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The Rule of 3 Drives: How to Build your Next PC

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mouser:
After using a 3 drive setup for a few iterations, i'm convinced it's the way to go.

I thought i'd post about it for those who are building new PCs.

The idea is to build your PC with 3 hard drives in it:

* The first, the C drive, will be the system drive which will hold Windows should be as fast as you can possibly get it.  I recommend a 10k rpm raptor.  These are pretty expensive (close to $200) and top off at 120gb or so.
* The second, the D drive, will be a nice big 500gb or larger scratch drive and backup drive.  You can use this for storing lots of backups, temp space, etc.  Just get a normal 7200rpm drive here.
* The the third, the E drive, is for your data.  Make your own MyDocuments folder here and store your own data files here.  Use a fast 10k rpm raptor 120gb if you like, or a normal 7200rpm drive.
Some key points:

* Having a large backup drive in the pc, independent of both the windows system drive and your data drive, is wonderful.  Makes it so easy to backup and restore quickly and gives you plenty of space to do so.  Also gives you great space for any temporary stuff.
* Upgrading to a 10k rpm superfast C drive which holds windows and your program files, feels like buying a new computer.  the speed difference is remarkable.
As a bonus, I highly recommend getting one of the pass-through sata rack systems for your C drive, and getting a spare HD.  If you ever want to experiment or install a different OS to experiment with, you can swap out your main OS and swap in the alternate.

Lashiec:
First you recommended two, now three? Get your act together, already! ;D

I'd recommend the second drive to be external, if you don't want to play around with what mouser suggest. And, if you can, get a motherboard with e-SATA support, and a matching drive for the connection.

nosh:
I install all programs to physical drive 2. That way I have two drives (in most cases) chugging away when I load a program. I have an aversion for MS-given names. How many of us know exactly what progra~1 is, if you know what I mean? :)

mouser:
external drive is a must as well..

Lashiec:
So, four drives?

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