# HDD SATA 6 Gb/s vs SATA 3 Gb/s and 7200 vs 5400



## sdysonn31 (Apr 15, 2014)

Hi,

I am looking to buy a new pc (For Software Development, Not for Gaming) and wondering if it is worth looking at hard disk types. I can't afford SSD so i will stick with normal SATA HDD. I might buy 32 GB SSD for OS.

Is there any big real life difference b/w SATA II and SATA III?

Is there any difference b/w 7200rpm vs 5400rpm? I heard 5400 is better as it is less noisy and spins slowly so less heat.


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## pigulici (Apr 15, 2014)

1.No
2.Yes,yes.


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## rtwjunkie (Apr 15, 2014)

If you are not going to use an SSD, then you will not see a real difference between SATA II and III.  there may be a little, but not enough to matter to you in real life.

As to difference between 7200rpm and 5400rpm, yes there is a monumental difference, just on the speed alone.  Just as big a difference as if you were to replace a 7200rpm drive with a 10000rpm one.  Now, that being said, There are marvelous advances that have been made in noise suppression for hard drives, so there is no reason not to get the 7200rpm.   With normal ventilation, I've only seen one HDD ever, overheat. 

Not all 7200rpm drives will perform the same though, even in the same setup.  Seek times, random access times, write times, all can be different, as well as how much cache the drive has.  these factors can sometimes be felt, and sometimes in benchmarks only.  Best bet is to find several models you are considering, and read USER reviews, and take your chances after you make your decision.


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## Nordic (Apr 15, 2014)

My western digital black 7200rpm drive has no airflow and nevers goes above 40c. It isn't my main disc drive though. That is in regards to heat. I personally would not want a 5400rpm drive because they are slow.


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## Vario (Apr 15, 2014)

My WD blues 1tb here goes at 28*C with airflow (92mm fan in hd cages), ambient is 22*C.
These are 7200, Sata III 6 gb/s.
I bought them for $50 each.  They seem pretty fast, not SSD fast, but fast.

32GB SSD for OS will fill up fast.  Don't even bother with that, go 128 at a minimum or just don't use an SSD.


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## Devon68 (Apr 15, 2014)

If you go for an SSD a 60 GB will be enough.


> Is there any big real life difference b/w SATA II and SATA III?


Have no idea. Now I have a sata 3 drive running on sata 2 and didn't notice much difference going from IDE to sata 2 only in the crystal disk benchmark


> Is there any difference b/w 7200rpm vs 5400rpm? I heard 5400 is better as it is less noisy and spins slowly so less heat.


From what I've seen the 5400rpm drive is a bit cooler and quieter.


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