10k RPM HD all hype or worth it?

[ATI RADEON 8500]

A while ago I bought an WD 10k RPM 36gb with 8mb cache. It's the only drive I have in my system and I want more HD space on my computer because the lastest game take a lot space than it used to back few years ago.

I did't bother to look into SATA 3.0 Gb/s until just now and reliazed how much cheaper it was than 10k SATA. So my question is does the RPM speed really help? I'll be using the next hard drive mainly to store game and program datas and the current one solely for O/S.

Question is it worth spending a lot more dough for 10k rpm HD?


Also whats the diffrence between those OEM drives other than the prices?

WD 7200 RPM 16MB cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010150014+1035915133+1035407760+103530105+50001 306+1035307873&Subcategory=14&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=)

Also OEM drive do not include cables right?

[Midknyte]

yes it makes a difference. It's not 30% faster, but it is faster. If your second drive is just for storage, then you could opt for a 7200rpm drive because the price per GB is lower

This is the very first link on Best of Data Storage:
What makes a hard drive fast? (http://www.storagereview.com/php/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=PerformanceFactors)

You need to look at each model number. generally the new drives have higher density platters and better firmware which make them perform better.

[ATI RADEON 8500]

Aha thank you and I'm sorry I overlooked that link.. Nervous about going back to college in few hours.. :(

[GrefMofovich]

Worth it!

[ATI RADEON 8500]

I'm sold with the 7200 RPM model. Twice the space at half the cost.

10krpm 150gb 16mb cache = $250
7200 rpm 250-320gb 16mb cache = $77-149

[Midknyte]

It's like anything else in life. sometimes you wants a sports car, sometimes you need a minivan. I try to make real world analogies to technical problems. most of the time, the answer is pretty obvious. :)

[_Mystical_Night]

if you already have a raptor as your primary master then i suggest getting a hard drive with lots of storage space as a primary slave, so you can store all your stuff in there since raptor drives dont have much space

also, your question about OEM drives

OEM = Just the hardware wrapped in an anti static bag

no cables,manuals,mounting screws or software unless otherwise stated

I do think it includes the little jumper however


Edit: If you dont have a raptor already tho then I agree with everyone else, 10k rpm > 7200 rpm :) ... but its not worth getting more then 1 since they have so little space and programs these days are several gb ... you would end up needing a new raptor every few months if your a heavy downloader