Partitioned vs Unpartitioned HDD

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BasariStudios
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Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 7:00 pm
Location: Staten Island, NYC
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Partitioned vs Unpartitioned HDD

Post by BasariStudios » Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:07 pm

I have a simple question (or it might not be simple) about HDDs.
On a WD Caviar Black, Sata 6 gb/s or any drive, is there any
difference in Performance/Speed, Life and Problems between
Partitioned and unpartitioned? Simply which is better?

Thanks

ces
Posts: 3395
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:06 pm
Location: US

Re: Partitioned vs Unpartitioned HDD

Post by ces » Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:56 pm

Data near the outside of the disk is most quickly accessed. The first partition uses that space. So the first partition is the fastest

Using just the first partition is referred to as short stroking. If you read closely SPCRs hard drive testing, they automatically do that when they test hard drives.

paapaa
Posts: 198
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 1:24 am
Location: Finland

Re: Partitioned vs Unpartitioned HDD

Post by paapaa » Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:59 pm

BasariStudios wrote:I have a simple question (or it might not be simple) about HDDs.
On a WD Caviar Black, Sata 6 gb/s or any drive, is there any
difference in Performance/Speed, Life and Problems between
Partitioned and unpartitioned? Simply which is better?
Thanks
What do you mean by that? You can't use a SDD/HDD unless it has at least one partition so the question is a bit odd. Other than that there is no need to consider speed IMO. Data in the same spot is accessed equally fast no matter if it is on the first big partition or if the HDD has been partitioned to 2 smaller partitions.

Just think if it is convenient to use one single C: or if you prefer to have folder structures on separate partitions.

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