Please Explain about GB/s and RPM on HDDs ???

BuckSkin · 26 Nov 2017

I already know what someone is going to say, but money is tight and I just cannot afford a SSD at the present.

With that out of the way, without getting overly technical --- and thus way over my head ---, concerning HDDs, which is the most governing factor in how quick a system responds, GB/S rating or RPM rating ?

Considering booting up and running various programs (in this situation, file transfers and storage would not be an issue), all other factors being the same, which would make the machine more quick to respond, a 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 GB/S or a 5400 RPM SATA 6.0 GB/S ?
And, would the difference be noticeable to the average bear ?

Considering my most recent experience in having to replace the O/S in one of our machines, it put me to thinking; that machine has a single 2TB HDD with the O/S on one partition, photos on another partition, and everything else on a third partition.

I got the bright idea that, if I were to obtain two identical small capacity HDDs, say 160 GB or so, I could put the O/S, and ONLY the O/S on both of the small HDDs, one in the machine and the other ready to be put into action at a moments notice, and relegate the big 2TB HDD to being the secondary internal HDD; thus, whenever something goes awry, I don't have to mess around with making sure everything is safely backed up and whatnot, just plug and play.

Thanks for reading.

Layback Bear · 26 Nov 2017

Hard drive with higher rpm's will be faster.

To make things easier, please post a web site to the hard drives in question.
Do you want the hard drives to be internal? Sata connection off the motherboard.

Please put the model number of your Dell in your 'My System Specs'

Jack

BuckSkin · 26 Nov 2017

Layback Bear said:

Hard drive with higher rpm's will be faster.
Jack

THANKS! That is kinda what I figured, but I wanted it confirmed by an expert.

I haven't yet actually found any prospective candidates to link to, I am just sort of getting my little ducks in a row for when I do get serious about this.

Can I put more than one machine in system specs ?

Layback Bear · 26 Nov 2017

As far as I know, only one system in your 'My System Specs'.
It's impossible to give exact help without complete system specs of the computer in question.
Are you referring to both drives being internal Sata connected drives?

Hard drive of 5400rpm are designed for laptops. Slower hard drives create less heat is the reason. Laptops dissipate heat poorly. For a desktop you don't want less than 7400 rpm.

GB is the amount of space allowed for data. Some call drives that hold more data a bigger drive. Actually it's physical size is the same. A hard drive that is bigger just has more disks so it holds more data.

Jack

strollin · 26 Nov 2017

It's not quite as cut and dry as that. If everything else was identical, then a 7200rpm drive should be faster than a 5400rpm drive. However, there are other factors that effect data transfer speed such as how much cache each drive has as well as the GB/s rating. You really need to compare each individual drive's performance ratings against each other to know for sure.

Layback Bear · 26 Nov 2017

strollin is correct. Of course.

That is why I suggested posting which drives you are considering. This information will help us help you.

5 Things You Need to Consider Before Buying a Hard Drive

how to compare hard drives - Google Search

Use the following guidelines when you choose a hard disk:

Choose the correct interface. ¶ ...
Buy the right capacity drive. ¶ ...
Get a model with large cache if it doesn't cost much more. ¶ ...
Pay attention to power consumption and noise level. ¶ ...
Length of warranty. ...
MTBF. ...
MTTR.

Jack

BuckSkin · 26 Nov 2017

The machine in question is a DELL Optiplex 780m "Mini-tower" w/Intel E8600 3.33ghz

Another question comes to mind --- as best I can determine from the DELL support site (which a couple years ago was real good and has since went over the hill), this machine supports SATA 3.0 GB/S.
Is there any benefit in using SATA 6.0 GB/S in such a machine, or is it incapable of utilizing the benefits ?

Thanks.

Barman58 · 26 Nov 2017

There is no immediate benefit in fitting a 6GB/s on a system that has only 3GB/s SATA support, however you can always re-use a drive in your next system so I would always suggest you get the best hardware you can afford now with thought for the future, if the prices are not vastly different.

When buying drives and comparing models you should always compare detailed specs and check specs against you usage - some drives are quicker than others in reading and/or Writing a few large files, so good for Video work, others are better for lots of small files so not as good for this.

As has been stated have a look at drives in your budget in your area and post a list and if needed someone here guide guide you more

Just as an example on this system I have 3 data drives all are rated SATA 6GB two are Newer 7200 RPM 3TB and one is an older 5400 RPM 2TB. The motherboard only supports SATA 3GB so I am looking to upgrade the M/B in the next year (and probably Processor and the slowest drive), but as the prices of the last two drives were similar to the available SATA 3GB at the time of purchase my costs will be relatively low for my next upgrade (the slower drive is also used only for less often accessed items )

BuckSkin · 26 Nov 2017

Barman58 said:

There is no immediate benefit in fitting a 6GB/s on a system that has only 3GB/s SATA support, however you can always re-use a drive in your next system so I would always suggest you get the best hardware you can afford now with thought for the future, if the prices are not vastly different.

Thanks.
That is sound advice about buying the best one can afford.
It goes hard against my grain; lately, I often have to go the poor man's route; but then, I am a hard-core scavenger and long-time dumpster diver so I will persevere.

On another note, I swear there is a little old man in our community who is a twin to your avatar; same glasses, same whiskers, same little round head, and he lights one cigarette off another.

Barman58 · 26 Nov 2017

All I can say about my avatar and his habits is that to me he's always looked a little more Dutch than Welsh