What is the fastest hard drive format?

[wigglerthefish]

I don't care if it takes up more space, but can I format a HD to exFAT (w/highest allocation size) before I install an OS?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

NTFS file protections eliminate much of the risk associated with FAT. I'd recommend using NTFS for boot / programs / game partitions to protect the files. FAT can be used for temp and page files on their own partition, ideally paced at the front of the drive. This gives a very small boost in performance considered not worth it where file integrity is of concern.

 

[wigglerthefish]

Best answer selected by wigglerthefish.

 

[wigglerthefish]

How do I create a partition on the drive and format it differently from the rest of the drive?