western digital 40 gb sata hdd

[qwilliam]

i'm not even sure if western digital makes sata drives of this capacity, but i'm looking for a western digital 40 gb sata drive. i've been looking all over for these things, but they don't seem to be in stock in any of the conventional electronics b&m stores. usually, they have 120 gb and up. i'm planning to use this to load my os onto as i already have two 250 gb pata drives that'll hold all my other files. i would buy the 36 gb raptor, but i don't know about the prices. i'm looking to spend less than $1/gb (i want to spend less than $0.50/gb, but that's a long shot). the closest i have found is the 60 gb sata drive direct from the western digital site:

http://store.westerndigital.com/product.asp?sku=2614988

it's $60 after the coupon savings and before any taxes/shipping costs. it's also a "legacy" drive. what that means, i have no idea. tia.

[zippyjuan]

In my checking ( www.froogle.com ), Computers4Sure lists one for $49 and XPC has one for $46.99
http://www.xpcgear.com/wd4040at72ei.html

[qwilliam]

thanks zippy, but i'm looking for a sata drive, not an ide drive. sorry if there was any confusion on my part.

[Jeffbx]

Here ya go - 40GB SATA $59.25 from Newegg.

However, you probably don't want to buy that one, since the 80GB is $0.25 cheaper.

[qwilliam]

thanks jeff. guess the only way to get these drives is through e-tailers, huh? is there a performance difference between an 80gb sata drive vs. a 40gb sata drive in terms of seek time? i've heard that the larger the drive capacity is, the slower the seek time is. but, does this actually affect how fast the drive will perform/feel? cuz, if not, i may just wait for a deal on an 80gb sata drive since 40gb drives are starting to be phased out.

[nate el bueno]

i know everyone hates dumping goods(including me) but they carry 120 gig rapters for 65-70 sometimes

[Jeffbx]

is there a performance difference between an 80gb sata drive vs. a 40gb sata drive in terms of seek time? i've heard that the larger the drive capacity is, the slower the seek time is.

Actually, sometimes the opposite is true due to the higher density of the tracks &/or the higher # of platters in the larger drives. The average seek time on the 40GB I mentioned above is 8.9ms, while the 80GB is 8.5ms.

Here is what you want to look for in an IDE (SATA or PATA) drive:

- At least 7200 RPM - 10K if you can afford it
- 8MB buffer on board

Those two things will ensure at least a decent performing drive. It's worth it to spend a few more $ to make sure you're meeting those specs.

[qwilliam]

thanks for the advice, jeff. hopefully, an 80gb drive won't be an overkill for just loading an os?