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Hard drive cluster size issues? Size on HDD over twice the actual size
I went to SSDs on all of my computers some time back, but I still use WD RE4s and 2.5 inch WD Black HDDs for a variety of backup tasks and for storage in which the data will not be accessed for a period longer than is ideal to use a non-powered SSD for. On my Macs I am using El Capitan with OS X Journeled, GUID map, and FileVault 2 encryption. On my SP3 and desktop I am using NTFS with Win 10 64-bit Pro with BitLocker enabled on both machines. The OS and third party programs are currently up to date.
I've generally used ExFAT and the GPT partition map because it allows me to use it on all of my computers, and I have always used the default cluster size. However, I do not think the default size was the best decision for me because the size on disk is over TWICE the actual size.
If I am correct, the default Win 10 cluster size is 4k, and that going BELOW that is useful for the drives I have many smaller files on. Is this correct? Additionally, the smaller cluster size I go, the slower the drive will write, correct? Also, if so, how low do you advise going? I am still torn between reformatting outright or trying one of the programs that allows changes to a currently in-use drive. Any advice? Thanks!