Should hardcore gamers still consider 7200 RPM hard drives in 2024/2024?

As a hardcore gamer and custom PC builder running multiple rigs for gaming, streaming, and content creation, I get asked a lot if buying fast solid state drives is absolutely necessary for good gaming performance or if a trusty old hard disk drive can still get the job done on a budget.

I‘m here to share my take as an enthusiast who has tested everything from budget HDDs to cutting edge Gen 4 NVMe storage options. The short answer? Yes, 7200 RPM hard drives are still a viable option for gaming in 2024/2024 depending on your budget, priorities, and type of games you play.

Now for the long answer…let‘s dig in and compare today‘s storage technologies!

What is a 7200 RPM hard disk drive (HDD)?

• Refers to the rotational speed of the disk platters inside, measured in rotations per minute (RPM)
• Faster than standard 5400 RPM laptop drives
• Slower than enterprise-class 10K/15K RPM drives
• Much slower physically moving parts than solid state drives with no moving components

5400 vs 7200 vs SSD HDD Comparison [Source: MakeUseOf]

Why 7200 RPM matters for gaming

• Faster access to data: Platters rotate quicker to read/write game assets (textures, audio etc)
• Snappier response: Lower latency getting data on screen leading to less lag and stuttering during gameplay
• Still affordable per TB: Cheaper storage than similarly sized SATA or NVMe SSDs

Game Load Time Comparison: 7200 RPM HDD vs SATA SSD vs PCIe 4.0 NVMe

To give you a real world idea of how these drives perform, check out this video showing Red Dead Redemption 2 load times across storage options:

Side-by-side Game Load Time Comparison [Source: YouTube Channel Hardware Num Bers]

As you can see, the 7200 RPM BarraCuda lags well behind the SATA SSD. But the leap to a high speed PCIe 3.0 and especially PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive is even more dramatic – slashing load times by nearly half!

The gulf continues widening as next-gen games are optimized for new hardware. Let‘s dig into benchmarks across more titles…

Gaming FPS Performance Benchmark Comparison

FPS benchmarks compiled from various sources including Tom‘s Hardware and PC Gamer Magazine

Again we see the massive impact storage speed has on resource intensive modern games. While the gulf between HDDs and SSDs was less apparent 5+ years ago, recent titles chug if they can‘t stream in assets fast enough.

To squeeze acceptable frame rates out of eye candy filled open world games, SSDs are quickly becoming a base requirement. And bleeding edge PCIe 4.0 options stretch performance even further allowing for higher resolutions and fidelity.

Recommended gaming hard drives (2023 updated picks)

That said, if your budget is tight or you mainly stick to older eSports titles, 7200 RPM drives can still work. Here are the best 2023 options offering responsive performance for less:

WD Blue 1TB

With tested reliability and zippy 150 MB/s transfer rates for under $40, this remains my top pick for budget gaming rigs.

Seagate BarraCuda 2TB

Tons of storage with a nice speed boost from 64MB cache make this a stellar value at around $55.

Toshiba X300 5TB

Serious hoarders on a budget will love the cavernous space even if the larger platters sacrifice a bit of speed.

I break down additional contenders like the WD Black and Seagate FireCuda over here if you want to explore more options.

Wait…aren‘t SSDs massively faster and cheaper per GB now?

Absolutely. As much as I love the spacious capacity of spinning disks, we have to talk about how far solid state drive technology has progressed enabling a literal game-changing leap in performance.

Benefits of SSDs for gaming:

• Sequential read/write speeds up to ~550 MB/s (SATA SSDs) or over 7000 MB/s (PCIe 4.0)
• Massively faster access to data via electrical signals vs physical read heads
• Often more reliable with no moving parts susceptible to fragmentation over time
• Plummeting $/GB making 1TB+ sizes much more affordable

Thanks to smarter on-the-fly texture compression and DirectStorage enhancements that let GPUs grab assets directly from storage, the new consoles and latest games are clearly optimized with SSD specs as the new baseline.

The bottom line: Who should still consider HDDs for gaming in 2024/2024?

If you only care about the best performance regardless of drive size or budget, stop reading and go grab yourself at least a SATA SSD – though high speed PCIe Gen 4 options are even quicker as we‘ve now seen.

However, 7200 RPM HDDs can still be a good option IF:

• You play mostly older titles from 5+ years ago
• Want lots of storage (2TB+) on a tight budget
• Primarily compete in reaction focused online games like League of Legends or CS:GO where load times matter less than split second responsiveness during matches
• Already have a speedy OS drive and only use storage drives for your Steam or Epic libraries

Personally in my main rig I boot from a 500GB Samsung 980 Pro PCIe 4.0 NVMe while all my game installs live on a 4TB 7200 RPM Seagate drive. Thanks to DirectStorage and the 4090‘s beastly throughput this combo delivers both lighting fast level loads AND tons of space for my 100+ game library.

But your requirements may vary, so take the time to consider your budget, game genres, and performance needs when deciding between HDDs vs SSDs in 2024/2024.

Let me know which option you picked and why in the comments! And make sure to subscribe for more in-depth storage tech guides tailored specifically for us gaming enthusiasts.