Solved 16MB Cache and 32MB Cache??

Tipher88

Member
I guess the question I have is pretty simple but if someone could go into detail about it I would greatly appreciate it.

When it comes to hard drives, other than the obvious cache size what is the difference between a HD with 16MB cache and one with 32MB cache, and will I be able to notice the difference during gaming or high load situations?

I am building a new machine so any info would be awesome.

Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i FTW
    Memory
    G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual BFG 8800gt OC 512MB in SLI
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Blue 640GB
    PSU
    Antec CP-850 (850 Watts)
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm
    Keyboard
    Razer Lycosa Mirror Ed.
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    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    5MB
as you probably know the bigger the cache the more data the HD can have ready for processing , there was a general feeling after tests i saw last year that anything over 8MB made very little differance in terms of hard drive performance

and as for gaming you certainly wont see any differance in performance unless you have a low end rig and very little memory and i dont suppose your gonna be building yourself one of those ;)

that said my knowlage only really stretches to gaming as for other apps , video editing etc im thinking a larger cache may be an advantage , if its not too much more go for the 32 , if your building a glorified X Box get either :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
as a rule i always try to never go below 16mb. I would go with 32mb if the cost isnt much more.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    §ĮŁΣNŦ Д$$Д$$ĮN
    CPU
    Xeon X3360
    Motherboard
    P5W64 WS Pro
    Memory
    Corsair XMS2 8gb @ 5-4-4-12 833mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA Geforce GTX470 SC+
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Extreme Gamer Fatlity Edition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T200
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    WD 1TB RE3
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughower 750w
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    NZXT Lexa Silver
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    Zalman CNPS10x Extreme
    Keyboard
    Razer Lycosa Mirror
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder 3500dpi
    Internet Speed
    24Mb/s
    Other Info
    My massive wifi antenna is in the post!
The cost is identical on Newegg...but I pulled a stupid. When I was picking the combo deal with Vista Ultimate x64...I guess I chose Caviar Blue (16MB) instead of Caviar Black (32MB) And to send it back and get the other one would end up costing me more because I got another special limited time offer when I ordered.

So instead of trying to send it back I have 3 choices. Just use the one I got, try to sell it on e-bay and then just buy the Caviar Black, or buy a Caviar Black and use that as main and the Blue as secondary. Dunno quite what I wanna do yet.

Thanks for your input guys :-)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i FTW
    Memory
    G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual BFG 8800gt OC 512MB in SLI
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Blue 640GB
    PSU
    Antec CP-850 (850 Watts)
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm
    Keyboard
    Razer Lycosa Mirror Ed.
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    5MB
Yeah, thats what I decided to do. I'll just have to make sure that the next HD that I buy is the one that I actually want. lol :rolleyes:
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i FTW
    Memory
    G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual BFG 8800gt OC 512MB in SLI
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Blue 640GB
    PSU
    Antec CP-850 (850 Watts)
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm
    Keyboard
    Razer Lycosa Mirror Ed.
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    5MB
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