Difference between 32mb /64mb

I have desktop PC that HDD went out. Want to buy a HDD but need to know if it is compatible with my version of Windows -- which is Vista Ultimate, 32 bit. Can I use a HDD that has a 64MB Cache? What is the difference between a 64MB Cache, a 32MB Cache, etc...on the HDD? Thanks so much, in advance, for any suggestions!

 

Yes you can, and as I understand it, the Cache on the Hard Drive allows for more Data to be prepared to be Written/Read, so you have double the capacity of data, ready to go by using a 64mb cache. Personally I recommend the 2TB Western Digital Caviar Black with 64mb Cache. I replaced my WD Velociraptor with this and find this quicker!

 

I agree with Drizzles.

I can't think of any hard drives that wouldn't be compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7. With older computers you had the problem of a maximum partition size for the booting HDD, which I believe was a restriction of the BIOS, and almost certainly doesn't apply here given that your comp has Vista, which is fairly new.

A 32MB versus 64MB cache probably has a negligible difference. I've heard for a while that you can't detect a practical difference between HDD cache size since the 8MB cache days. I've looked for a link to support this and I can only find this 3 year old one here (comparing 8MB to 16MB):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/understanding-hard-drive-performance,1557-14.html

If you will have just one hard drive, get a big one. If you have two or more and you're replacing a secondary one then get a big one. If you have two or more and you're replacing the primary one, get a fast one. Whatever your situation, get a hard drive with a good reputation, and by that I don't just mean a brand with good reputation. There are whole batches of hard drives with a terrible rate of failure, and once they realize that model is prone to failure the price plummets. So if you think you found a great deal on a big hard drive, then be warned it may fail within a few months! I use www.newegg.com to buy my HDDs, but you can go anywhere that offers product ratings.

 

Also I think your confusing the operating system for cache on the hard drive.
The only time the 32bit / 64 bit matters is the processor & the operating system installed. Because you have a 32bit OS you can only run 32 bit software. Which has nothing to do with the cache on the hard drive.