Tom's Guide > Forum > Storage > Hard Disks > Best Hard Drive for Gaming Load Times

Best Hard Drive for Gaming Load Times

Forum Storage : Hard Disks - Best Hard Drive for Gaming Load Times

TomsGuide.com: Over 800,000 questions and answers to address all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
DanCole42   09-07-2007 at 05:37:48 PM

I'm looking to pick up a nice gaming laptop (probably an Alienware m9750).

I want a hard drive that will offer the best performance when it comes to loading during games. Solid state drives are too expensive.

Right now I'm looking at:

-160GB Serial ATA 1.5 Gb/s 5,400 RPM Hybrid Hard Drive w/ 256MB flash memory
-200GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 16MB Cache
-160GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 8MB Cache
-250GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/ 8MB Cache

I can't find anything that really speaks to the load times of larger files with the hybrids. Does anyone have any experience with them? Will the slower RPM negate any benefit of the hybrid?

Will I see a noticeable performance difference with the 8MB vs the NCQ/16MB cache, or the 5400 RPM vs the 7200?

What about the NCQ with an 8MB cache?

Rather, are the higher end drives worth the extra $200?

Thanks!


Message edited by DanCole42 on 09-07-2007 at 05:51:36 PM
Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
utaka95   09-07-2007 at 06:10:18 PM
- 0 +

I can't answer all of your questions but I do know that there isn't an appreciable difference between 8MB and 16. But a 7200 rpm drive absolutely kills anything at 5400 I've ever owned. I put a 60 gig Hitachi in a 2000 model Dell lappie w/a Pentium 3 and it actually became fairly usable again.

Edit: That Hitachi is a 7200 rpm model.


Message edited by utaka95 on 09-07-2007 at 06:11:39 PM
------------------------------ "How can he possibly resist the maddening urge to eradicate history at the mere push of a single button? The beautiful, shiny button? The jolly, candy-like button? Will he hold out, folks? Can he hold out?"
 Reply to utaka95
DanCole42   09-08-2007 at 07:26:12 PM
- 0 +

Okay, here's another question...

200GB single drive, 16MB cache w/ NCQ, or two 100GB drives in a RAID0 array w/ 8MB cache & NCQ?

Which is faster?

Reply to DanCole42
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Guide > Forum > Storage > Hard Disks > Best Hard Drive for Gaming Load Times
Go to:

There are 11 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.289 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Google ads