc.. etc..



http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148309

 

[Rhaze]

Originally posted by: Mr Fox

Originally posted by: Mwing
my 8800gt is evga one with 512mb ram, it is fine for my monitor samsung 245b 1920x1200, and games like wow, aoc, wc3, bioshock.

cpu, ram and mobo are fine for me, so that leaves hdd as the bottleneck, and thats y i started that post.

but if i dont see a big performance boost, consider that is $300, then i would just not touch it.

as half year ago i was running a barton 2500+ socket A system, then i started reading here again and i upgraded my full system and then cpu recently.

the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade. maybe i should just stop browsing here =)

These are as fast as the Raptors and are cheap.. Go RAID 0 and you will be amazed.

5 year warranty, etc.. etc..



http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148309

Great to hear you say that. I have 2 of those exact drives arriving today. I can post some benches tomorrow night if anyone is interested.

 

[LightningRider]

I got mine and I love it. Extremely fast and quiet at the same time. It also runs cooler than one of my 7200.11's that is only used for storage.

I'd say it's worth it depending on what you do with your computer but all I can say is I missed having a 10000RPM drive.

 

[BoboKatt]

I recently picked up a new Samsung F1 750 and a new WD 640. Both are fantastic drives, although the damn Samsungs gets really freaking hot. Anyhow I also have 3 WD 500 GB drives, 1 Maxtor 500 GB drive... a few smaller IDE ones, a SATA 36 GB Raptor etc etc. Anyhow the only difference I noted between the these 2 drives was a noticeable improvement in HDTach, in other words, benchmarks.

I do a lot of video editing, and dealing with massive files that usually get worked on one drive and the result gets saved to another. Lots of RARing, unraring, creating images etc. and honestly unless I take my stop watch out I could not really tell the difference between these 2 or the older ones I have.

Years ago when I finally moved from my aging 30 GIG Fuji IDE 5400 RPM drive to a brand new 200 GB SATA 7200 RPM drive, my jaw dropped with the difference in what I could see with my own eyes. No need for benchmarks. Honestly now, no matter what I get HD wise, there is very little difference in what you feel or see. The best improvement comes from formatting your current drive and installing a nice clean minimal install of XP and disable all that auto crap. Makes you feel like you just got a new upgrade.

I would find it really really hard to justify a $300+ HD period.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Mr Fox

Originally posted by: Mwing
my 8800gt is evga one with 512mb ram, it is fine for my monitor samsung 245b 1920x1200, and games like wow, aoc, wc3, bioshock.

cpu, ram and mobo are fine for me, so that leaves hdd as the bottleneck, and thats y i started that post.

but if i dont see a big performance boost, consider that is $300, then i would just not touch it.

as half year ago i was running a barton 2500+ socket A system, then i started reading here again and i upgraded my full system and then cpu recently.

the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade. maybe i should just stop browsing here =)

These are as fast as the Raptors and are cheap.. Go RAID 0 and you will be amazed.

5 year warranty, etc.. etc..



http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148309

faster, but not quicker. high rpm drives benefit from their seek times. my main drive is a 74GB fujitsu max 15k hdd and recently i had a 15k.5 300GB seagate 15k hdd for my data drive. now this 15k.5 was about a $600-$800 drive (i didn't pay that but that is what they go for new) and i sold it and replaced it w/ a seagate 250GB 7200.10 hdd. can i tell a difference, yes even though it was a data/storage drive but when you consider that the seagate ran me ~$60 or so and i sold the 15k.5 for enough to buy many 7200.10 drives you just need to ask yourself where you need the speed. i don't run a real server so to me the 15k.5 was a waste and i know that in a server envirornment it kills sata/pata drives, but for my uses i wasn't getting the full benefits out of it, so w/ the difference i was able to put that $$$ towards another gun ;D

 

[deepinya]

Originally posted by: Mr Fox

Originally posted by: Mwing
my 8800gt is evga one with 512mb ram, it is fine for my monitor samsung 245b 1920x1200, and games like wow, aoc, wc3, bioshock.

cpu, ram and mobo are fine for me, so that leaves hdd as the bottleneck, and thats y i started that post.

but if i dont see a big performance boost, consider that is $300, then i would just not touch it.

as half year ago i was running a barton 2500+ socket A system, then i started reading here again and i upgraded my full system and then cpu recently.

the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade. maybe i should just stop browsing here =)

These are as fast as the Raptors and are cheap.. Go RAID 0 and you will be amazed.

5 year warranty, etc.. etc..



http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148309

Its not faster than the velociraptor. If I were the OP Id invest that 300 in a faster graphics card and keep the WD6400AAKS as a main drive. $99 right now on Newegg

 

[Mwing]

Thanks for the advices, I live in Canada so no Newegg for me, I checked my local stores and they dont have that Seagate drive for sale, is it an old model?

Oh btw AOC loading time is very very long, how the Seagate one compares to Velociraptor?

 

[bob4432]

what is aoc?

 

[Mwing]

age of conan, game is not bad but the loading time between zones is quite long.

 

[BladeVenom]

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3303
Look at the real world apps at the bottom of the chart.
Check actual game load time for levels.
300GB VelociRaptor vs. 64GB WD6400AAKS
CoH Wolfheze level: 33.96 seconds vs. 35. 13 seconds
Crysis Harbor level: 36.9 vs. 37.5 seconds

The Raptor just isn't worth the money. I'd go with the larger hard drives anyday.

RAID 0 is also just not worth it either. An unnoticeable performance increase in real world tests at twice the risk of losing all your date. I consider it worse than useless.

 

[killster1]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: Mwing
the more i read AT forums the more im itchy for upgrade. maybe i should just stop browsing here =)

i hear you on that end. i still do some mild consulting for friends, so that keeps my personal upgrading in check

wanted to get back into shooting more and pick up a couple more guns before november, so my $$$ has been going in there lately, plus it is a better investment , actually holds the value, something electronics don't

i think guns loose value just like pc's.. . i personally try and buy a pistol once a month as that is the limit here in cali, and ive picked up several used guns for fairly cheap.. as far as pc components loosing value.. cpus/mobos/ram/ usually holds value or actually goes up in price.. like socketA cpu's and x2 64's all going for top $$ now.

only reason id buy a 300gb raptor is for the size.. would be perfect for low heat/ electricity unit with size issues.. and i think it even works in some laptops

 

[Old Hippie]

and i think it even works in some laptops

Nope. Maybe next time!

 

[killster1]

Originally posted by: Old Hippie

and i think it even works in some laptops

Nope. Maybe next time!

ok it might work with mods tho.. cant just say nope.. i love how thats your only comment.. nice one

 

[Old Hippie]

Originally posted by: killster1

Originally posted by: Old Hippie

and i think it even works in some laptops

Nope. Maybe next time!

ok it might work with mods tho.. cant just say nope.. i love how thats your only comment.. nice one

OK.

 

[Mwing]

hm... a little update here, my friend who has a similar system as mine, suggests me to get it since he feels the computer is faster after changing

plus, as an insurance agent i got a big commision last month so i went to a store this morning getting 1 velociraptor ($299.95 cdn) and 2 wd 640gb ($85.95 cdn) as storage, and put my 2x seagate 7200.10 500gb to my htpc

will use norton ghost to move os drive to the velociraptor, is it reliable? i dun want to reinstall vista again, there are so many settings and games, and programs there i dont want to spend 4 hours to do it

originally i wanted to get the seagate and raid 2 as my os drive, but i couldnt find it in local computer stores so i went for vr

thanks for all your replies guys very helpful

 

[Old Hippie]

this morning getting 1 velociraptor ($299.95 cdn) and 2 wd 640gb ($85.95 cdn) as storage,

Perfect! :thumbsup:

 

[bob4432]

fwiw, i prefer acronis true image over ghost. i haven't used ghost in a few years after i had a couple of corrupted images that resulted in a lot of wasted time re-making the items that were lost, so i swore off ghost, went to acronis and have never looked back. and i have had to use the acronis images on more than 1 occasion and it has never let me down.

 

[Mwing]

Originally posted by: bob4432
fwiw, i prefer acronis true image over ghost. i haven't used ghost in a few years after i had a couple of corrupted images that resulted in a lot of wasted time re-making the items that were lost, so i swore off ghost, went to acronis and have never looked back. and i have had to use the acronis images on more than 1 occasion and it has never let me down.

Man you are right, I first tried Norton Ghost 14.0, I suspected that wasnt good too since it copied my C: in Windows, it didnt work on the first boot, Windows said MBR wasnt found, I used Windows Vista DVD to repair, loaded into log in screen, input pw then Windows loaded forever in a teal screen while only a cursor there and mouse worked, waiting for 15 min same screen then I gave up.

Took your advice, went for Acronis, thought I would have to pay for it but I found out that trail version was a full functional 15 days version, so I didnt have to pay, after done cloning, still, no MBR was found, I insert Windows DVD and repaired then Windows loaded up without problem.

Is it normal that you have to repair the MBR after cloning? When i used Acronis there was a function mentioned in the GUI that it would copy the MBR, but it seemed it didnt.

Oh, and now my WEI is 5.9 all, and I could feel the difference, like when opening up a folder with lots of large icons, the thumbnails loaded up very fast. Not a day and night difference in overall responsiveness, but I was really impressed.