Hdd swap advice, does random speed matter for storage?

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mb82

198 posts

Master Geek

#271754 26-May-2020 08:25

Hi, I have a sff case with an older 3.5" 7200rpm 1tb drive. I could keep the 3.5" but it would mean the ssd I want to put my os on would be floating in the case against the cpu. It is for an optiplex 9010, I know I can use a cd drive adapter, but unless there is a clear advantage would rather keep the cd drive as it is

The other option is a 3.5" to dual 2.5" adapter. I would have ssd for the os and a 1tb 5400rpm 2.5" laptop drive for storage.

I notice looking at benchmarks, although 2.5" drives have faster read/write speeds the older 7200rpm 3.5" drive destroys a 2.5" 5400rpm drive in random speeds by 50-80%. Does this matter for a storage drive (photos, documents, video, maybe some larger programs/games)

Specifically..

https://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Hitachi-HUA721010KLA330-1TB-vs-Toshiba-MQ01ABD100-1TB/m3043vsm784

Thanks

darthkram

57 posts

Master Geek

#2491513 26-May-2020 08:37

Just to go off on a tangent, have you thought about velcro-ing or using double sided tape to stick the SSD to somewhere in the case?

They're stupidly light and have no moving parts so it would be fine. The mounting points for SSD's in the case I have don't use screws at all, just a sort of push fit method into rubber grommets.

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1101

3086 posts

Uber Geek

#2491646 26-May-2020 10:58

You are comparing one slow HD to another slow hd. They are both slow
SSD is the only way to go now.

Best solution.
Install a 1Tb SSD
Clone from the old drive & remove the old drive

otherwise
install SSD as main bootable Windows HD . Use the old drive only for storing docs,photos etc that arnt often used
SSD's are so much faster than old mechanical drives, there no point in even thinking about installing another mechanical HD (unless you need more than 1Tb)

tripper1000

1541 posts

Uber Geek

#2491704 26-May-2020 11:42

For photos and storage that you infrequently access, random access speed doesn't matter much. It will affect games and O.S. more.

Dual drives is the way to go if your want the best of the budget and speed worlds. SSD for OS + games, spinner for file storage.

K8Toledo

846 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2494476 29-May-2020 16:34

mb82:

Hi, I have a sff case with an older 3.5" 7200rpm 1tb drive. I could keep the 3.5" but it would mean the ssd I want to put my os on would be floating in the case against the cpu. It is for an optiplex 9010, I know I can use a cd drive adapter, but unless there is a clear advantage would rather keep the cd drive as it is

The other option is a 3.5" to dual 2.5" adapter. I would have ssd for the os and a 1tb 5400rpm 2.5" laptop drive for storage.

I notice looking at benchmarks, although 2.5" drives have faster read/write speeds the older 7200rpm 3.5" drive destroys a 2.5" 5400rpm drive in random speeds by 50-80%. Does this matter for a storage drive (photos, documents, video, maybe some larger programs/games)

Specifically..

https://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Hitachi-HUA721010KLA330-1TB-vs-Toshiba-MQ01ABD100-1TB/m3043vsm784

Thanks

9010 SFF can take both.

But to answer your question applications/OS benefit from fast random access times, archive/data/ large files (copying or editing) benefit (generally) more from fast sequential r/w.

https://data.technimax.cz/attach/artilky/Dell-OptiPlex-9010-SFF-Owners-Manual.pdf