buffer size on hard drive

[Adam]

ok, I have a western digital 7200 rpm 40 gig hard drive in this computer it
has 2 mb of cache. I bought a WD 7200 RPM 40gig drive with 8 mb of cache,
what does this cache do?
and how much better would the drive I bought be compared to the one I own
now?

 

[Ted Zieglar]

The cache is a temporary holding area for data. When data is read from the
disk, or written to the disk, it first gets stored in the cache. The cache
helps to prevent interruptions in reading or writing by providing a more or
less constant flow of data. All other things being equal, a larger cache
*potentially* makes a hard disk faster and more reliable, but it really
depends on how you're using the disk. Based on the descriptions you
provided, the two disks you have are essentially identical, and you will not
notice any difference.

It's a wonder that you purchased another 40GB disk, when 120GB disks are
commonly available for between $30 and $40, and 160GB disks are just $10 to
$20 more.

 

[Adam]

I purchased the other 40 gig because I had some store credit to burn up at
www.geeks.com, I didnt see anything else I liked. By the way were did you
see 120gb for between 30 and 40?

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Look at the big box sale circulars. I paid $39.99 for a 160GB Seagate (after
rebates, of course.)

 

[Adam]

We dont have any stores around here by that name, I'm from indiana.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

"Big box" is an expression that means "major chain store" like CompUSA,
BestBuy, etc.