Question about hard drives

[ck42866]

What are the differences between the hard drives on the market like the DMA 33' and 66's, Ultra's or whatever that is. And what about the 5400 RPM's and the 7200. How can I be sure which one my computer can take? Not sure of all the terms. How do I know whats best for me or what my computer should have for best perfromance? Just so lost when it comes to hard drives. I have a K62 400 OC'd to 450 with a GA-5AX MB.

Please Advise

[a Bill]

Bigger numbers are faster drives. Don't worry about 33 vs 66 right now since most computers can't use the 66 stuff anyway. As to the RPMs of the drives, that depends on what you need. If you are like 95% of the people in the real world, it doesn't matter either /forum/smile.gif The 5400 models are slower and quieter while the 7200 models are faster and noisier.

[Roy]

I would buy ahead and grow into it. HDDs are warranted for three years. A year from now you're likely to have graduated to a mobo that supports ATA66, and 7200RPM will be the common standard.

[Ygor]

Hmmm, I have a WD 7200 rpm drive I can't hear. My 5400 Maxtor rarely makes any sound either, but Win98 seems to boot faster from the 7200 rpm drive.