Question Which HDD for VFX/SFX?

May 17, 2019
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Hi, im an editor, and I don't have any money to buy a hard drive for my pc, but I have a few in hand and was wondering what should I do.
My PC is pretty good, core i7 16gb memory and a brand new 120gb SSD main disk for windows and editing apps, also a 512gb 7200rpm HDD for games and other software.
I have the option to add a very slow 1tb 5400rpm HDD or a 256gb 7200rpm HDD. So basically one is small and fast and the other is huge and slow.
I wont install any apps in any of those 2 disks, I'll just dump movies and useful things that ill take later to use in editing, so my question is, will the slow 1tb disk ruin my pc or is it okay to use it? Should i just go for the 256gb one?

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Lutfij
 
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Lutfij

Titan
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You will need to list your specs like so:CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

I don't know what sort of content you edit...but I'd say you should look at the larger HDD since a 256GB HDD in 2019 is impossible to find meaning that it'll be more of an unreliable stump in yuor workflow. If the same can be said about your 1TB HDD(being old) then you should avoid any and/or all parts that will impede you workflow.
 
I have the option to add a very slow 1tb 5400rpm HDD or a 256gb 7200rpm HDD. So basically one is small and fast and the other is huge and slow.
Do you happen to know the exact models? A 256GB drive is likely to be rather old, and as Popatim said, will undoubtedly have a low platter density that will limit sequential performance. 1+TB platters have been the norm for a number of years, and it's been over a decade since 256GB platters were the norm for desktop drives. And its possible that the drive might even use multiple, lower capacity platters if it's particularly old. I doubt the 256GB drive is "fast", by any means.

As for the 1TB drive, it's difficult to say without knowing what drive it is. It could potentially have the same platter density as the other drive, only with several platters, or it could use a single platter, which may give it faster sequential performance.