I just replaced my 80GB 7200rpm Maxtor with a 120GB WD 7200rpm w/ 8mb cache and for some reason it runs a little slower.... i dunno why but my maxtor felt more responsive, now everytime i click on something its like it takes a few secs to think about it then does it,.... i can also hear it working more oftne then my 80gb.... hmmm i wonder if i have a setting wrong or something cause i am almost sure that this WD should be faster than my maxtor..... anyone have any ideas?

RaZoR

ps... could it be that my MAXTOR was ATA133 and this one is ATA100?

this could be one reason but it should not slow down extrem

if u use win9x make shure that DMA mode is enabled
if u use Antivir Realtime Guards, try to disable and try again
do u use RAID?

hows the disk formatted? FAT/NTFS?

both drives were formatted in NTFS, i am running WINXP PRO and i had INDEXING OFF on both drives... i am not running ANTIVIR GUARD, ... i do run NORTON SYSTEMWORKS/INTERNET SECURITY 2004 (resource hog 2k4 i mean).... other than that the system settings were pretty much equal...

you do not have UDMA enabled ...
just check your primary ide port under device manager and set it to UDMA
and if its set already check whats the current transfer mode ....

its already set as UDMA MODE 5.... hmmm i think my other one was at MODE 6 is that possible? wouldnt mode 6 be ATA133?

Just some alternatives if usual Windows/UDMA settings don't help,
Check in Display Properties-Screen Saver-Power,
that you do not have the hard disk set to power down after only a few minutes, I only say this because the delay you describe sounds like spin up time for the Hard disk.
Another possibility is that some drives can be put into a mode in the firmware which is set to reduce noise level at the cost of performance, but you say it sounds quite noisy so probably not that, might be worth checking on the Western Digital Site for any Diagnostic programs you can download.

I have a PATA WD1200JB and I get 50MB/s transfer rate and it's quiet.

if u want to test with HDSpeed
download it here

WD only makes ATA 100 hard drives.Are u sure it is an 8mb cache.Look @ the serial codes on the hard drive.

Mator products are better and a bit faster ATA 133 8mb cache depending on model.

Ive owned a few hard drives WD Seagate Maxtor.I would stick with Maxtor

One thing to remeber is that hard drives never hit there expected speeds. :hail:

i am positive that my drive has an 8MB cache.... i tried that HDSPEED and my BANDWITH is approx 70MB/s and SEQUENTIAL is approx. 50MB/s.... now is that normal?

yes it is ...
my ones get 56MB/s with default settings ....
also check speedfan !!
to readout the SMART values maybe one is wrong ...

ummm i guess i kinda screwed up on the CACHE,.... hehe :oops: .... it only has a 2mb buffer, i just checked the model number,....

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=12

do you think this still matters? i would think it would still be faster than the MAXTOR,.... hmm,.... if not atleast its 40GB's bigger :roll: .... thanks for the reply guys....

RaZoR

the sequential read will not profit from larger cache ...
you disk ain't simply the fastest

you can always tell an 8mb buffer WD paralell IDE drive by the part number on the drive. 2mb's have BB after the model, 8mb's have JB.
Yes, the Maxtors are UDMA 6 and the WD's UDMA 5. Neither will break 100mbs in data trensfer no matter what you run it on. Get a WD 740GD SATA 10,000 rpm Raptor and enjoy the fastest HD on the planet. In the new (June 2004) issue of Maximun PC it killed EVERY SCSI drive tested in every benchmark but seek times and that one was against a 15,000rpm Maxtor Atlas Ultra 320 SCSI...

hello,

Are u using ur old drive, as the virtual disk and your new drive for everything else because if u are your new diskdrive will be waiting for your old drive.

hope this helps :roll: