Originally posted by: ValsalvaYourHeartOut
Originally posted by: GetSome681
ValsalvaYourHeartOut,
There is a BIG difference between RAID0 (RAID01) with 7200 drives and a raptor in terms of access times. Sure the raid will give you much faster transfer speeds, but some of us are more interested in access times, in which case the raptor wins hands down. Seriously, maybe instead of arguing in this thread you should go and read
http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200401/20040126WD740GD_1.html
In addition to leaving all other 10k RPM SCSI drives in the dust, the WD740GD approaches the performance of the 15k RPM Fujitsu MAS3735 and Maxtor Atlas 15k in the Office and Gaming DriveMarks. Further, it handily bests the two powerhouses in the High-End and Bootup DriveMarks. Overall, for non-server use, Western Digital's Raptor WD740GD is the fastest single hard disk one can buy regardless of spindle speed, interface, or price. The fact that it is so quiet, runs much cooler, and remains significantly less expensive than its SCSI counterparts is simply icing on the cake. Make no mistake about it- the Raptor WD740GD is the drive for power users, period.
Seriously, if you can't admit this is a great drive, something is wrong with you. Not everyone has the case/psu/space to run a RAID01, not to mention some people value access times over raw transfer speed.
HI. thank you for joining this thread late and not realizing that I've addressed your points a billion times to people who "just don't get it." First of all, NS - I've seen that article already. Secondly, please refer to my numerous previous posts when I discuss how access-time is important only for the "typical desktop environment"...in which you can only benefit MARGINALLY in
overall system performance by upgrading your HD speed. On the other hand, on HD-intensive systems (like video editing, multimedia stuff) and at boot-time, the HD-system makes a HUGE different in
overall system performance. However, in these situations, sustained transfer-rate (STR) is FAR MORE IMPORTANT than access time. So my argument is this:
For the typical desktop environment, you'll barely see any different in your system performance if you upgrade to a Raptor, whereas $200-$250 can usually be spent on a different upgrade that provides a bigger overall performance enhancement. On the other hand, if you're in a situation in which HD-performance makes a HUGE difference (i.e. multimedia editing, manipulating large files, etc.), then a RAID0 system with multiple cheap drives is
a) faster (in STR, which is where it counts)
b) cheaper
c) provides more storage space
Valsalva