Quote:
Originally posted by kfmcall
Hi, well I have not much experience in the computer fields, and I was wondering what CD-Rom drives and Hard drives add to in a computers performance for running stress-heavy applications like games or graphic design programs. I'm looking to upgrade my CD-ROM and Harddrive, but I dont know what specs to look into in those pieces of hardware, such as the 52X 54X, 56X things, and Mb Buffer (is the more megabytes the better)? Also, if I wanted to replace my hard drive, how could i transfer my data? Would it hurt my computer to have one slow old hard drive and a new nice one? Thanks for your time, if your only able to address some of my questions thats fine, any suggestions are greatly appreciated. |
1) For CD roms, the higher the speed (X number) the better. Don't let the numbers on a DVD drive fool you, 1X speeds for a DVD drive is worth about 4X CD speeds. For Burners, the speeds will come in 3. Like 24/10/40. The first number is the maximum burning rate for CD-Rs. The second is the maximum burning rate for CD-RWs. The third is the read speed of the CD Drive (applies to all CDs).
2) Transfering data from an old hard drive can usually be done with software included with the new Drive (I know Seatgate does this, I think WD and Maxtor can too). Note that transfering the files will take quite a while.
3) You can have an old and new drive. The only requirement (not even really a requirememnt) is that the new drive has to be the master and the old one the slave. You can put it any way you want really (like if the OS is on the old drive), the reason I say that is some really old drives (pre-20GB) and some 20s and 40s even have slower controllers which can slow the new drive down.
As for HDD specs, here's what they mean:
ATA/ATAPI/IDE: Means it runs on the IDE bus. Most desktop PCs use this for hard drives to connect to. You may see ATA and then a number (like 66, 100, 133). That's the transfer rate of the drive. The higher the better, although it will only go the rate supported by the motherboard or controller (check the motherboard manual for information on that). You can use an ATA-133 controller on an ATA-66 motherboard, but the hard drive will only transfer at 66mb/s, not 133mb/s. Not really a big deal anyway, most HDDs never get beyond 66mb/s when transfering data.
SCSI: The Audobaun of data buses. Used in Macs mostly, and you can use them in your PC if you get a SCSI controller card. SCSI is (arguably) easier to set up, since there is no Master/Slave to worry about, but it does require that you set up the controller card. If your OS is installed on a SCSI card, that can get a bit interesting fast. SCSI issuperior in every way to IDE, except in price. SCSI drives are more expensive than their IDE counterparts. They also have smaller storgae spaces (no 200GB monsters here). But, at 15,000 rpms you wouldn't be complaining.
SATA: Serial ATA. A new standard for hard drives, combining the speed and ease of SCSI with the value of IDE. If you don't have a computer that comes with it automatically built in, then you'll need a controller card. There is little support for this now, but it is growing.
Rpms: Generally 5400, 7200, or 10000 rpms for IDE drives. The higher the faster, but also the hotter and lounder. I'm happy with 7200 drives, but you might find 10000 drives more to your liking. 10000 drives are relatively new, and more expensive. SCSI drives range from 10000 to 15000 rpms, which is loud but very fast.
Capacity: This is what you get a hard drive for. IDEs range from 40 GB to 200 GB nopwadays. SCSIs range from 20 to 120 GB (more than 120, I don not know about. It would be very expensive though).
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