The effect of HDD speed on FRAPS?

[collettnj]

Hi all,

In my PC at the moment I have 2 x 74GB 10,000RPM Raptors and a 750GB 7200RPM WD Caviar.

I currently use the first Raptor for my OS and games, with the second devoted to fraps recording (ie all fraps files are recorded directly to the second Raptor). The Caviar is used for storage/backup only.

I'm finding however that a mere 74GB is not enough for my OS+Games needs (I'm a flight simmer, wanting to run both FSX and FS9, which total about 40GB alone!). I'm planning on using the first Raptor for the OS alone (plus another couple of games; GTA IV and Test Drive Unlimited), and devoting the second to FSX/FS9 only.

My principle question is this: Is there any advantage in having fraps record to a 10,000RPM hard drive over a 7200RPM (eg the Caviar)? Will recording to the raptor increase the FPS of the videos, and reduce the FPS drop/stuttering ingame while recording?

Many thanks!

[shbris]

the WD Caviar is more than capable of recording from fraps. tbh, it's probably faster than your raptors

[collettnj]

the WD Caviar is more than capable of recording from fraps. tbh, it's probably faster than your raptors

So it would be best to record straight to the caviar? (Bear in mind the applcation being recorded would be on one of the Raptors!).

Why is that? I thought it was all about RPM

[TooNice]

It's not just about RPM. Density, buffer, firmware optimisation all count towards drive performance. Having said that, it's not a given that your Caviar is faster than the Raptor. The Caviar series has a long history, so unless you have a relatively recent drive, it could be a one-sided win for the Raptor. And even if you have a relatively new Caviar, it won't be a one sided win against the Raptor. The new Caviar will probably win in sequential transfer rate, but the Raptor's superior random access will make it faster in some applications.

Having rambled a bit, my suggestion would be to use a different drive for the recording. Suppose you run games on the Raptor, record the video on the Caviar. And vice-versa.

[collettnj]

Cheers for the reply...the Caviar in question is this:

https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...roductId=27477

...and the Raptors:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/74-GB...MB-Cache-52-ms

I'd be installing the OS on the first raptor, and FSX/FS9 on the second. I guess the best thing to do with fraps is just to experiment...

[TooNice]

http://www.storagereview.com/php/ben...1=350&devCnt=2

[collettnj]

Thanks for the link, it's pretty conclusive by the looks of it. I'll follow through my original plan and just record to the Caviar. I'm sure any performance loss should be negligible...I'll see how it goes.

Cheers for the help folks

[shbris]

how about RAID 0 the raptors then record everything to caviar

[collettnj]

how about RAID 0 the raptors then record everything to caviar

I've read that RAID 0 isn't a sensible option with FSX...I'm planning now on installing FSX and FS9 on their own respective raptors, with the OS on the first physical partition on my Caviar. I'll see how that goes Cheers for the help folks.