A hard disk is ... How to choose a hard disk for a computer and for a laptop

Hard drives are among the key components of a PC or laptop. The performance of a computer largely depends on the characteristics of these devices. What kind of hard drives are on the market today? How to choose the optimal from the point of view of solving typical user tasks?

What is a hard drive?

A hard disk is the main device for storing files on a PC or laptop. Structurally it is a rotating magnetic plate with a reading and writing element - the head. On the slang of computer hardware enthusiasts is called "hard drive", "screw", "hard". The specificity of the operation of hard disks is that the reading and simultaneously recording head does not contact the magnetic plate. Due to this, as well as a number of other design features, the device functions for a long time and can be considered as one of the most reliable means for storing information.

A hard disk is a resource on which, as a rule, the system files are located, that is, those that are present in the OS structure, various applications, games. Installation of software almost always involves the use of resources "hard drive".

Most modern computer models support the connection of multiple hard drives. In notebooks, most often only one hard drive is placed - due to the small size of the corresponding devices. In this case, if we are talking about external storage devices (we'll look at their specifics a little later), the maximum number of them is most often limited by the availability of the corresponding slots on the PC, as well as the performance characteristics of the computer.

So, the hard disk is the most important hardware component of the computer. Our task is to determine the criteria for the optimal choice of the corresponding device for the PC. To solve it, it will be useful to investigate the classification of "hard drives" for starters.

Classification of hard disks

Let's consider, in this way, what kinds of modern hard drives are presented in the market of computer equipment.

Among the most popular types of devices is a computer hard drive that corresponds to a 3.5-inch form factor. These discs have a rotation speed of 5400 or 7200 rpm. Communication of "hard drives" from a PC is carried out using various interfaces. The most common are IDE and SATA.

There are hard drives, adapted for servers. Their size is usually the same as in a PC, but the speed of such devices is much higher - about 15,000 rotations per minute. "Winchesters" for servers connect to the main hardware components most often through the SCSI interface, but it is possible to support serial SATA or SAS standards. The server hard drive is an exceptionally reliable device, which is not surprising: computers for which such drives are installed are designed to serve key areas of the digital infrastructure of companies, government organizations, Internet providers.

These types of "hard drives" are to be installed inside the PC or server system unit. But there are external hard drives. They connect to one of the external ports of the computer - most often USB or FireWire. Their functionality as a whole is similar to that which characterizes devices of internal type. The volume of a hard disk belonging to the external category is usually quite large - about 500-1000 GB. The fact is that this type of device is often used to move large volumes of data from one computer to another.

There are hard drives, adapted for laptops. The size of them is less than that of "hard drives", designed for installation in "desktop" computers - 2.5 inches. The speed of the hard drive for a laptop - usually 4200 or 5400 rpm. Such drives usually function when the SATA interface is activated . Characterized by high resistance to change in position, which is quite logical given the specific use of laptops.

Among the most technologically advanced varieties of hard drives are solid state drives. In principle, they can be considered a separate class of devices, since there are no moving plates in their structure. Data in this type of hard disk is written to the flash memory. Devices of this type have both advantages and disadvantages.

Many of the world's leading PC manufacturers are adapting their factory lines to the production of devices equipped with solid-state drives. This type of hard drives are more expensive than those in whose structure there are rotating elements. However, in comparison with them, they are characterized by reduced power consumption, almost total absence of noise during operation, in many cases - less weight. Regarding the data transfer speed , it can be noted that the typical figure for solid-state hard drives is 300-400 MB / s, which is very decent against the background of the leading communication standards supported by modern computers.

Interfaces

The successful installation of a hard disk in a PC depends largely on the presence of the necessary interfaces in it. Consider the specifics of the most common standards of communication in the modern computer technology market. This will be useful for correlating the tasks of the user and the type of "hard drive", which is optimal for their solution.

Among the most common interfaces for connecting external hard drives - USB. In this case, this communication standard can be presented in different versions - 1, 2 and 3. The speed of the hard disk directly depends on its compatibility with the corresponding technology. Regarding the first version of the interface, we can say that it can transfer data to 12 Mb / s, while the second guarantees file transfers with a speed of up to 480 Mbps, 3 generations of USB interfaces provide a 5 Gbit / s. If you intend to use the device not only to store files, but also, for example, to install games or programs, then it's best if it supports the most modern USB interfaces - in version 2, or even better in the third.

An external hard drive of the computer can also be connected using the FireWire interface. It is characterized by high data transfer speed - about 400 Mbit / s. It is extremely effective when working with video files.

Let's consider the standards used when installing internal-type drives in a PC. Considered relatively outdated, but still popular interface - IDE.

It can transmit data at a speed of about 133 MB / s. Distributed in desktop PCs - in large part due to the rather large size of the connector, not optimal for the structural structure of the laptop.

The SATA interface is the result of improving the IDE standard. Allows you to transfer data at speeds up to 300 MB / sec. Characterized by increased immunity from interference. Actively used in laptops - due to the relatively small size of the connector, as well as a good data transfer speed.

The SCSI interface, as we noted above, is put mainly on servers. Also characterized by high data transfer speed - about 320 MB / s. There is a modernized modification of the interface under consideration - SAS. Hard disks that function when it is used can provide data exchange at speeds of about 12 Gbit / s.

Criteria for selecting a hard disk

The characteristics of the interfaces discussed above can be considered important criteria when choosing a hard disk. We also announced a number of other important parameters - such as the speed of the device's elements rotation, form factor. But the most likely, significant in the aspect of choosing the optimal model of the device is the characteristic - hard disk memory. In many respects this parameter is subjective - many users will prefer a faster "hard drive" than one in which a large number of files can be placed. However, the capacity of the hard disk is still the first thing that many users pay attention to.

The most important aspect of choosing a "hard drive" - some of its nominal characteristics (for example, compatibility with certain interfaces) should be compatible with the communication capabilities of the PC. It happens that the hard drive of the computer is incredibly technological, but the support of the corresponding standards on the PC motherboard is not enough. Consider the key nuances of compatibility between "hard drives" and some hardware components of modern computers.

The size compatibility is important

Above we noted that hard disks differ in size. It may seem that this parameter is secondary. But often it turns out to be almost decisive. The fact is that installing a hard disk in the PC or in the corresponding area of the laptop will be extremely difficult if the size of the drive is too small, and therefore not optimal from the point of view of using the space available in the structure of the device. It will be almost impossible, if the dimensions are too large - the "Winchester" simply does not fit into the computer.

Of course, this pattern is typical mainly for laptops, since there are usually no problems with the placement of the hard disk in desktop PCs (in many respects due to the availability of various additional devices). Therefore, when planning to purchase new hard drives for a laptop, you need to know what the exact size of the current. Above we noted that in the corresponding types of computers, "hard drives" with a form factor of 2.5 inches are common. But you need to keep in mind that some models of the laptop are installed hard drives in the size of 1.8 inches.

Compatibility of communication standards

The communication interfaces of the "hard drive" and the PC motherboard should also be compatible. The main nuance here is the differences in the versions of the data exchange standards. So, there are three types of SATA interfaces. It is important that the appropriate communication standard supported by the drive is also compatible with the motherboard. It may happen that the user buys a road that provides data exchange with the modern standard SATA 3, hard disk (the price of such models can be about 10 thousand rubles.), But the computer will not be able to fully support it. The owner of the PC, thus, can significantly overpay.

The same applies to the correlation of USB standards supported by the "hard drive" and PC. If the hard drive is designed for connection via USB 3.0 interface, and the motherboard does not support it, then the technological capabilities of the corresponding standard will not be fully realized either. Concerning the FireWire interface, we can say that by buying a hard drive supporting it (the price of the device can also be decent - about 8-10 thousand rubles), you need to make sure that the PC is basically compatible with it. This communication standard is typical for laptops, but is not available on many desktop PCs. Of course, hard drives that support FireWire are generally also compatible with USB interfaces, and it is highly unlikely that the device will be non-functional due to the lack of a FireWire port on the PC. But if the user, for example, expected to use the most obvious competitive advantage of FireWire - effective work with video data, then it may not get the desired results of the hard drive.

Optimal volume

As we noted above, the volume as the main characteristic of a device such as a hard disk is a very subjective parameter. Many users are quite short, relatively speaking, a few gigabytes of disk space - for example, if they work primarily with documents. Someone and the hard drive for a terabyte will seem insufficiently spacious due to the frequent placement on it of large volumes of multimedia content - video, photos, music.

It is rather difficult to recommend the optimal volume of the drive. But the concept of "the more - the better" is not always the best option, again from the economic point of view. You can spend on an expensive, capacious hard drive - 1TB. A whole terabyte will thus be available - but in practice it can hardly be used in half. At the same time, when you purchase a less capacious, but less expensive drive, the released financial resources can be used to improve the performance of a PC or laptop (for example, buy an additional RAM module or a more powerful cooler on the processor).

According to some IT specialists, a 500 GB hard drive is the optimal solution for most user tasks. So, on the "Winchester" of the appropriate volume, you can place about 100-150 thousand photos in good quality, install about 100-150 modern games. If the owner of the PC - not a collector of photo masterpieces and not a gamer, it is unlikely that he will use at least half of the corresponding resource. But if he, in turn, is fond of photography and games, then the possibilities that he will give a hard drive of 500 GB may really not be enough. At the same time, this amount of "hard drive" is considered as one of the optimal ones in terms of typical tasks that modern users solve.

Speed of revolutions

Another important parameter that characterizes the hard drive is the speed of the plates. Concerning it, we can say that it is important in terms of the actual data transfer rate, as well as the dynamics of processing various files by the operating system. If the "hard drive" is used as the main one, that is, the OS is on it, programs and games are installed on it, it is better if the characteristic in question is expressed in as large quantities as possible. If the user buys a second hard drive, intended primarily for storing files, then in this sense the speed of rotation of the plates is not the most important indicator.

The higher the value of the considered indicator, the more expensive the drive is. In this sense, overpayment for higher turnover, while their availability is not required, may, again, be undesirable. "Winchester" with a high speed of rotation of the discs produces much more noise than the one whose rpm is more modest, and also characterized by greater power consumption. Optimal indicator for modern hard drives, which can effectively solve the majority of user problems - 7200 rpm.

Cache memory

Among the significant performance indicators of the drive - cache memory. By using this resource, the hard disk can significantly speed up the procedures for executing many operations with files. The cache memory stores the most frequent algorithms for querying certain resources of the computer. If some data is present in the cache, then the "Winchester" does not need to search for them in the RAM space or among the files. The larger the cache size, the better. But the optimal value recommended by many experts is 64 MB.

Does the brand matter?

Does it make sense to choose a hard disk other things being equal, focusing on the brand? The opinions of IT experts and users on this subject are very different. This concerns both the recommendation to focus on the brand, and the points of view on the quality of drives manufactured by a specific manufacturer. Some users will characterize exclusively positively their own hard drive, released by Samsung, reviews of other owners of the device from the Korean brand may be less enthusiastic. Some IT experts praise the brands Hitachi, Toshiba, others do not consider them better than competitors. At the same time, these companies are market leaders. In any case, this fact should be regarded as significant. The status of the leader of a highly competitive market of computer components is not given easily. This is likely to contribute to the high quality of manufactured goods.

So, if we need a hard drive for a PC or laptop, then we can focus on the following set of criteria:

- The size (actual mainly for laptops - it is undesirable that the corresponding figure is less than the slots provided for placing hard disks, it is inadmissible - that it was larger);

- Supported standards (it is important that the technology interfaces on the "hard drive" are fully compatible with PC resources);

- volume (subjectively, but 500 GB - the optimal indicator for most user tasks);

- speed of rotation of plates (optimally - 7200 rpm);

- cache memory (optimally - 64 MB).

It is also desirable that the "Winchester" was released by the manufacturer, which is on the leading positions in the world market in the corresponding segment of devices.