allocation unit size/cluster size FAT32 1TB external?

[PatrickBatman]

Well I've already done this on a prior external 1TB and forgot what I used I think I used 32768. If i understand allocation unit size correctly the smaller the slower more space, bigger faster less space, so just wondering what is the best allocation unit size/cluster size for PS3 with mainly game backups?

EDIT: I guess this may be an opinion question.

[brakk3n]

You can use Windows Format or Paragon and it will set the correct cluster amount for a 1TB drive which is 64KB. Format it with 32 and files start to vanish when you get over 250GB. At least that's how it works with most drives - the PS3 could handle it differently. I would just format it as NTFS and be done with it.

[PatrickBatman]

32768 i believe is default for bigger FAT32 drives. NTFS doesnt work for PS3 unless you use the multiman NTFS option which can be problematic. Yeah i dont use windows to format FAT32 because the most it will do is 32GB's. I use either swissknife or Fat32 formatter. Like i said i just forget the cluster size but remember now its 32768 for bigger sized FAT32 drives.

Also 64KB is a bit large you should hardly ever use that, you'll lose a lot of space that way.

[dnniwa485]

Having a bigger File Allocation Size had its advantages and disadvantages:

Pros:
- Less disk space usage on Large Files
- Fast read times

Cons:
- It consume 2x or 3x disc space on smaller files
* The correct example of this case is "Atelier Meruru" game that is only 2.8GB game but it consumes nearly 4GB of space on FAT32 HDD. This is because that most of the files (3k+ files are less than 256byte which breaks the 32k and 64kbyte cluster size. Each cluster can only store 1 file information, any files is smaller than 32kbyte are will be stored on a single cluster and the remaining space will be consumed, even if that space is empty or null.) are to small that it needs to store every file in individual cluster.
- Slow seek times on files that is stored on a single cluster (file indexing is not implemented on FAT32, NTFS it is) so sometimes you have to wait much longer unlike when you play it using BD disc.
* Correct example is "Naughty Bear" game.

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On most cases: you should keep your self on 32kbyte cluster size, to avoid problems.

[Pericynthion]

As a point of interest, just setup a new 500GB external drive for backups so I thought I'd research this some more - tests are done using the same physical devices.

-With a FAT32 500GB partition, formatted with 32K cluster size, a backup of just over 80GB takes 2hrs 45mins (mixed bag of videos, music, game data, full downloaded games etc)
-With a FAT32 500GB partition, formatted with 64k cluster size, the same 80GB backup is quoted as taking in the region of 10hrs+ (I got bored and cancelled it after 2)

It may be a combination of the cluster size and the compression going on by the backup util, but there's a significant difference.

There is of course the question if 64k clusters would make the reading of the files quicker for a restore, but considering how often you *should* backup compared to how often you *have to* restore, I'd say 32k is the most effective cluster size.

[Hosamnsync]

Guys you saved my life , i've had new Seagate Backup plus 3TB , i was able to format it to fat 32 but it wasn't writable on PS3 untill i've used fat32format with 32k cluster size .
It worked like a charm . I suggest this for all ppl coz i've used all s/w like acronis , seagate diskwizard ,Easues ,,,etc , non of them worked but this 70 k s/w called fat32format