HDD advice for new system

[Zieman]

Hi!

I'm in a process of selecting parts for my new PC.

I'm thinking along these lines: one smaller HD for OS and at least one larger HD for data. The system will most probably be built around Intel Core2 Duo E6400 processor & mobo with the Intel P965 chipset & 800 MHz DDR2 memory.

For the OS (Win XP Pro SP 2) a 7200 (or more) RPM drive, maybe 40-80 GB. Should it be IDE or S-ATA or what? FAT32 or NTFS?

For storage I guess one or two NTFS 160-250 GB S-ATA (2?) drive(s) will do fine.

Recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

[mjc]

Well, since most newer boards have limited IDE channels and most optical drives are still IDE, I would make all my hard drives SATA. That way I could run two optical drives...

The advantages of SATA definitely make it the more desirable drive interface to use on a new build. And you will most likely find that most 965 chipset boards are shipping four or more SATA connections...

[jlreich]

It isn't really worth buying a small HDD like 40-80GB these days. For less than twice the money you can get 4 times the space. I would just get a couple of the 320GB Seagate's (about $95 each) and make a partition for the OS on the first drive.

Besides there is really no reason to get a small drive just for the OS. Some may argue differently but a partition will do the same job.

The only time I would say different is if you do decide to get a WD Raptor (10,000 RPM). In that case I would put the OS and any frequently used programs that will benefit from the additional speed on that drive. Even then I would put the OS on it's own small partition.

I would recommend NTFS for all partitions. Unless you will need access to a certain partition through win 9x/ME or Linux.

I do often make a small hidden FAT32 partition (500MB or less) on one of my drives to install utilities on. But I use a boot manager to boot 4 different OS's and make use of several utilities on a regular basis. If you are one to just install the OS and go on, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[Zieman]

Thanks!

Now to add up some sums and think some more... ;)

[Shirish]

Why to go for two hard disks go for one hard disk & one apple 40 gb Ipod
Hi!

I'm in a process of selecting parts for my new PC.

I'm thinking along these lines: one smaller HD for OS and at least one larger HD for data. The system will most probably be built around Intel Core2 Duo E6400 processor & mobo with the Intel P965 chipset & 800 MHz DDR2 memory.

For the OS (Win XP Pro SP 2) a 7200 (or more) RPM drive, maybe 40-80 GB. Should it be IDE or S-ATA or what? FAT32 or NTFS?

For storage I guess one or two NTFS 160-250 GB S-ATA (2?) drive(s) will do fine.

Recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

[saphalline]

There's a very good reason for not choosing a small hard drive for the OS: old 40GB hard drives have sucky performance!!

One thing you have to realize is that new larger hard drives aren't just larger. They also have the latest technologies built into them that the hard drive manufacturers have developed. So by going with an older hard drive, you're not only getting less space, but less performance, too. I always buy hard drives in the "sweet spot" of $90-110. Then I partition a chunk at the beginning for the OS and games, and leave the rest as a storage drive. It works perfectly fine and I don't lose any performance on either partition.

As a gamer, I always go the simple route. One partition for the OS, including My Documents and the page file and all that. No tweaking of anything because games don't like that. But there are many non-gamers here who have a highly evolved art :p of partitioning and moving Windows directories around. No matter who you are, partitioning (IMO) represents a large part of designing the perfect system for you. As such, it needs a lot of thought put into it just as much as which CPU or hard drive(s) you want. If you set up your system right the first time, you'll enjoy it a lot more!

[Zieman]

I gather that a smaller HD for the OS is a no-no, if that drive doesn't have top level performance (like 'WD Raptor (10,000 RPM)').
If I go for small HD for the OS, it won't be old with sucky performance, just the opposite...

Most probably I'll just make a small partition on a big/medium drive for the OS & stuff, that way I'll get good performance and lots of storage space with reasonable amount of money.