Just wanted to ask some of the Tech experts on TL regarding hard drive rpm. I'm not much of a tech guy so any suggestions would be appreciated. I searched for this topic, but couldn't find any previous threads, so I decided to create a topic for it. I'm thinking of buying a new computer, particularly for gaming... I was wondering whether hard drive rpm is an important consideration when choosing a computer for such a purpose. Like I've settled on two choices... one is a six-processor core machine, the other is quad-core, but the machine with six has a 5400 rpm hard drive speed while the quad-core machine has a 7200 rpm hard drive speed. What are your opinions on hard drive speed? Is it important enough to justify purchasing the quad-core over the six-core machine solely on the basis of the better hard drive speed? Does it affect gaming? Does a slower hard drive rpm significantly affect the speed of a computer?
Answers related to these questions would be very much appreciated.
Hey, thanks for the reply. So, is that significantly faster then the 5400? Like, would that convince you to purchase the machine with the 7200 HD over the other machine, despite its processing power being a little weaker?
We need some more information, including processors names, hard drives names, prices for each build. Basically, list the specs for each build and the prices. Theres more to cpu speed than number of cores, in many applications it won't even make a difference.
7200 is better (faster) in most cases if you're not looking to save power.
It depends on more than just the hard drive speed. Some newer 5400 rpm drives are faster than most older 7200 rpm drives. Mostly this is because newer hard drives tend to have information stored more densely on the spinning platters (so you have to travel less far in some sense to look over more data).
Keep in mind that hard drive speed has practically nothing to do with in-game performance. A faster HDD just allows you to load maps, levels, etc. a little faster (into RAM; the game will keep the data in RAM so it can be accessed much faster).
Performance of a quad core vs. a hex core also depends a lot of what programs you're running and what architectures, clock speeds, and cache they have. Actually, unless you do a lot of video encoding, video editing, heavy virtual machines, some CAD, or something like that, a Phenom II X4 (quad core) is going to be just as good as a Phenom II X6 (hex core). If you're mostly looking to game, most games have code that can't be threaded very well, so the two extra cores on the hex core will do you no good.
Thanks for the replies. Everything else between the machines is identical except for the following:
Machine 1: $980 1.5TB - 5,400rpm Serial ATA hard drive AMD Phenom II 1055T Six-Core processor - 2.80 GHz
Machine 2: $920 Intel Core i5-760 Processor - 4 cores - 2.80 GHz 1TB - 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
The brands of the HDs aren't mentioned if that's what you guys were looking for. Other specs which are the same for both machines include: 8GB DDR3 RAM, video card: AMD Radeon HD 6570.
Appreciate all the advice! I'm getting the feeling that I should go for the 7200rpm with 4 cores from the responses... but I'll keep awaiting your replies.
RPM by itself doesn't have a lot to do with speed. You need to take a lot of factors into account like cache size, seek time, interface and how many platters make up the disk.
For example a WD Caviar black at 7200 RPM is slower than a 5400 RPM Samsung Spinpoint.
Spinpoint F4:
Caviar Black:
The reason the F4 is faster is because it only has a single platter with a higher density (as far as I know, I'm not the biggest expert). The Caviar Black has 2 to 4 platters depending on the model. That's not to say the Spinpoint is the best at everything, in random access tests the Caviar Black does a lot better.
I guess my point is that you can't look at one statistic and decide which is better. You need to look at the overall picture and look at a lot of benchmarks to determine the best drive. Also keep in mind that 2 F3s in RAID 0 are as fast as cheap SSDs.
On February 18 2011 14:21 Kahuna. wrote: Thanks for the replies. Everything else between the machines is identical except for the following:
Machine 1: $980 1.5TB - 5,400rpm Serial ATA hard drive AMD Phenom II 1055T Six-Core processor - 2.80 GHz
Machine 2: $920 Intel Core i5-760 Processor - 4 cores - 2.80 GHz 1TB - 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
The brands of the HDs aren't mentioned if that's what you guys were looking for. Other specs which are the same for both machines include: 8GB DDR3 RAM, video card: AMD Radeon HD 6570.
Appreciate all the advice! I'm getting the feeling that I should go for the 7200rpm with 4 cores from the responses... but I'll keep awaiting your replies.
Based on that info I would go for the i5-760 based machine. The i5-760 is a monster of a CPU and an excellent overclocker. I got mine to 4GHz on the stock cooler.
Think of it as an i7 with all the useless stuff (for games) like hyper threading cut out. I'm assuming gaming is what you have planned for this computer.
On February 18 2011 14:21 Kahuna. wrote: Thanks for the replies. Everything else between the machines is identical except for the following:
Machine 1: $980 1.5TB - 5,400rpm Serial ATA hard drive AMD Phenom II 1055T Six-Core processor - 2.80 GHz
Machine 2: $920 Intel Core i5-760 Processor - 4 cores - 2.80 GHz 1TB - 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
The brands of the HDs aren't mentioned if that's what you guys were looking for. Other specs which are the same for both machines include: 8GB DDR3 RAM, video card: AMD Radeon HD 6570.
Appreciate all the advice! I'm getting the feeling that I should go for the 7200rpm with 4 cores from the responses... but I'll keep awaiting your replies.
Between those two, I would go with the second for sure: Intel is better clock-for-clock than AMD and you definitely don't need a 6-core.
However, THOSE COMPUTERS ARE FUCKING TERRIBLE FOR THE PRICE! A 6570? I HAVEN'T EVEN HEARD OF A 6570! Either build your own computer or use a custom site (ibuypower.com, cyberpowerpc.com). I can help with finding the best parts for your budget either way. Where are these 2 ^ computers from anyway?
They're from the usual computer retailers. Both Best Buy and Future Shop have them I think. I don't know enough about computers to build them though. ... I'll try the sites you told me. Any recommendations?
Well, the Core i5-760 would be better for games, and it's already outdated.
HD 6450, 6550, 6570, 6670, 6750, and 6770 are just reissues of corresponding HD 5xxx, available for OEMs only. A HD 5570/6570 is something like a $65 ($50 including mail-in rebate on newegg) card, so that's not really what you'd expect for a gaming computer.
OK. Just a few questions and I'll confiigure a computer for you. Do you need: Monitor (if so what resolution?) Speakers (what setup? mono (1 speaker), stereo (2), 2.1 (2 speakers 1 subwoofer), 5.1, 7.1) Headphones (gaming/nongaming) Mouse (gaming/nongaming) Keyboard (gaming/nongaming) Because if your budget is strictly 1k, then I want to know what you need along with the computer.
EDIT: Oh yeah, will you be overclocking CPU, Graphics, RAM? Or you can have the folks at the site do it for you. Or not at all.
To be honest, I think you get the best deals at around that price for tested, pre-assembled computers on NCIXUS.com, paying the $50 assembly fee, and paying hefty shipping fees from Canada. That's because prices are just a little worse than other e-tailers like newegg. I haven't checked the usual big names in a while though.
I have a decent monitor. And, I'm happy with my current keyboard, sound system, and mouse. So just a nice solid machine would be good. But don't go through too much trouble. A simple link to a machine you recommend would suffice. Thanks.
And for those of you from Canada... would you guys recommend purchasing from Canada Computers? Would I be able to find a solid machine there compared to these other retailers?
Oh, you're in Canada. Try NCIX, memoryexpress, or maybe Canada Computers. I think NCIX has the best selection. You can pricematch other stores with NCIX and memoryexpress at least, IIRC.
Here is a decent $1030 build. If it costs too much, let me know, and I will lower the price for you. I might come back in a minute with an AMD build but let's see. EDIT: I accidentally kept the speakers on there, sorry. You can deselect them in the middle of page 2
Here's a build I made for you at NCIX for 977$. I'd advise to NEVER buy computers from Future Shop or Best Buy. They add in unnecessary shit like another 4gb of ram, crap graphics cards and the like just to make it "seem" like a gaming build. Use computer builders at websites to make your own, and come back here for help if you need it. Oh and also, if you live close to an NCIX store (Check their website for locations) you can have the computer shipped to the store for free, then you just go and pick it up. Newegg is also a good store I've heard. newegg.ca
On February 18 2011 14:31 vek wrote: RPM by itself doesn't have a lot to do with speed. You need to take a lot of factors into account like cache size, seek time, interface and how many platters make up the disk.
For example a WD Caviar black at 7200 RPM is slower than a 5400 RPM Samsung Spinpoint.
Spinpoint F4:
Caviar Black:
The reason the F4 is faster is because it only has a single platter with a higher density (as far as I know, I'm not the biggest expert). The Caviar Black has 2 to 4 platters depending on the model. That's not to say the Spinpoint is the best at everything, in random access tests the Caviar Black does a lot better.
I guess my point is that you can't look at one statistic and decide which is better. You need to look at the overall picture and look at a lot of benchmarks to determine the best drive. Also keep in mind that 2 F3s in RAID 0 are as fast as cheap SSDs.
On February 18 2011 14:21 Kahuna. wrote: Thanks for the replies. Everything else between the machines is identical except for the following:
Machine 1: $980 1.5TB - 5,400rpm Serial ATA hard drive AMD Phenom II 1055T Six-Core processor - 2.80 GHz
Machine 2: $920 Intel Core i5-760 Processor - 4 cores - 2.80 GHz 1TB - 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
The brands of the HDs aren't mentioned if that's what you guys were looking for. Other specs which are the same for both machines include: 8GB DDR3 RAM, video card: AMD Radeon HD 6570.
Appreciate all the advice! I'm getting the feeling that I should go for the 7200rpm with 4 cores from the responses... but I'll keep awaiting your replies.
Based on that info I would go for the i5-760 based machine. The i5-760 is a monster of a CPU and an excellent overclocker. I got mine to 4GHz on the stock cooler.
Think of it as an i7 with all the useless stuff (for games) like hyper threading cut out. I'm assuming gaming is what you have planned for this computer.
Stock cooler? No way... My brother has that same CPU and he had troubles getting it to 3.8 with a Hyper 212+. I read up on it to help him out and a lot of people are saying the same thing (most bottleneck at 3.6 depending on heatsink & mobo). What equipment and settings (VCore, etc.) are you using? If what you're saying is true, I'm thinking about building a new HTPC powered with a cheaper 1156 in a few months, so that would be great.
On February 18 2011 14:31 vek wrote: RPM by itself doesn't have a lot to do with speed. You need to take a lot of factors into account like cache size, seek time, interface and how many platters make up the disk.
For example a WD Caviar black at 7200 RPM is slower than a 5400 RPM Samsung Spinpoint.
Spinpoint F4:
Caviar Black:
The reason the F4 is faster is because it only has a single platter with a higher density (as far as I know, I'm not the biggest expert). The Caviar Black has 2 to 4 platters depending on the model. That's not to say the Spinpoint is the best at everything, in random access tests the Caviar Black does a lot better.
I guess my point is that you can't look at one statistic and decide which is better. You need to look at the overall picture and look at a lot of benchmarks to determine the best drive. Also keep in mind that 2 F3s in RAID 0 are as fast as cheap SSDs.
On February 18 2011 14:21 Kahuna. wrote: Thanks for the replies. Everything else between the machines is identical except for the following:
Machine 1: $980 1.5TB - 5,400rpm Serial ATA hard drive AMD Phenom II 1055T Six-Core processor - 2.80 GHz
Machine 2: $920 Intel Core i5-760 Processor - 4 cores - 2.80 GHz 1TB - 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive
The brands of the HDs aren't mentioned if that's what you guys were looking for. Other specs which are the same for both machines include: 8GB DDR3 RAM, video card: AMD Radeon HD 6570.
Appreciate all the advice! I'm getting the feeling that I should go for the 7200rpm with 4 cores from the responses... but I'll keep awaiting your replies.
Based on that info I would go for the i5-760 based machine. The i5-760 is a monster of a CPU and an excellent overclocker. I got mine to 4GHz on the stock cooler.
Think of it as an i7 with all the useless stuff (for games) like hyper threading cut out. I'm assuming gaming is what you have planned for this computer.
Stock cooler? No way... My brother has that same CPU and he had troubles getting it to 3.8 with a Hyper 212+. I read up on it to help him out and a lot of people are saying the same thing (most bottleneck at 3.6 depending on heatsink & mobo). What equipment and settings (VCore, etc.) are you using? If what you're saying is true, I'm thinking about building a new HTPC powered with a cheaper 1156 in a few months, so that would be great.
I've actually dropped it down to 3.6 GHz because it's summer here at the moment and it was getting around to around 85-90 degrees under load at 4 GHz. No stability issues or anything I was just getting worried about it
Motherboard is Gigabyte P55-USB3. Only increased the V-Core by .05 volts because LLC (I think that's what it was called..) seems to do a pretty good job. I mostly messed with the bus speed, multiplier and DRAM ratios to get it stable.
If I did buy a decent cooler I'd run it at 4 GHz all year round but I never get performance issues anyway so I don't care enough to bother. It was more of a novelty for the first few months after I got it.
EPT
![[image loading]](http://i54.tinypic.com/2qjgcw1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://gergin.net/posts/HD%20Benchmarks%20Nov%2010%202008/WD6401AALS%20D%20v2.55.jpg)
... I'll try the sites you told me. Any recommendations?![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/XSbh2.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3uhTC.png)
