Hard Drives
The internal hard drive is the most important component of your system after the CPU and memory. The hard drive is the hub where your operating system, programs, and data are permanently stored and accessed
We will guide you step by step through important aspects of choosing a hard drive most suitable for your needs.
Storage Capacity
The Amount of data that a hard drive can hold measured in Gigabytes (GB) or Terabytes (TB).
0 to 250GB- Entry Level Hard Drives
- basic web browsing
- working with single documents
- basic digital imaging and storage
250-500GB- Mid Range Hard Drives
- Storing video, photo, audio files
- multitasking
- gaming
- video conferencing
High End Hard Drives
- video editing
- hard core gaming
- High-end video storage and streaming.
- heavy multitasking
- working with multiple applications
Interface Type
The hard drive can be connected to the computer via various connectors these connectors are known as the interface type. There are currently two primary interfaces used for hard drives for personal computers and two for higher end applications on the market: IDE, Serial ATA (SATA), Fibre Channel and SCSI.
IDE is the more standard internal connector. SATA (or Serial ATA) is a more advanced connector which is faster than IDE. In addition to being more convenient to install and drawing less power, SATA drives have performance benefits that really set them apart from ATA drives.
SCSI and Fibre channel drives are becoming quite rare for general use these days and are usually reserved for enterprise class and power users.
IDE, ATA Drives - Entry Level Hard Drives
- basic web browsing
- working with single documents
- basic level use
ATA,SATA Drives - Mid Range Hard Drives
- watching video
- light multitasking
- gaming
SATA, SCSI, Fibre Channel Drives- High End Hard Drives
- video editing
- hard core gaming
- high end video
- heavy multitasking
- working with multiple documents
Rotational Disk Speed
Generally measured in Revolutions per minute (rpm), the standard IDE drive runs at 7200rpm. Usually a higher rpm means better performance, and is one of the first things to look for when shopping for drives.
4,200rpm to 5,400rpm- Entry Level Hard Drives
- basic web browsing
- working with single documents
- basic digital imaging and storage
7,200 rpm- Mid Range Hard Drives
- Storing video, photo, audio files
- multitasking
- gaming
- video conferencing
10,000rpm and higher- High End Hard Drives
- video editing
- hard core gaming
- high end video
- heavy multitasking
- working with multiple documents
Buffer Size
A drive's buffer measured in megabytes (MB), refers to the amount of RAM on the drive to store frequently accessed data from the drive. The higher the amount of buffer on the drive, the more data that can be stored in the cache to decrease the amount of physical drive operation.
0 to 4MB Buffer- Entry Level Hard Drives
- basic web browsing
- working with single documents
- basic digital imaging and storage
4MB-8MB Buffer- Mid Range Hard Drives
- Storing video, photo, audio files
- multitasking
- gaming
- video conferencing
16MB Buffer and higher- High End Hard Drives
- video editing
- hard core gaming
- high end video
- heavy multitasking
- working with multiple documents
Summary
With all of the above considerations in hand you should now be better equipped to make an more informed choice when choosing a Hard Drive that best suits your needs.
Thank you for using our buyers guide. Enjoy your shopping experience.