[G4] Re: Partitioning?

[Harry Freeman]

Greetings ( + )!( + )

On Aug 9, 2005, at 12:23 PM, Jose Vittori wrote:

> Dear Harry, you're quite right about the way OS X manage its swap 
> files, that's why I've already done once what you suggest me to do. In 
> fact, I did it twice, the first time I placed the swap space into a 
> second drive which was a WD 25 Gb that came in the machine. It was a 
> way slower than my new Seagate Barracuda 80 Gb. So, as I had this 
> freeware to make changes at my will I decided to make a test and find 
> out who wins, logic or experience? Guess what?
>
> Ok, it was just a 5400 RPM against a 7200 RPM. It was ok to get the 
> tail of the bunch. But the article you recommend me to read said that 
> my system would work faster if I'd set up a 3 or 4 Gb volume for swap 
> activity. I did it and as I had the possibility of switching target 
> volumes for swapping I did it too. I took times out of some tasks 
> carried out by photoshop and other apps and finally compared them. It 
> was a little frustrating finding out that I had to invest some money 
> to get faster but I realized that there's no theory overcoming facts.
>
> In conclusion I'm in position to say that I proved how slower and 
> inconvenient partitioning and swapping to a different volume into the 
> same drive can be. I hope you won't get through the same experience!
>
> Jose Vittori

Jose,

Another fact that you need to keep in mind is that when you partition a 
disk the partition that is closes to the spindle of the disk is the 
fastest part of the disk. In most if not all disk drive the HFS+/FAT 
directorys are located on the disk tracks that are closest to the hub, 
and unless you have a system that keeps a directory of where data is 
located on the disk, every-time that the operating system makes a 
request for disk data the disk has to go to the inner tracks to locate 
where the data is located. If the data is located in the outer 1/4 of 
the disk (a disk that has been partitioned in 4 parts) then the heads 
have to first go to the inner part of the disk and then they are 
directed to the outer tracks. Needless to say this take time and if you 
are taking measurement as to how fast a disk responds to data retrieval 
this arrangement will be slow. If you check most disk access standards, 
they list random access, meaning of course that the write/read data 
access is across the entire surface of the disk.

Bottom line is that if you want speed and have partitioned a disk for 
Mac "swap space" be-sure to chose the partition that is closes' to the 
hub. If unsure chose one partition for your "swap space" and then run 
your test and then choose another.

Best Regards, /\*_*/\

Harry (*^_^*)
▪ We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing 
through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love... 
and then we return home.
Australian Aboriginal proverb