Which is faster NTFS or FAT32 for gaming?

[stuman19]

Someone told me that FAT32 was faster for gaming. Is that true? I don't think it is but I figure I"d consult the experts (you people). Thanks for the info.

Stu

 

[Schadenfroh]

NTFS

 

[mobobuff]

I don't know why hard drive file allocation formats would have any major effect on gaming...

 

[nbarb99]

I believe that NTFS is theoretically faster because of faster disk access times (due to smaller cluster sizes).

 

[JBT]

use NTFS essepecially if you have a decent size harddrive.

 

[stuman19]

Alright, thanks..I wanted to prove to some guy that thought that NTFS was faster for gaming, I didn't think that could be true and you are now my proof. Thanks fellas/ladies!

 

[dowxp]

i wouldn't call that a proof

 

[Pariah]

Depends on the size of the drive. FAT32 will probably be faster with smaller drives, while NTFS will be better with larger drives. When I say faster I mean pretty much imperceptibly and probably not even measurable in most benchmarks.

 

[anthrax]

Serisouly, how much of a difference can it make.?

In a typical game , how much File system I/O is there......not alot while you are playing it.....It typically only happens when you are loading ........and when you use virtual memory( where memory latency would be the performacne killer and not file system overhead.)...

NTFS vs FAT, I will be surprised if there is a measureable FPS difference on a system with sufficent amount of RAM (ie 1024MB)

 

[Cerb]

If you have 256MB RAM, then the file system might make a difference...between your 20 and 30 FPS .
The HD is not a major gaming bottleneck, and the file system will almost certainly make no difference in game speeds, either.

 

[piasabird]

Seems like the speed at which the system can render grapics would be very important. This is more dependent on processor speed and the graphics card. However it is also important to have an OS that can support larger amounts of memory like XP. It would be a waste to have winXP and then use FAT 32.

 

[Lyfer]

I've used both. To be honoest I can't tell the difference. (using seagate 120GB 7.2k drives)

 

[zephyrprime]

There really isn't any difference.

 

[Maverick]

actual gaming fps won't make a difference, but your load times should be slightly faster with NTFS

 

[Brian48]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
I've used both. To be honoest I can't tell the difference. (using seagate 120GB 7.2k drives)

ditto.

 

[Sid59]

fat16

 

[Josephus]

NTFS is far and away a better file system for large volumes... Once I had a link to a teat report, now just comparisons...

NTFS vs. FAT

From ars technica

NTFS and FAT32 are very similar in speed, but as the size of the disk increases, the gap widens. NTFS actually stores small files in the Master File Table (MFT), to increase performance. Rather than moving the heads to the beginning of the disk to read the MFT entry, and then to the middle or end of the disk to read the actual file, the heads simply move to the beginning of the disk, and read both at the same time. This can account for a considerable increase in speed when reading lots of small files.

 

[XzeroR3]

If you don't care about anything else about NTFS, least know this: On a large volume FAT32 is painfully slow to defrag (in my experience.)

A well defragged drive means better load times for the OS and even games.

 

[Maximilian]

FAT32 is slightly faster. The advantages of NTFS however totally justify a tiny loss in speed, nobody should be using FAT if they have the option of NTFS.

NTFS:
Larger hdd's supported
Faster defrags (no more 3 hr waits)
More stable (was designed for windows NT 4.0 for server stability and now used on desktop)

FAT32:
Slightly faster (Hdd RPM speed would have a far greater impact on speed)
Long defrag speeds (takes hours)
Less stable
40 GB max (i think)

 

[Mem]

In real world you won`t notice any real difference ,for security,stability etc stick with NTFS.

 

[Gunbuster]

NTFS is faster because you keep gaming while the duder with the 250Gig Fat32 drive watches the scandisk screen or is formating and rebuilding windows

 

[EeyoreX]

The bottom line is that it doesn't matter.

Period.

Neither file system is "faster" as far as gaming is concerned. You will notice exactly zero difference. Again: It just doesn't matter! NTFS is better for larger volums than FAT32 is.

\Dan