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Thread: 2 hardrives better than one?

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    2 hardrives better than one?

    Is it worth having a dedicated HDD for the OS and programs and another drive for data files?

    Also could I run some software like games off the 2nd non OS drive, so if i wanted to do a fresh install of the OS, office and other programs that I haven't changed the configuration much, then I wouldn't have to muck about with storing game saves.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Haha, I just did exactly the same thing as you, I have an 80gig for the OS and a 500gig for my programs. My dad is the one who suggested it because apparently it gives much better performance. Other than that, I don't really have a clue

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Just about to do the same.

    After a recently problem with a trojen I really don't want my personal files and other important data on the same drive as the OS and browser in case a format is required.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    sounds like a good idea...


    apart from when it's a disaster.. when is two not better than one?

    And I'm sure there's some smartarses out there who will have an answer


    Reasoning behind it is that it'll probably result in a better build.... especially if you go and get a really nice HDD for programs... Because how often do you need to seek out your OS? Wheras you seek out your programs everytime you use them.

    Wish I'd thought of this 2 weeks ago
    Quote Originally Posted by Fortune117
    Kids are getting smarter, eventually no amount of parental controls will be able to stop them
    I guess we're expected to do quite well

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Yes two drive are better than one.
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    Palit 8800gt ¦ X-fi Fatal1ty Gamer ¦ Coolermaster Cavalier 3 (Silver/Windowed) ¦

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Quote Originally Posted by mediaboy View Post
    wish I'd thought of this 2 weeks ago
    Why's that ?

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Quote Originally Posted by Maccer101 View Post
    Is it worth having a dedicated HDD for the OS and programs and another drive for data files?

    Also could I run some software like games off the 2nd non OS drive, so if i wanted to do a fresh install of the OS, office and other programs that I haven't changed the configuration much, then I wouldn't have to muck about with storing game saves.
    Splitting my data up between hard drives was one of the best things I did for my computer.

    I've got my operating system and all installs on my RAID0 array, nice and fast.
    My Documents, downloads, videos, music etc. on a single 500GB
    500GB external eSATA to mirror the storage drive.

    Tempted to upgrade both my 500GB storage and 500GB external eSATA to 1TB soon.

    The system stays cleaner for a lot longer as I know exactly where everything is. I also find it a lot easier to reinstall Windows if needed as I can format C: at any time without losing anything.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    I have 3 hard drives, not out of buying but 'transfering' from one dead computer to another and the occasional desire for more space although you can partition it having the data nicely organised is helpful and even though rare to do is nice to be able to take the hard drive out and plug it in another computer without effectively ripping the OS out of your system.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Could I install games on the 2nd drive or a separate partition on the OS drive? and If I had to reinstall the OS would the games still be accessable or would they need to be reinstalled anyway due to wiping the OS registries?

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    I believe you can install games and programs onto another hard drive.

    After reinstalling the OS though im not too sure, but i feel as though you would have to reinstall the games also (on the 2nd HDD) but this is only based on what i think would happen, not actual fact. Sorry couldn't be more helpful

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    HSK
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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    yea this is what im wondering. i wanna re-install my OS, its on its own partion, and the games on another, but i think i'll have to install all of them again?

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Quote Originally Posted by HSK View Post
    yea this is what im wondering. i wanna re-install my OS, its on its own partion, and the games on another, but i think i'll have to install all of them again?
    Yes, when you reinstall Windows, you mess up the registry and the like, meaning you will have to reinstall them. That's ignoring the fact that there is no practical means to take existing installs and safely move them entirely to a new partition created within some of the existing partition's space.

    As for the thread topic at hand, it all depends upon the relative speed of the hard drives. Having your slower hard drive host the operating system would probably make things far worse than if you stored everything together on the faster one (assuming a noticeable speed difference).


    As I understand it, it is also the case that under most situations, RAID 0 will provide a more noticeable (but more risky) improvement than using the two drives on their own. However I believe that it is the case that the combined throughput of a raid system is limited to the lowest drive's speed (please correct me if I'm wrong).

    Typically, the big steps that people seem to advise is to keep your virtual memory on a separate drive to your programs, so that accessing the swap file does not interfere with regular read/write operations.

    It is possible under XP to locate the program files directory anywhere you want, via a simple registry change (or by using TweakUI and the like). I believe Vista does it quite differently, and so things might be harder.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Quote Originally Posted by Maccer101 View Post
    Is it worth having a dedicated HDD for the OS and programs and another drive for data files?
    Yes, very much so. If you have problems with the OS, you can simply reformat or carry out maintenance on it knowing that your data is safe. It's nice to keep a tidy OS. Also you can use the other drive for OS backups, and vice versa.

    Furthermore, if you use a disk imager like Norton Ghost to make an image of your OS drive when it's in peak condition, you can simply re-upload the image back to the OS drive if the OS or its programs ever becomes buggy or corrupt, without fear of losing or overwriting your data. Bit like a sandbox.

    Always wise to back up your data too, though.

    Don't bother using RAID #0 (striping). It will create loads of heat, use twice the power, and if just one of the two HDs go down you will stand to lose all the data on both of them. All this for a negligable speed gain. Not worth it.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    If you wipe your OS drive you usually have to reinstall your programs anyway because registry entries aren't there.

    Of course two drives are better than one, but not so much better that I would buy two 160Gb drives rather than one 500Gb.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    there's my mistake...i should of installed my apps on another partition as well as my games, taken an optimum image of the OS on it's own partition, with the registry pointing torwards the games and apps.

    at the moment, i've got apps on the OS partition too. meh.

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    Re: 2 hardrives better than one?

    Quote Originally Posted by Link97 View Post
    Haha, I just did exactly the same thing as you, I have an 80gig for the OS and a 500gig for my programs. My dad is the one who suggested it because apparently it gives much better performance. Other than that, I don't really have a clue
    Your 500GB drive is much faster than the 80GB one so you'd be better off using it for everything.

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