Harddisk's Cache Problem

Hi All..

Before I ask this.. I already search this forum... and i know that "hd's cache" question has been asked here so many times.. I even read some funny but great analogy by Ice-Tea :

Re: HD's cache, what does really do?
When you make a large request to your HD, the HD can get it and store it in cache. The CPU can do whatever it wants and get it whenever it feels like it. It's a buffer. It's like your HD is a water tap. The CPU is you. When you'r' thirsty, you can drink directly from the tap a few times or you can tie your shoelaces while filling a glass and then take the glass. The cache is the glass. It makes the HD run more efficient.

Lol. Cool I'm planning to buy Asus A6Ja, it came with a Hitachi 60 Gigs 4200rpm 2mb cache harddisk ,so I'm gonna swap it with my current external hd ( I got WD 60Gigs 5400rpm 2mb). So my question is.... how much is the diff between 2mb and 8mb cache ? Is it a lot? can I notice it in extreme gaming or daily use of my notebook( I'm not gonna do any video editing )? Do I need to buy another 5400rpm with 8mb or 16mb cache harddisk?

Thanks a lot,

TJUN

 

You'll benefit mostly from a 16MB cahce when working with large files like video files.

 

Wow, you're fast ! hehe... I'm not planning to do any video editing etc. I'm just going to use it for gaming, and office. Nothing else. Actually 16mb is really overpriced here ... How about 2mb and 8mb 's difference? Is it noticeable?

Thanks ,

TJUN

 

Depends on what you are doing, but for the few extra dollars I would get the 8MB.

 

i believe the sweet spot is 8 megs. anything on top of that is butter.

 

Is the difference between 2mb and 8mb noticeable?

 

Btw, I found something interesting in google

Someone posted in another forum:

8mb vs 2mb <-- he said 2mb is better?
The first read of any file is ALWAYS from disk (with a simultaneous write to cache). It is only when you reread it, AND its still in cache, that you exploit cache. Thus, a larger cache MIGHT increase the chances of a cache hit, but only on rereads! However, the typical user rarely rereads! Think about your own use of files, you're either reading the next portion (sequential reads) or you're reading randomly across many files (all first time reads). Also note that large sequential reads "flood" the cache making a cache hit even more rare! Write can exploit cache IF you have 'write thru' (the cache is written and control is returned WITHOUT waiting for the disk to be written, potentially putting your data at risk should a failure occur before the controller can backwrite the disk) tuned on. How often do you write! The typical user should choose a HD with the lowest avg. seek time!

and somebody else even said:
The difference between 8mb and 2mb is poor if any... Most drives cannot take advantage of the extra cache for the simple nature of the drive.. It is rare for even a drive to get a hit rather then a miss..

I'm so confused