Title: [RESOLVED] Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Fantasist on August 14, 2009, 11:32:19 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 14, 2009, 11:32:19 am
):OK. I got the PC. Before I install Windows, I wanted to refresh my partitioning strategies. So here are the key points:
HDD Space: 500GB
Main Usage:
- Family Usage: My parents need space for their documents, photos, E-Books and tiny videos. Estimate usage is not more than 40GB.
- My sister uses the PC for checking mail, chatting and listening to music.
- As for me, I have maintained generations of "Collections" which include software, images, music, videos (clips, not movies) and other stuff like that. It gets big, that's for sure. How big? Let's say 10GB before I backup again. I also play games ranging from 1MB to 12GB. I code, so I install the Visual Studio or similar suites. I will most likely install Photoshop.
- Misc: I normally don't store movies in my "Collection" but on a separate drive. I store TV Series along with the movies.
I've been doing all this with 80GB and I suddenly jumped to 500GB, so I can't seem to estimate my needs in the future. The drastic change in space will change everything: my backup frequency, my collection size, my movie collection...
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Ryex on August 14, 2009, 03:13:45 pm
Post by: Ryex on August 14, 2009, 03:13:45 pm
well I have a quad core and it is true that true produce a lot of heat, however my comp has an H2C cooling unit so I don't notice it but you will need some space in the back of the tower (or where ever the fan blows the air out on your tower) so the heat can dissipate properly
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Fantasist on August 14, 2009, 04:01:45 pm
Post by: Fantasist on August 14, 2009, 04:01:45 pm
I just checked out H2C cooling and... wow! Anyway, there are two fans in the back of the tower. Is that good enough?
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Ryex on August 14, 2009, 04:46:45 pm
Post by: Ryex on August 14, 2009, 04:46:45 pm
to tell you the truth I can't really say but as lon as you have about 1/2 a foot around the tower that in's walled in and space behinded it for the air to blow out and then go up you should be fine
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: fugibo on August 14, 2009, 04:49:07 pm
Post by: fugibo on August 14, 2009, 04:49:07 pm
GeForce 9x isn't very high-power or anything, so I'm pretty sure the main worry will be CPU as far as overheating goes. And if my MacBook can handle all the crap I put it through with one fan (this thing is tiny, so it gets hot in there), you should be fine.
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Ryex on August 14, 2009, 04:56:00 pm
Post by: Ryex on August 14, 2009, 04:56:00 pm
but the hotter it get the more resistance there is and the slower you pc runs so you do want to keep it a cool as possible its not really all about not frying you mother board (however my friend is an idiot he wanted to torrent something so he took his laptop and a mobile broadband card to school and let it run in his back pack, the next day he come up to me with his lap top and asks me if I knew what was wrong with it because it wouldn't turn on the power switch and supply were fine he told me he had checked them "you fried your mother board idiot" I told him the real funn thing is that a local computer company hired him for the summer to do tech support for them in their call center)
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: fugibo on August 14, 2009, 06:25:48 pm
Post by: fugibo on August 14, 2009, 06:25:48 pm
Quote from: Ryexander on August 14, 2009, 04:56:00 pm
but the hotter it get the more resistance there is and the slower you pc runs so you do want to keep it a cool as possible its not really all about not frying you mother board (however my friend is an idiot he wanted to torrent something so he took his laptop and a mobile broadband card to school and let it run in his back pack, the next day he come up to me with his lap top and asks me if I knew what was wrong with it because it wouldn't turn on the power switch and supply were fine he told me he had checked them "you fried your mother board idiot" I told him the real funn thing is that a local computer company hired him for the summer to do tech support for them in their call center)
No, the hotter it gets, to closer it gets to overheating. The processor will only slow down significantly if the OS/mobo throttles it. Until your computer gets dangerously hot, you're fine.
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Starrodkirby86 on August 14, 2009, 06:38:00 pm
Post by: Starrodkirby86 on August 14, 2009, 06:38:00 pm
Congratulations, bro~
Hopefully this will make you more active in CP. :V:
And in this discussion, I'll be backing off from the technical questions, unfortunately. I really don't know what to do here. ^^; So I'm pretty much posting to say my congratulations to Fanta. <3
Hopefully this will make you more active in CP. :V:
And in this discussion, I'll be backing off from the technical questions, unfortunately. I really don't know what to do here. ^^; So I'm pretty much posting to say my congratulations to Fanta. <3
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: fugibo on August 14, 2009, 07:22:02 pm
Post by: fugibo on August 14, 2009, 07:22:02 pm
Ick! Only up to 800mhz? The blasphemy! >=V
Seriously, though, if you're getting a new computer you should probably be getting DDR3 parts. You might hate yourself down the road if you don't, that 233mhz makes a big difference.
Seriously, though, if you're getting a new computer you should probably be getting DDR3 parts. You might hate yourself down the road if you don't, that 233mhz makes a big difference.
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Blizzard on August 15, 2009, 03:44:08 am
Post by: Blizzard on August 15, 2009, 03:44:08 am
DDR3 requires a new motherboard so 800MHz is probably as good as it gets.
As for cooling, you can almost never have too much. xD If you're going with a quad core and 9400, make sure it's cooled properly. 9800 has a good cooling system and it's supposed to have the overheating issues fixed that the G84 series had (of which the 9400 is an upgrade of, the 9400 is a slightly improved G84 if I remember right). Google for more info.
As for cooling, you can almost never have too much. xD If you're going with a quad core and 9400, make sure it's cooled properly. 9800 has a good cooling system and it's supposed to have the overheating issues fixed that the G84 series had (of which the 9400 is an upgrade of, the 9400 is a slightly improved G84 if I remember right). Google for more info.
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Fantasist on August 15, 2009, 04:54:24 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 15, 2009, 04:54:24 am
@Ryex: Poor bastard, that friend of yours...
@Star: Thanks mate :)
@WcW: As Bliz said, DDR2 is as good as it gets for me. I'm a wee bit tight on budget and my parents already stretched the limit liberally, I couldn't ask for more.
@Blizz: So you can never have enough cooling... I'll remember that.
@Star: Thanks mate :)
@WcW: As Bliz said, DDR2 is as good as it gets for me. I'm a wee bit tight on budget and my parents already stretched the limit liberally, I couldn't ask for more.
@Blizz: So you can never have enough cooling... I'll remember that.
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Blizzard on August 15, 2009, 05:46:19 am
Post by: Blizzard on August 15, 2009, 05:46:19 am
Better too much cooling that not enough. >.<
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Fantasist on August 15, 2009, 08:22:07 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 15, 2009, 08:22:07 am
Right you are... I'm considering drilling a hole on the top of the tower and attaching an outtake fan. With LEDs too if I can procure them. (FTS likes shiny glowing thingies O.O)
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Blizzard on August 15, 2009, 08:49:30 am
Post by: Blizzard on August 15, 2009, 08:49:30 am
Turn it into a fridge. That way when you become legal to drink, you can cool your beer in there. :V:
Title: Re: I'm getting a new PC!
Post by: Fantasist on August 16, 2009, 03:31:06 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 16, 2009, 03:31:06 am
Nah, a microwave is more appropriate. I like popcorn better than beer :D
EDIT: First post updated, new problem for you kind folks of CP to solve :)
EDIT: First post updated, new problem for you kind folks of CP to solve :)
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Starrodkirby86 on August 18, 2009, 02:39:59 am
Post by: Starrodkirby86 on August 18, 2009, 02:39:59 am
You wouldn't ever need to really worry about space ever again. However, I wouldn't recommend you keep going on an extremely common spend on space. Go through your usual strategy, and delete or compress things you don't need. Burn something on CDs and other utilities like that too. ;3
Just keep going and don't act like, "WOOO 500GB TIME TO BURN SOME SPACE" or something like that. ^^
Just keep going and don't act like, "WOOO 500GB TIME TO BURN SOME SPACE" or something like that. ^^
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Fantasist on August 18, 2009, 02:52:37 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 18, 2009, 02:52:37 am
haha, don't worry, I'm still space conscious. XD It's just that I can't decide exactly what the best way would be. I mean, partitioning plays a role in system performance too, right? The partition near the circumference of the disk is more easily accessed than the interior. Wait... I'm going off tangents.
So taking your advice, I've come up with a plan which is a slight upgrade of my current strategy:
Here's the distribution layout.
System Main: 10% (~50GB)
System Auxiliary: 40% (~200GB)
Media: 40% (~200GB)
Archive: 10% (~50GB)
So what do you think?
So taking your advice, I've come up with a plan which is a slight upgrade of my current strategy:
- I maintain a "System Main" for Windows. Everything critical goes there, not more, not less.
- Then there's "System Auxiliary", where EVERYTHING non-critical goes to. Like Photoshop, CCleaner, Games, you name it. Everything that the PC doesn't 'need' goes here. Oh, and even the user documents go here. That way, I can format the system partition anytime I want with minimum damage and effort.
- "Media" will hold all my movies, music and similar. It's solely dedicated for that.
- "Archive" will have, well, everything else. Also, I don't backup my stuff very regularly or consistently. I use my common sense and write stuff to DVDs and keep them safe. So I might not be dedicationg much to this partition.
Here's the distribution layout.
System Main: 10% (~50GB)
System Auxiliary: 40% (~200GB)
Media: 40% (~200GB)
Archive: 10% (~50GB)
So what do you think?
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Starrodkirby86 on August 18, 2009, 02:57:10 am
Post by: Starrodkirby86 on August 18, 2009, 02:57:10 am
It seems to me the Auxillary and Media possess similar qualities. I guess that's why they have similar percentages.
This sounds like a good plan. If stuff seems too big, don't forget about moving stuff out. That seems pretty good, I bet. Yeah...nice. =w=
This sounds like a good plan. If stuff seems too big, don't forget about moving stuff out. That seems pretty good, I bet. Yeah...nice. =w=
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Fantasist on August 18, 2009, 02:59:28 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 18, 2009, 02:59:28 am
OK, so I got your vote on this. One more suggestion and I'm going for it. Thanks for helping me make up my mind :)
PS: The more I look at that distribution, the more I like it...
PS: The more I look at that distribution, the more I like it...
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Blizzard on August 18, 2009, 04:21:18 am
Post by: Blizzard on August 18, 2009, 04:21:18 am
500 GB for me:
20 GB - System Drive
300 GB - Games & Muzix
Rest - Workspace
20 GB - System Drive
300 GB - Games & Muzix
Rest - Workspace
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Fantasist on August 18, 2009, 05:14:26 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 18, 2009, 05:14:26 am
That doesn't work for me though. My family will use the PC too, so I've got to be careful not to restrict their needs. If it were totally mine, I wouldn't even ask, heh...
PS: My laptop's motherboard got fried :(
PS: My laptop's motherboard got fried :(
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Blizzard on August 18, 2009, 08:40:44 am
Post by: Blizzard on August 18, 2009, 08:40:44 am
I personally need only 100 GB for myself. It's more than enough. It includes 15GB System, 50GB for music and installed games and the rest is for my other stuff. I usually keep movies on either the games/music partition on in my workspace partition. I was just suggesting how to partition it if all the 500 GB were yours. I thought you wouldn't need to split your stuff from your family's.
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Subsonic_Noise on August 18, 2009, 08:52:00 am
Post by: Subsonic_Noise on August 18, 2009, 08:52:00 am
I myself needed ~250gb for my data, my partitions are 100b games, 100gb programs, 50gb files (music, videos, pictures etc) although I should perhaps make the last one bigger, I have parts of my media files on the other 2 partitions because 50gb wasn't enough. My system is on another very old 40gb harddrive. It works quite well like this, and in case of your harddrive, it would still have enough space for the other partitions you need.
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Blizzard on August 18, 2009, 10:40:22 am
Post by: Blizzard on August 18, 2009, 10:40:22 am
I don't really collect videos and I only have a few 100 MB of pictures. I also delete movies that I watched, uninstall games that I've played through, etc.
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: fugibo on August 18, 2009, 04:17:09 pm
Post by: fugibo on August 18, 2009, 04:17:09 pm
If I partition, I do it the classic Linux/UNIX style:
Small / (root, the equivalent of C:/)
Medium /usr (contain all non-system applications/themes/etc)
Medium /home (the C:/Users or C:/Documents and Settings/ folder)
Small / (root, the equivalent of C:/)
Medium /usr (contain all non-system applications/themes/etc)
Medium /home (the C:/Users or C:/Documents and Settings/ folder)
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Subsonic_Noise on August 18, 2009, 04:19:08 pm
Post by: Subsonic_Noise on August 18, 2009, 04:19:08 pm
Quote from: Blizzard on August 18, 2009, 10:40:22 am
I don't really collect videos and I only have a few 100 MB of pictures. I also delete movies that I watched, uninstall games that I've played through, etc.
Yeah, I also don't keep movies, I only record the simpsons everyday, but I might stop that, they are getting worse ;_;. But I save my music in high quality, and the things I record uncompressed. That takes alot of place. But I leave all games on my PC so I won't have to install them again when I want to play them.
Title: Re: Partitioning strategies anyone? (500GB HDD)
Post by: Fantasist on August 20, 2009, 05:17:58 am
Post by: Fantasist on August 20, 2009, 05:17:58 am
Posting from the new PC :D
Anyway, I went with the distribution I suggested to myself before. It's a slight upgrade of my current strategy and taking into account the new-found space.
C: 10% (~50GB) - System Main
D: 40% (~200GB) - System Auxiliary
E: 40% (~200GB) - Media
F: 10% (~50GB) - Workspace, Misc
I know 50GB for system is overkill, but I have nothing to lose, right? So basically, C takes everything critical for the system, or anything I consider as an addon for system functioning and maintenance. Everything else (all other programs, games, the My Documents folders of all the users and downloads) goes to D. Media, meaning music, movies, clips and pictures (mainly photographs) go in E. Finally, I've left a 50GB on F, where I keep my temp stuff.
This is pretty much resolved then, thanks guys :)
Anyway, I went with the distribution I suggested to myself before. It's a slight upgrade of my current strategy and taking into account the new-found space.
C: 10% (~50GB) - System Main
D: 40% (~200GB) - System Auxiliary
E: 40% (~200GB) - Media
F: 10% (~50GB) - Workspace, Misc
I know 50GB for system is overkill, but I have nothing to lose, right? So basically, C takes everything critical for the system, or anything I consider as an addon for system functioning and maintenance. Everything else (all other programs, games, the My Documents folders of all the users and downloads) goes to D. Media, meaning music, movies, clips and pictures (mainly photographs) go in E. Finally, I've left a 50GB on F, where I keep my temp stuff.
This is pretty much resolved then, thanks guys :)