A question about Advanced format..

Un4GiVeN78 · May 12, 2010

Hello,
i have WD Caviar Green 1 TB, 5400 RPM, 64 MB Cache
model number: WD10EARS
i'm using OS: Windows 7 32-bit
i have two partitions: C:/ and D:/
when i bought my Hard Disk, there was a note on it says i should do this Advanced Format.. and i should check the official website of WD
it was hard for me to understand the information in the "knowledge base" on the WD official website
my question is..
Do i have to use WD Align software or any jumpers to get the full performance(by performance i mean full speed) of my HDD?
"windows experience index" in my "Performance Information and Tools" says that i have 5.9 Disk data transfer.. well is that normal?
and bytheway My HDD temperature is 42°C (108°F) is it frying ?
this pictures may be useful

sorry about my bad English, i hope u understand this

thank you

Jonathan_King · May 12, 2010

Welcome to SF!

You shouldn't need to touch the jumpers in most cases. At 5.9, I'd call it a fine score for a mechanical hard drive.

If it's working well for you, there is no need to mess with it more.

Un4GiVeN78 · May 12, 2010

Jonathan_King said:
Welcome to SF!

You shouldn't need to touch the jumpers in most cases. At 5.9, I'd call it a fine score for a mechanical hard drive.

If it's working well for you, there is no need to mess with it more.

Now, i'm using Physical Memory 2GB and Virtual Memory 3069MB
i was told that Virtual Memory depends on Hard Disk speed so when i disabled Virtual Memory coz i thought my HDD speed sux my PC became very slow!!
i enabled the Virtual Memory again and it works fine now..
after all i think my HDD speed in not bad [5400RPM - 64MB Buffer]

thank you.

Bill2 · May 12, 2010

Advanced format is a new technology offered by WD, though very quietly since it doesnt create any major performance benefits. Briefly, what it does is to increase the cluster size from 512 bytes to 4096 bytes. This results in greater efficiency in storing of error correction data. Theoretically that should lead to some reliability improvements. Also, since data is read in chunks of 4K, data transfer speeds should be higher.

Remember, there is no actual increase in storage space (as shown by various websites) and no hard data is available about any end user benefits as of now. This technology also does not work out of the box for XP. I suspect some hdd apps such as cloning and diags would have trouble with drives formatted this way.

Suggest you wait till some more data and info is available before you switch.

Un4GiVeN78 · May 12, 2010

Bill2 said:
since data is read in chunks of 4K, data transfer speeds should be higher.

Does it make a real difference in actual performance(speed)?
Is it worth to remove my data and format it again using AF?

thank you.

Bill2 · May 12, 2010

Not really. WD itself claims only about 1-2% increase in performance over its other similar sized drives but that may just be because of the increase in cache size and not because of advanced formatting. Also, there are other disadvantages i pointed out in my earlier post. If I were you, I would just stick to the standard formatting as of now.

The 4k cluster size would be adopted in due course by other hdd manufacturers. Then there would be better benchmarking and better app compatibility. So best to wait a while.

Un4GiVeN78 · May 12, 2010

Bill2 said:
Not really. WD itself claims only about 1-2% increase in performance over its other similar sized drives but that may just be because of the increase in cache size and not because of advanced formatting. Also, there are other disadvantages i pointed out in my earlier post. If I were you, I would just stick to the standard formatting as of now.

The 4k cluster size would be adopted in due course by other hdd manufacturers. Then there would be better benchmarking and better app compatibility. So best to wait a while.

thank you so much! i appreciate it.

i have no intention to touch it anyway.. i keep worrying about my HDD performance because i see that my PC is not working fine(check my system specs please).. my older Intel PC was faster..
i guess it's all because of my low physical memory.. i will buy another 2GB bus1333 RAM so that i will have 4GB bus1333 on my PC.

thank you again.

whs · May 12, 2010

I think most has been said. I suggest you follow the fine guidance by Bill2. I just want to confirm that a WEI score of 5.9 is about the best you can expect with a 5400 RPM disk. Anything better would require a fancy Raid setup or an SSD.

I also suggest that you do not touch the page file. Pages are being written in 4K chunks anyhow and no special setup is required for that. You can easily check your paging activity if you go to the Resource Monitor > Memory tab. In the column "hard faults" you can see how much paging activity is taking place. The easiest way to get into Resource Monitor is via the performance tab of the Task Manager.

But adding RAM is a good move in any case. Just make sure that you add exactly the same Dimms, else you may not get the full benefit. If you scan your system with the Crucial facilities, you will know exactly what your options are. Crucial is a reputable company and the scan is completely safe.

Un4GiVeN78 · May 12, 2010

whs said:
I think most has been said. I suggest you follow the fine guidance by Bill2. I just want to confirm that a WEI score of 5.9 is about the best you can expect with a 5400 RPM disk. Anything better would require a fancy Raid setup or an SSD.

I also suggest that you do not touch the page file. Pages are being written in 4K chunks anyhow and no special setup is required for that. You can easily check your paging activity if you go to the Resource Monitor > Memory tab. In the column "hard faults" you can see how much paging activity is taking place. The easiest way to get into Resource Monitor is via the performance tab of the Task Manager.

But adding RAM is a good move in any case. Just make sure that you add exactly the same Dimms, else you may not get the full benefit. If you scan your system with the Crucial facilities, you will know exactly what your options are. Crucial is a reputable company and the scan is completely safe.

Thank you very much!

I made paging file as recommended[check the picture]
and i don't understand about this Crucial facilities..
i will buy a new RAM 2GB just like the one i'm using now.

Thanks again

whs · May 12, 2010

Regarding the Crucial Facilities, just click where it says "Scan your Computer". That will download a little scanning program amd analyse your system giving you the result at the end.

Un4GiVeN78 · May 12, 2010

whs said:
Regarding the Crucial Facilities, just click where it says "Scan your Computer". That will download a little scanning program amd analyse your system giving you the result at the end.

Thank you alot for your help..
I've finished the scan and here's the picture..
Look, my OS 32-bit so it's not gonna read more than 4GB Ram
I have 2GB KingSton-Ram bus 1333 DDR3[check the .pdf] and i have to buy a new 2GB KingSton-Ram bus 1333 DDR3 so that i can have 4GB Ram..
i guess Crucial Facilities can not provide me with a good info about upgrading my RAM, it can not recognize my hardware i think..
if u have any advice for me would be great.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, i appreciate your help very much

whs · May 12, 2010

Hmm, usually Crucial gives you a little more info. But from your post I gather you know what you have to buy. Since you have a single 2GB stick now, I would add another 2GB stick. You will not be able to use the full 4GBs because of the address space limits in 32bit, but given that RAM is not very expensive (especially the small difference between a 1GB Dimm and a 2GB Dimm), it should not matter a lot. And maybe one day you want to install a 64bit system. Then you still have 2 open slots for more RAM

Un4GiVeN78 · May 12, 2010

whs said:
Hmm, usually Crucial gives you a little more info. But from your post I gather you know what you have to buy. Since you have a single 2GB stick now, I would add another 2GB stick. You will not be able to use the full 4GBs because of the address space limits in 32bit, but given that RAM is not very expensive (especially the small difference between a 1GB Dimm and a 2GB Dimm), it should not matter a lot. And maybe one day you want to install a 64bit system. Then you still have 2 open slots for more RAM

Thank you.

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