External Hard Drive Question

[xtpacygax]

Hi, I am getting an external hard drive for business purposes, however I also like to play games. I was wondering if getting an external hard drive would effect how fast games load data. How does a game search for data on your hard drive? Does it start at the first hard drive and just make it's way down, or does it check both at the same time, thanks.

 

[xtpacygax]

Somebody must know the answer, I mean I don't think it is that hard of a question.

 

[b1gapl]

I think it depends on the rpm of the hard drive. The faster the rpms the faster the info is accessed and loaded. 7200rpm is like the standard for good loading. If you want fast loading theres 10000rpms or even 15000rpms but thats really expensive.

 

[xenium]

exactly. an expensive 10000rpm+ hdd and make sure its using usb 2.0. Do they even make externals that run on usb 1.1?

 

[xtpacygax]

But will having 2 hard drives effect my game loading speed, since it has to search on 2 different drives?

 

[b1gapl]

You have one drive for your business and one drive for your games? Just remember faster rpms mean faster access and loading. How fast are your hard drive?

 

[xtpacygax]

Both are 7200 rpm. How do I set it so when I play my games it only has to search through one of my hard drives, besides unplugging the external drive?

 

[old_geekster50]

My recommendation would be to use your internal HDD for your games. This will assure that you are getting the maximum speed for the game.

You actually set drive access in the BIOS. However, I don't believe that using an external HDD will give you good game play.

 

[Jorsoft]

External HD doesn't usually affect game performance, but loading times will be longer. Over USB 2.0 a my 7200 rpm external is roughly equivalent to a 5400 rpm internal.

 

[b1gapl]

Can anyone tell me how to find out the rpms of a hard drive, I never knew mine.