OS Location - Which Drive is Best

[Stryker]

Hello all,
My current configuration is as follows:

Seagate 120GB 7200RPM - 8MB Cache
• 30GB (approx.) partition with WinXP Pro SP2
• 90GB (approx.) partition for program files & installations

Seagate 30GB 7200RPM - 2MB Cache
• back-up file storage
• for general storage (i.e. mp3's, photos, etc...)

My question is, would there be any difference in performance to have WinXP on the 30GB drive by itself and use the entire 120GB for storage, or should I keep it the way it is? My initial concern (also the reason I chose this setup in the first place) is that the 30GB drive only has a 2MB cache, whereas the 120GB has 8MB. I would still have my program files on the 120GB with the 8MB cache but the OS would have 2MB.

I have heard that an OS will run better on it's own drive rather than a partitioned drive. Is it worth the switch (or is this even true)? Will I lose performance if my OS is on a drive with a 2MB cache instead of a 8MB? Does anyone have ideas for a better configuration?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!
Thanks very much,
Stryker

[flanzig1]

Data transfer between drives would be limited to what the 2mb cache drive could handle.

[glc]

Unless you are planning on reformatting anyway, switching things around really won't be worth the time and hassle. The performance difference will be negligible.