Does it put much strain on the CPU if you have more than one HDD?

[lamensterms]

hey guys,
for the past few months i have been running two internal hard-drives in my PC, and i havent been aware of any problems with them. they are both 80gig each. recently i removed the slave one so i could put a different(larger) slave in. though i havent put the larger one in yet, so im just running my pc with the master. i have noticed that my computer is running a lot quieter now with just the master, not really running any better/faster/stabler than what it was...just quieter. im not sure if this is because the CPU is under less strain and the fan isnt running as much, or the noise it was making before was from the slave HDD or anything. maybe i had the jumpers setup incorrect, although both drive worked fine. just wondering if anyone can shed some light.

if i want to expand storage in my pc...is it better to just have the one HDD or is it all the same if i have two?

im running XP with a 3gig CPU, 1gig RAM and now just the one 80gig HDD.

cheers.

 

[raybay]

None. There is no strain you can measure, unless the second drive adds work, programs, more intensive access such as video graphics, photo editing, gaming, etc... then it is really not the HDD, but the software processing.

 

[pinkfloydforeve]

hey guys,
for the past few months i have been running two internal hard-drives in my PC, and i havent been aware of any problems with them. they are both 80gig each. recently i removed the slave one so i could put a different(larger) slave in. though i havent put the larger one in yet, so im just running my pc with the master. i have noticed that my computer is running a lot quieter now with just the master, not really running any better/faster/stabler than what it was...just quieter. im not sure if this is because the CPU is under less strain and the fan isnt running as much, or the noise it was making before was from the slave HDD or anything. maybe i had the jumpers setup incorrect, although both drive worked fine. just wondering if anyone can shed some light.

if i want to expand storage in my pc...is it better to just have the one HDD or is it all the same if i have two?

im running XP with a 3gig CPU, 1gig RAM and now just the one 80gig HDD.

cheers.

It could be better have two disks, one for OS, the other for data. If you have a crash on OS disk, you save the data. If the crash is on the data, you save the re-installation of OS. The cons are that you have an occupied bay and some power more.
Bye

 

[RealBlackStuff]

The only item that might feel strain from a second hard drive, is the power supply, and then only if it is a small PSU. A good 350W or larger PSU would have no problem with it.
Your removed HD might have been of an older type (e.g. 5400RPM), that is noisy because of construction and/or age.

 

[N3051M]

and don't forget the moving parts.. a typical hdd would have a DC motor, moving arms and a whole bunch of stuff that makes noise by itself.

Then add another HDD and you have twice the noise. Even as small as the noises are, the human ear can pick up differences of at least 1-3dB.