Difference in performance of 8MB cache and 16MB cache Hard disk

Question

I want to know what are the performance differences between a 8mb cache hard disk drive and 16mb. If i buy one should i prefer 16MB if yes then why?

Answer 1

Cache is basically a very fast way of a hard disk having access to information. Essentially it's a buffer. For example, let's say you are going to write data to a hard drive, but writing is an expensive operation. So the hard drive will typically cache several write requests and do them all at once. It can be used for command queuing, or as a way of synchronizing speed between two RAID volumes. The bigger the cache, the more wiggle room the controller and operating system have in prioritizing access to an actual platter (or NAND for SSD folks).

It depends on what you are using the drive for, I would probably look at other factors like latency (random, sequential), RPM (7200 is ideal, faster is better). I would certainly consider these two options before cache size for an every day user.

Answer 2

Cache refers to the amount of data the HD is capable of having ready for processing

I would personally go for a 32MB Cache drive, there's quite a few around and at a great value. The difference between 8MB and 16MB isn't so much but it might be noticeable in some things that you do.

Answer 3

And don't just look at cache, look at RPM and average seek time. There's no one thing that will make you fast, it's a little tuning here, a little tuning there....