Buffer memory?

demonbrawn · Dec 23, 2009

Hey, I have been researching a little more about hard drives lately, and I noticed there is a specification line that lists the amount of buffer memory. Can someone tell me more about what this means and what its use is and is the different between 8 and 16MB buffer memory substantial?

DRDNA · Dec 23, 2009

The buffer memory on the harddrive is like the page file to the system ram.

so lets say your going to transfer a 8MB file and you have 16MB buffer ram on harddrive the move will transfer at the rate the ram allows (then the buffer ram will move it to the harddrive.

Kreij · Dec 23, 2009

Like DRDNA said, it's a cache to hold data going to the hard drive.
The benefit of a larger buffer depends on what is sent to the drive, but a good rule of thumb is "the more the merrier".

demonbrawn · Dec 23, 2009

Thanks guys. That makes sense.

System Name	Sony Vaio - VGNFW390-CTO
Processor	Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66GHz)
Cooling	Stock
Memory	4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
Video Card(s)	ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB vRAM (pitiful card)
Storage	320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Display(s)	LCD 16.4" (XBRITE-FullHD™)
Audio Device(s)	SupremeFX
Software	Windows 7

Processor	INTEL CORE I9-9900K @ 5Ghz all core 4.7Ghz Cache @1.305 volts
Motherboard	ASUS PRIME Z390-P ATX
Cooling	CORSAIR HYDRO H150I PRO RGB 360MM 6x120mm fans push pull
Memory	CRUCIAL BALLISTIX 3000Mhz 4x8 32gb @ 4000Mhz
Video Card(s)	EVGA GEFORECE RTX 2080 SUPER XC HYBRID GAMING
Storage	ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB 3D NAND NVMe,Intel 660p 1TB m.2 ,1TB WD Blue 3D NAND,500GB WD Blue 3D NAND,
Display(s)	50" Sharp Roku TV 8ms responce time and Philips 75Hz 328E9QJAB 32" curved
Case	BLACK LIAN LI O11 DYNAMIC XL FULL-TOWER GAMING CASE,
Power Supply	1600 Watt
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Sony Vaio - VGNFW390-CTO
Processor	Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66GHz)
Cooling	Stock
Memory	4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
Video Card(s)	ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB vRAM (pitiful card)
Storage	320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Display(s)	LCD 16.4" (XBRITE-FullHD™)
Audio Device(s)	SupremeFX
Software	Windows 7

Buffer memory?

demonbrawn

DRDNA

Kreij

Senior Monkey Moderator

demonbrawn