I/O Performance +/-'s w/2 HD on Windows XP/Vista OS

[CC]

Hi, I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to these things.

On Windows XP or Vista OS:
Would there be any advantage of placing the OS on 1 physical SATA HD
and have Game Files on 2nd physical SATA HD on 2 different SATA
controllers on a system?

WHY?

Well, I have a lot of games that typically get updated with patches
daily, and I want to make sure I have virtually the fastest
uninterupted READ times for those game files as well as more control
over fragmentation of those files.

If I'm multi-tasking with maybe a 2 core or 4 core CPU, I don't want
something like a page file or other read/write operations interrupting
the performance of a game I'm running at the same time.
Of course it probably depends on the SATA controller, CPU and Memory
utilization and FSB, but at least from the 'physical' perspective of
reading and writing files, would there be any advantage to split out
the OS and Game files(or other files) on 2 different physical drives on
2 different SATA channels?

Are there any OS or Hardware restrictions in doing so that would
actually decrease performance with such a setup?

Any advice appreciated!

 

[Arno Wagner]

Hi, I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to these things.

On Windows XP or Vista OS:
Would there be any advantage of placing the OS on 1 physical SATA HD
and have Game Files on 2nd physical SATA HD on 2 different SATA
controllers on a system?

Well, I have a lot of games that typically get updated with patches
daily, and I want to make sure I have virtually the fastest
uninterupted READ times for those game files as well as more control
over fragmentation of those files.

If I'm multi-tasking with maybe a 2 core or 4 core CPU, I don't want
something like a page file or other read/write operations interrupting
the performance of a game I'm running at the same time.
Of course it probably depends on the SATA controller, CPU and Memory
utilization and FSB, but at least from the 'physical' perspective of
reading and writing files, would there be any advantage to split out
the OS and Game files(or other files) on 2 different physical drives on
2 different SATA channels?

Are there any OS or Hardware restrictions in doing so that would
actually decrease performance with such a setup?

Any advice appreciated!

Wou cannot get that to the level you think you can. The only thing
that really makes sense is placing swap on a separate disk. Apart
from that keep defragging and use small partitions.

Arno

 

[James Brown]

Wou cannot get that to the level you think you can. The only thing
that really makes sense is placing swap on a separate disk.

Makes absolutely no sense to fart around with the swap file location.
The only thing that makes any sense is to have enough physical ram
so it isnt used when doing the stuff you care about, playing the games.

Apart from that keep defragging

Bet you wouldnt be able to pick that with a double blind trial.

and use small partitions.

Or that.

 

[Rod Speed]

Hi, I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to these things.

On Windows XP or Vista OS:
Would there be any advantage of placing the OS on 1
physical SATA HD and have Game Files on 2nd physical
SATA HD on 2 different SATA controllers on a system?

Nope, a properly configured system, and thats one with enough
physical ram, wont see any advantage with that config.

WHY?

Well, I have a lot of games that typically get updated with
patches daily, and I want to make sure I have virtually the
fastest uninterupted READ times for those game files as
well as more control over fragmentation of those files.

You'll find that fragmentation is a very minor effect with modern
hard drives, essentially because they seek so fast now.

If I'm multi-tasking with maybe a 2 core or 4 core CPU, I don't want
something like a page file or other read/write operations interrupting
the performance of a game I'm running at the same time.

The page file effect is much better avoided
by having enough physical so it doesnt page.

You wont get enough other read/write ops to matter with
a high performance game thats wringing out the system.

The video card etc is MUCH more important than that drive config question.

Of course it probably depends on the SATA controller, CPU
and Memory utilization and FSB, but at least from the 'physical'
perspective of reading and writing files, would there be any
advantage to split out the OS and Game files(or other files)
on 2 different physical drives on 2 different SATA channels?

It cant do any harm, but you wont be able to pick it in a double blind trial.

Are there any OS or Hardware restrictions in doing so that
would actually decrease performance with such a setup?

Yeah, you will have two smaller drives normally, and that will
see a lower thruput from the smaller drives most of the time.

You might well see a benefit from having the files the games read
extensively on the front of the drive, where you get the highest
thruput due to the highest sectors per track, and its likely easier
for a novice to achieve that with two drives, but thats countered by
the smaller drive effect, so its more complicated than it first looks.