What is HDD, hard disk and hard drive. About hard drives What is p n on a hard drive

What is HDD, hard disk and hard drive. About hard drives What is p n on a hard drive
What is HDD, hard disk and hard drive. About hard drives What is p n on a hard drive
07.07.2022

There is a rule - the higher the skill of using a PC, the more it needs a hard drive in terms of volume. Various collections of movies, games, pictures and home videos take up a lot of space in the PC memory, so users try to increase its capacity as much as possible. However, many people do not know what an ideal hard drive should be, which would have a lot of space, and be suitable in configuration, and work quickly. That is why further data will be given on what parameters it is worth choosing a drive, which one is more reliable and how to choose a device “for yourself”.

Hard drive selection rules

It is worth immediately warning that "hard drives" (as hard drives are sometimes called) are different, and their choice is fraught with some difficulties. First of all, you need to rely on the following basic parameters of the hard drive (hard drive):

  1. Volume. Figuratively speaking, how much data the hard drive can contain before the “hard drive full” warning lights up in front of you depends on the volume. Currently, you can buy hard drives with a capacity of 1TB, which is enough for any collection (within reasonable limits) of the most "heavy" games or films.
  2. Company manufacturer. Currently, several large firms share the title of " best manufacturer ZhD”, however, there is still no clear leader. From what firms create a hard drive, its reliability, performance and a good dozen other parameters directly depend.
  3. Cache sizes. The cache memory sets the data processing speed of the device, simply put, the better this indicator is, the faster the computer will boot, the data will be loaded more quickly, and some queries will be executed.
  4. Connector type. It depends on the connector whether the “hard” is suitable for your computer or laptop. Also, this parameter affects the quality of the device bandwidth.
  5. Spindle speed. This indicator also affects the speed of data processing, and accordingly, a faster hard drive will record information faster.

Needless to say, the best hard drives will have all the maximum characteristics, and, accordingly, their purchase will cost a pretty penny. However, combining the performance of the device with your actual needs will allow you to buy a good and inexpensive (comparatively) option that will ideally cover the user's needs. QwertyShop experts described the information on selecting a hard drive http://qwertyshop.com.ua/zhestkie-disk as clearly and usefully as possible so that everyone chooses the option correctly and to their taste.

With the development of computer technology, all devices from this category began to rapidly decrease in size, gradually “growing” to pocket options. WITH hard drives the same situation occurred, as a result, external drives appeared, which are distinguished by ease of use and miniature size. The price, of course, has also gone up. However, it is not at all necessary to buy such device options, it all depends on the ultimate goal of the “upgrade”:

  1. Increasing the amount of memory. If the user's goal is simply to increase the available memory, then there is no need to spend money on external device options. Simply select the appropriate hard disk format for your computer configuration, and then simply connect it as a secondary storage platform.
  2. The main "hard drive" for the computer. In this option, you also do not need to waste money on mobile types of hard drives, but purchase an internal hard drive with good write speed and volume.
  3. Mobile data storage. If the user needs a bulky drive that is easy to carry and use, then you should pay attention to external hard disk. As a rule, such devices have a USB connector, which allows you to connect them to any PC without opening the system unit and “digging” in the wires. In addition, external hard drives can be connected to other equipment - video players, laptops, TVs, and then read data from them.

Concerning internal devices, then choose them according to the following parameters.

Hard disk capacity

If you wish, you can purchase devices with different sizes, starting from 250 GB and ending with "terabytes", but practice shows that too large amounts of memory are unnecessary for most users. With the spread of the Internet, all data is stored not on the hard drive, but on the Internet, with the exception of games and programs. If the user considers himself to be among the “average”, then the HDD volume of 500 GB is enough for him. Larger devices require more resources for manufacturers, so they cost much more. 1TB is worth buying only for those people who like to collect collections of movies, pictures and other data, and such hard drives are also needed for games.

Cache

In fact, the disk cache plays the role of a working space where data of primary importance is loaded. The higher the setting, the faster tasks will run on the computer. A standard hard drive has clipboard sizes (another name for this section of memory) from 8 to 32 MB. This is quite enough for the average user who does not do programming, does not like powerful and productive games, but simply surfs the Internet and watches videos. The most productive HDD will be a device with an indicator of 64 MB.

Spindle speed

The hard drive itself looks like a big disk spinning while it's running. The spindle drives it, and the head, which has direct contact with the disk, is responsible for reading and writing data. The faster the spindle rotates, the sooner the hard drive performs its task - information processing. The average hard drive has a rotation speed of 5400 rpm, more expensive and productive models have a frequency of 5900 or 7200 units. Again, if the user wants a drive "faster", then it is worth looking at a HDD with a speed of 10,000 units - one of the most functional options for today.

Important information: you should also not forget about new types of devices that are gradually taking over the market - SSD drives. This option differs from the standard by the type of device - SSD drives work on solid media. No disks, no spindles, just storage chips. Such hard drives have a much faster speed, they do not make noise (more on that later), but the cost and reliability of these HDDs is much less. The cost is understandable, but the reliability needs to be dealt with. The thing is that it is impossible to recover data from an SSD - if the voltage jumps to the upper bar, then a similar version of the technique “burns out tightly”.

Interface

With the development of computer technology, hard drives have changed several times the connector through which it connects to the PC. The modern version has a SATA connector (for external - USB), it is used in almost all models of computers and drives. However, another interface, the IDE, has not yet completely gone out of use. The SATA version has much more bandwidth, so such a hard drive will process data faster, but if the user has an old PC, he should be careful - these two interfaces are incompatible.

Manufacturer

As for the manufacturer of this equipment, then the opinions of experts diverge greatly. Most of them believe that the leading firms involved in the development of railways are " western digital and Hitachi. It is these companies that create the most reliable devices - their temperature is always at the level, breakdowns occur infrequently, and functionality is at its best. Some analysts oppose WD (Western Digital) to Seagate. The most unreliable, but popular HDDs are Samsung drives (editor's opinion).

The claims of unreliability of Samsung drives are made based on:
1. the number of warranty returns in the QwertyShop retail chain;
2. analysis of reviews in the Yandex.Market service;
3. Personal experience of editing short-life discs from this manufacturer.

Industry leaders, Western Digital, have special color codes for the reliability and quality of devices.

Noise level

Some users are annoyed by the noise that the hard drive makes during operation. It can crackle, buzz, rattle, and all this cacophony begins with the power supply to the computer, and ends with its shutdown. It is believed that Western Digital devices emit the least noise during operation, but this is a subjective opinion of the company's fans, so it is a stretch to take this into account. There are no other options for choosing a disk, in terms of the level of noise it emits, so you have to hope for luck.

If the hard disk works in "difficult" conditions for it, then it will quickly fail. To delay this moment as far as possible, it is worth considering the following expert advice.

  1. Use UPS. A high-quality "uninterruptible" will protect the HDD from power surges - the main killer of technical equipment.
  2. Apply control programs. There are a number of programs that regularly scan the state of the hard drive - temperature, spindle speed. If you look into them from time to time, you can catch the moment when the disk began to “hack” and give it in time for repair.
  3. Provide cooling. The HDD generates a lot of heat during operation, sometimes so much that the regular PC cooling system cannot cope with the load. If this situation is observed by the user, it is worth adding a couple of fans to the system unit.
  4. Choose the right power supply. If the user has an uneven power supply installed, he can apply high voltage to the hard drive, which is guaranteed to “kill” the device.

This article will only talk about hard drives (HDD), that is, media on magnetic disks. About SSD will be the next article.

What is a hard drive

By tradition, let's look at the definition of a hard drive on Wikipedia:
A hard disk (screw, hard drive, hard disk drive, HDD, HDD, HMDD) is a random access storage device based on the principle of magnetic recording.
They are used in the vast majority of computers, as well as separately connected devices for storing backup copies of data, as file storage, etc.
Let's figure it out a little. I like the term "hard drive". These five words convey the whole point. HDD is a device whose purpose is to store data recorded on it for a long time. HDDs are based on hard (aluminum) disks with a special coating, on which information is recorded using special heads.
I will not consider in detail the recording process itself - in fact, this is the physics of the last grades of the school, and I am sure you have no desire to delve into this, and the article is not about that at all.
Let's also pay attention to the phrase: "random access" which, roughly speaking, means that we (the computer) can read information from any section of the railway at any time.
It is important that the HDD memory is not volatile, that is, it does not matter whether the power is connected or not, the information recorded on the device will not disappear anywhere. This is an important difference between a computer's permanent memory and temporary memory (RAM).
Looking at a computer hard drive in real life, you will not see any disks or heads, since all this is hidden in a sealed enclosure (hermetic zone). Externally, the hard drive looks like this.
I think you understand what HDD is. Go ahead.

Why does a computer need a hard drive?

Consider what an HDD is in a computer, that is, what role it plays in a PC. It is clear that it stores data, but how and what. Here we highlight the following functions of HDD:
- Storage of OS, user software and their settings;
- Storage of user files: music, video, images, documents, etc.;
- Using part of the hard disk space to store data that does not fit in RAM (paging file) or storing content random access memory while using the sleep mode;
- As you can see, a computer hard drive is not just a dump of photos, music and videos. It stores the entire operating system, and in addition, the hard drive helps to cope with the workload of RAM, taking on some of its functions.

What is a hard drive made of?

We partially mentioned the components of the hard drive, now we will deal with this in more detail. So, the main components of the HDD:
- Enclosure - protects hard drive mechanisms from dust and moisture. As a rule, it is airtight so that the same moisture and dust do not get inside;
- Discs (pancakes) - plates made of a certain metal alloy, coated on both sides, on which data is recorded. The number of plates can be different - from one (in budget options) to several;
- Engine - on the spindle of which pancakes are fixed;
- The block of heads - a design from the levers (rocker arms) connected among themselves, and heads. The part of a hard drive that reads and writes information to it. For one pancake, a pair of heads is used, since both the upper and lower parts of it are working;
- Positioning device (actuator) - a mechanism that drives the block of heads. Consists of a pair of permanent neodymium magnets and a coil located at the end of the head unit;
- Controller - electronic microcircuit managing the operation of the HDD;
- Parking zone - a place inside the hard drive next to the disks or on their inside, where the heads are lowered (parked) during idle time, so as not to damage the working surface of the pancakes.
This is so uncomplicated device hard disk. It was formed many years ago, and no fundamental changes have been made to it for a long time. And we move on.

How a hard drive works

After power is supplied to the HDD, the engine, on the spindle of which the pancakes are fixed, begins to spin up. Having gained a speed at which a constant stream of air is formed near the surface of the discs, the heads begin to move.
This sequence (first the discs spin up, and then the heads start working) is necessary so that the heads hover over the plates due to the resulting air flow. Yes, they never touch the surface of the disks, otherwise the latter would be instantly damaged. However, the distance from the surface of the magnetic platters to the heads is so small (~10 nm) that you cannot see it with the naked eye.
After starting, first of all, the service information about state of hard disk and other necessary information about it, located on the so-called zero track. Only then does the work with the data begin.
Information on the computer's hard drive is recorded on tracks, which, in turn, are divided into sectors (such a pizza cut into pieces). To write files, several sectors are combined into a cluster, which is the smallest place where a file can be written.
In addition to such a "horizontal" partitioning of the disk, there is also a conditional "vertical" one. Since all heads are combined, they are always positioned over the same track number, each over its own disc. Thus, during the operation of the HDD, the heads, as it were, draw a cylinder.
While the HDD is working, in fact, it performs two commands: reading and writing. When it is necessary to execute a write command, the area on the disk where it will be performed is calculated, then the heads are positioned and, in fact, the command is executed. The result is then checked. In addition to writing data directly to disk, information also ends up in its cache.
If the controller receives a read command, first of all, it checks for the presence of the required information in the cache. If it is not there, the coordinates for positioning the heads are calculated again, then the heads are positioned and read the data.
After completion of the work, when the power supply of the hard drive disappears, the heads are automatically parked in the parking zone.
This is how a computer hard drive works in general terms. In reality, everything is much more complicated, but ordinary user, most likely, such details are not needed, so we will finish this section and move on.

Types of hard drives and their manufacturers

Today, there are actually three main manufacturers of hard drives on the market: Western Digital (WD), Toshiba, Seagate. They fully cover the demand for devices of all types and requirements. The rest of the companies either went bankrupt, or were taken over by someone from the main three, or re-profiled.
If we talk about the types of HDD, they can be divided in this way:

1. For laptops - the main parameter is the device size of 2.5 inches. This allows them to be compactly placed in the laptop case;
2. For PC - in this case, it is also possible to use 2.5″ hard drives, but as a rule, 3.5 inches are used;
3. External hard drives - devices that are separately connected to a PC / laptop, most often acting as a file storage.
There is also a special type of hard drives - for servers. They are identical to conventional PCs, but may differ in interfaces for connection, and greater performance.

All other divisions of HDD into types come from their characteristics, so we will consider them.

Hard drive specifications

So, the main characteristics of a computer hard drive:

Size is a measure of the maximum amount of data that can fit on a disk. The first thing they usually look at when choosing an HDD. This figure can reach 10 TB, although 500 GB - 1 TB is more often chosen for a home PC;
- Form factor - hard disk size. The most common are 3.5 and 2.5 inches. As mentioned above, 2.5″ in most cases are installed in laptops. They are also used in external HDDs. 3.5″ is installed on the PC and on the server. The form factor also affects the volume, as more data can fit on a larger disk;
- Spindle speed - at what speed pancakes rotate. The most common are 4200, 5400, 7200 and 10000 rpm. This characteristic directly affects the performance, as well as the price of the device. The higher the speed, the greater both values;
- Interface - the method (connector type) for connecting the HDD to the computer. The most popular interface for internal hard drives today is SATA (older computers used IDE). External hard drives are usually connected via USB or FireWire. In addition to those listed, there are other interfaces such as SCSI, SAS;
- Buffer size (cache memory) - type fast memory(by type of RAM) installed on the hard drive controller, designed for temporary storage of data that is most often accessed. The buffer size can be 16, 32 or 64 MB;
- Random access time - the time during which the HDD is guaranteed to write or read from any part of the disk. It fluctuates from 3 to 15 ms;

In addition to the above characteristics, you can also find indicators such as:

Data transfer rate;
- Number of I/O operations per second;
- Noise level;
- Reliability;
- Resistance to impacts, etc.;
At the expense of the characteristics of the HDD, that's all.

19:20 28.04.2001

Guide for "dummies" on the choice of hard drives Introduction

A lot depends on which hard drive you install in your system unit. First of all, the performance of your system. It should be borne in mind that installing a modern hard drive in an old computer model is not advisable. Performance will be limited by the speed of older protocols, and the drive will only work "at half speed". Creating such systems is a waste of money. Professional computer assemblers call such brainchildren "unbalanced solutions." I will make a reservation, buying components with a margin for the next upgrade has nothing to do with these cases.

When buying a new hard drive, it's worth deciding what you're using your computer for. This question is worth asking yourself with any upgrade, and not only the hard drive. I note that for the video editing station and for the system for working with databases, completely different hard drives are needed. What should you pay attention to when making a purchasing decision? First of all, the size of the files you have to work with. When working with small files, you should take a disk with a large amount of built-in cache. If you are a real professional, then you should "impose" these "sizes" on the file system type.

It is also important to find out the exact markings of the motherboard. Based on this data, you can find out what chipset it is based on. As a rule, the task is reduced to the exact definition of the marking of the south bridge. It is he who is responsible for the connection of the processor with the hard drive and its parameters will allow you to purchase a hard drive that is as balanced as possible with your system.

In this article, we will tell you about the main interfaces of hard drives. We will give information that will teach you how to read the name of hard drives. And also give the characteristics of the most popular hard drives.

Interface

Now you can buy a hard drive of almost any interface. However, we will limit ourselves to talking about only two of them - IDE and SCSI. These are the ones you need to pay attention to when buying. Hard drives with other interfaces are too expensive and are not widely used in home and office solutions.

So, IDE types (sorted in order of appearance):

  • conventional IDE or ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment - a device with an integrated controller)
  • EIDE (Enhanced IDE - extended IDE) or ATA-2
  • ATAPI
  • Ultra ATA (ATA-33, ATA-66, ATA-100)

A few words about ATAPI (ATA Packet Interface). This interface is used for CDROM devices, tape drives, etc. So, most likely, when buying a hard drive, you will not hear this abbreviation. However, like EIDE and just IDE. Now on the shelves of computer stores there are Ultra DMA-66 and Ultra DMA-100 discs, a little less often you can find Ultra DMA-33. The last two digits indicate the data transfer rate in megabytes per second (for example, 33 MB/s). There are several ways to connect an IDE hard drive to a computer. First of all - the most popular - by means of a 40 or 80 core cable (AT-BUS interface type). I would like to emphasize that the cable length should not exceed 43 cm. Otherwise, the stable operation of the device is not guaranteed, and some data may be lost. To implement Ultra DMA-66 and Ultra DMA-100, you need exactly 80 core cable. If you use a 40-core cable with such drives, then the bus speed will be only 33 MB / s.

What is the difference between Ultra DMA-33,Ultra DMA-66 and Ultra DMA-100? The numbers indicated at the end indicate the maximum data transfer rate on the bus (Mb / s) from the disk controller to the motherboard. I note that the actual data transfer rate can be significantly lower. It depends on the speed of the disk, the speed of the electronics, the speed of the memory and the processor. When upgrading on your own, it is not uncommon for an inexperienced user to start "pushing" the hard drive cable into the drive slot. This procedure leads to broken contacts. Restoring them later is extremely problematic. See what the 40-pin IDE connector looks like:

And never confuse it with a 34-pin FDD connector, here it is:

The second type of connection is called PC Card ATA. Implemented using a PC Card (PCMCIA), has a 16-bit interface. This type is used mainly in portable computers (laptops).

Hard drives have different built-in cache sizes and different values ​​for spindle speed. The cache significantly affects the speed of working with data, especially when working with small files without data, when updating information is "local" and occurs quite often (for example, work on entering accounting data). The cache size for modern drives ranges from half a megabyte to two megabytes. Sometimes even professionals find it difficult to decide how much cache is optimal for a given system. You can be guided by the principle - "more is better than less."

The number of spindle revolutions is directly related to the rotation of the storage media - disks. Of course, this parameter affects the amount of data read per unit of time. Drives with rotation speeds up to 10,000 (not yet mass-produced) rpm are available on the market, however, 5400 and 7200 rpm are more common among them. Disks "5400" are more reliable and durable. During operation, they heat up less. "7200", as a rule, are noisier and less durable, but the speed characteristics of such solutions are higher. In this case, it is up to you to choose. Next, we will talk about some models, and you can compare all of the above with examples.

IDE hard drives are the cheapest on the market. The low cost is due to the high integration of the device. The controller and the recorder itself are assembled in one housing. The reliability of such hard drives is quite high. For home users, choosing a hard drive usually comes down to deciding which model of IDE device to purchase.

Finally, a few words about how IDE devices are connected. A maximum of two devices can be connected to one IDE cable. One of the devices must be set to Master (master), and the second - Slave (slave). The modes are set by setting jumpers on the devices themselves. All modern IDE devices usually have a jumper setting table. If you have two hard drives, then the system will only boot from the Master device. Normally, slave operation of a device is not allowed in the absence of a master device. However, modern drives and BIOS allow such work.

SCSI is a less popular interface than IDE (mostly because of its relative high cost).

  • SCSI-1: 8-bit data bus, maximum transfer rate - up to 5 MB / s, 25- or 50-pin connector;
  • SCSI-2 or Fast SCSI (Fast SCSI): 8-bit data bus, maximum transfer rate - up to 10 MB / s, 50-pin connector; connector looks like this:
  • Wide SCSI (Wide SCSI)
  • Ultra SCSI / Ultra Wide SCSI or SCSI-3: 8/16-bit data bus, maximum transfer rate up to 20/40 MB/s, 50-, 68-, or 80-pin connector (Single Connector) combining power and signal circuits ;
  • Ultra2 SCSI: 16-bit data bus, maximum transfer rate - up to 80 MB / s, 68- or 80-pin connector (Single Connector), combining power and signal circuits; connector looks like this:

This interface is not only for using hard drives. The controller, which is inserted into a separate motherboard slot, can support up to 15 various devices(scanners, CD-ROMs, hard drives, etc.). The cable length can be up to 15 meters. This gives the system a certain flexibility, however, for a home user this is not an important selection criterion.

Manufacturers of SCSI hard drives have developed devices with a disk rotation speed of 15,000 rpm. The speed characteristics of such hard drives easily beat the fastest IDE drives.

It is not difficult to buy a SCSI controller, but it is quite expensive, just like the disks of this interface. In any case, it is worth buying only modern solutions, and in our country they belong to the "hi-end" market. Therefore, I would recommend SCSI hard drives only for those users who do serious video editing or need systems where a large number of hard drives must be used ...

The main advantage of SCSI for home use, we can consider their low load on the processor and more high speed work.

In this article, I will only talk about IDE hard drives. In the vast majority of cases, it is the user who buys them due to their low cost. If in the future there will be interest in SCSI hard drive, then we will devote a separate article to this.

Hard disk marking

When a hard drive falls into your hands, then, starting to twist it, you notice a rather large inscription of numbers and letters on its case. This is the brand name of the hard drive (alphanumeric code). Unfortunately, there is no unified system (standard) for applying this inscription. Each manufacturer does this differently. To my even greater regret, some manufacturers periodically deviate from their marking and come up with a new alphanumeric code standard.

Quite a long time ago, I found descriptions of the markings of most manufacturers on the open spaces of the network. Since then, I have used this information with varying degrees of success. Here are the data:

    <Обозначение фирмы><Форм-фактор><Форматированный объем><Тип интерфейса>
  • Company designation: ST
  • Form factor: 1 = 3.5" x 41 mm; 3 = 3.5" x 25 mm; 4 = 5.25" x 82 mm; 5 = 3.5" x 19 mm; 9 = 2.5"
  • Formatted volume: the size of the hard drive in MB. The last digit indicates the development number.
  • Interface type: A = ATA (IDE); DC = SCSI 16 bit Single Connector Differential; FC = Fiber Channel; LC = SCSI 16 bit Single Connector Low Voltage Differential ; LW = SCSI 16 bit Low Voltage Differential ; N = SCSI 8 bit ; ND = SCSI 8 bit Differential ; W = SCSI 16 bit ; WC = SCSI 16 bit Single Connector ; WD = SCSI 16 bit Differential

western digital

    <Обозначение фирмы><Тип интерфейса><Модель><Количество дисков><Форматированный объем><Светодиодный индикатор><Пеpедняя панель><Объем кэша>
  • Company designation: WD
  • Interface type: A= IDE; S=SCSI; C=PCMCIA-IDE;
  • Model: C=Caviar; P = Piranha; L = Lite; U=Ultralite;
  • LED indicator: 0 = no; 1 = red; 2 = green
  • Front panel: 0 = no; 1 = black; 2 = gray
  • Buffer size: no data

IBM

    <Тип устройства><Модель><Тип интерфейса><Форм-фактор><Форматированный объем>
  • Device type: D - hard drive
  • Interface type: A = ATA (IDE); S=SCSI; C = Serial Storage Architecture (SSA)
  • Form factor: 2 = 2.5"; 3 = 3.5"
    <Обозначение фирмы><Модель><Форматированный объем><Тип интерфейса>
  • Interface type: A - ATA (IDE); S - SCSI; V - Value

Fujitsu

    <Модель><Тип интерфейса><Размер блока><Тип резьбы винтов>
  • Interface type: T = ATA (EIDE); S=SCSI; SY = Fast SCSI-2 (Ultra); H = SCSI differential; Q = Wide SCSI; R = Wide SCSI differential; C = Wide SCSI, SCA-1; E = Wide SCSI, SCA-2;
  • Block size: A = 512 bytes; X = 256 bytes; B = 1024 bytes;
  • Screw thread type: M = metric M3; U = #6-32 UNC.

So, let's move on to the description of specific models of hard drives that you can purchase in computer stores.

IBM 75GXP

Models of hard drives from IBM are well-deservedly popular in our country and around the world. However, the latest series of DTLA hard drives turned out to be not very reliable. The amount of marriage in it made IBM itself refuse to further release these models. And yet, these hard drives will be in stores for a long time and will be in good demand due to the highest speed characteristics.

The company has two assembly plants in Hungary and Taiwan. I like the models assembled in Taiwan more because there are an order of magnitude fewer compatibility problems for these devices. Hard drives assembled in Hungary are as reliable as Taiwanese devices. But the compatibility of these hard drives is much worse.

Below is a table in which you can see all models of IBM Deskstar family hard drives. (the popular DTLA hard drive appeared in this family). It is very clearly seen how the size of the built-in cache increases and the spindle "gains momentum".

Model name Device capacity Interface Embedded cache size Rotational speed
DSAA 270 to 720 MBytes PIO3 96KB 4500 rpm
DPEA from 540 to 1080 MB PIO3 96KB 5400 rpm
DJAA 1.2 and 1.7 GB PIO4 96KB 4500 rpm
DAQA from 2.1 to 3.2 GB PIO4 128KB 5400 rpm
DCAA 3.6 and 4.3 GB PIO4 96KB 5400 rpm
DHEA from 4.3 to 8.4 GB UltraATA/33 476KB 5400 rpm
DTTA 16GP from 3.2 to 16.8 GB UltraATA/33 512KB 5400 rpm
DTTA 14GXP from 10 to 14.4 GB UltraATA/33 512KB 7200 rpm
DJNA 25GP from 10 to 25 GB UltraATA/33 512 KB or 2048 KB 5400 rpm
DJNA 22GXP from 9 to 22 GB UltraATA/66 2048KB 7200 rpm
DPTA 37GP from 15 to 37 GB UltraATA/66 512 KB or 2048 KB 5400 rpm
DPTA 34GXP from 13 to 34 GB UltraATA/66 2048KB 7200 rpm
DTLA 40GV from 20 to 40 GB UltraATA/100 512KB 5400 rpm
DTLA 75GXP from 15 to 75 GB UltraATA/100 2048KB 7200 rpm

Let's see what they are specifications last hard drive of this family:

IBM Deskstar 75GXP
Device volume 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75 GB
Turnover speed 7200 rpm
Average access time 8.5 ms
Embedded cache size 2048 Kb
Factory warranty 3 years

As you can see, these hard drives have the best (highest) values ​​for cache and revs. I would recommend such a hard drive for those users who are ready to give up everything for the sake of speed. Tests show that this hard drive has no equal. It should be borne in mind that during their work, modern IBM hard drives make quite a lot of noise. And due to the high rotation speed, the surface of the hard drive case heats up very much. Therefore, it is worth stocking up on a good case or even installing an additional cooling system. It costs about $ 15 (not every system unit is suitable for its installation). The reliability of this hard drive leaves much to be desired. It is difficult to unambiguously identify the cause of failures, since everything breaks down. A lot of marriage among 30 GB models. The cost of these hard drives is noticeably higher than all other competitors. In other words, it is 30-60 dollars more expensive than its counterparts.

Fujitsu MPF-3204AH

Fujitsu is known for traditionally reliable and inexpensive solutions. Recently, she has created several "fast" discs. Among them is the Fujitsu MPF-3204AH ATA-100 model. It has a working volume of 20 GB. The company produces AH hard drives of a different size, but it is almost impossible to purchase them on the retail market.

I will give the technical characteristics of the Fujitsu MPF-3204AH model:

Fujitsu MPF-3204AH
Device volume 20.4 GB
Turnover speed 7,200 rpm
Average access time 8.5 ms
Embedded cache size 2048 Kb
Warranty 3 years
As you can see in its characteristics, the drive is not inferior to the previous IBM model. But in the speed of real work, he loses. However, in my opinion, this is more than offset by the reliability and speed of the drive. The hard drive has a very solid box. By the way, it is she who makes the Fujitsu MPF-3204AH one of the quietest hard drives. Look at the cut of the case of this hard drive:

When working with hard drives from this company, there are never problems with installation. Since information about the position of the jumpers is always present on the case cover. It is made large and legible. Look at the example:

Despite the high speed of rotation of the spindle, during its operation, the disk does not heat up at all significantly. Affects the action of the excellent bearing system.

I haven't encountered or heard of Fujitsu MPF-3204AH compatibility issues. The cost of the model is relatively low, and it seems to me that this hard drive model can become the leader in the price/reliability and price/performance ratio.

Seagate has long ceased to be the leader in the IDE hard drive market, but in the SCSI segment it firmly holds the leading position. The company produces very reliable hard drives. Some users who use drives to transfer large amounts of information specifically buy Seagate products (although I do not recommend this).

The speed of these drives leaves much to be desired. Although the average access time declared by the manufacturer is very short, the actual search and positioning time of the head is quite long. But if the file is located very tightly (no defragmentation), then its reading speed (linear reading speed) is not inferior to IBM models.

Here are the brief specifications of this hard drive:

Seagate Barracuda ATA ST320430A
Device volume 20.4 GB
Turnover speed 7,200 rpm
Average access time 7.6 ms
Embedded cache size 512 Kb
Warranty 3 years

Due to the iron case, the disk "noises" a little. Although when working with defragmented data, strange "squeals" are heard. On the reverse side of the disk there is an instruction manual for the hard disk and tells about installing the hard drive in a computer.

During its operation, the drive practically does not heat up. The cost of hard drives from Seagate is traditionally moderate. In a word, if you are used to working leisurely on your computer and reliability is the most important factor for you when buying, then buy a Seagate hard drive.

Western Digital 450 AA

Western Digital is quite stubbornly and successfully competing with Fujitsu and IBM. WD solutions have always been famous for their good speed characteristics. There were times when the company managed (albeit for a short period of time) to become a leader in the IDE segment. IN this moment Western Digital solutions are in no way inferior to all their competitors.

Here are the technical characteristics of the model in question:

Western Digital 450AA
Device volume 45 GB
Turnover speed 5.400 rpm
Average access time 9.5 ms
Embedded cache size 2048 Kb
Factory warranty 3 years

The model has a good capacity, but the data processing speed leaves much to be desired. Of course, on average, this model, despite the lower number of disk revolutions than previous models, will overtake its counterparts from Seagate and Samsung, but it will not be enough for more. The model is quite loud. When working with defragmented data, head positioning sounds are clearly audible even in the midst of the powerful golden orb. The temperature of the hard disk with its frequent use rises to a level that does not require additional cooling.

I cannot fail to note the company's bad habit of "forgetting" to put information about the position of jumpers on the hard drive. Often you have to visit the company's website to get this data. The required provisions are marked in the figure.

Among the pluses, I can note a fairly decent reliability, although there is no need for "batch for batch". The cost of the model is similar to competitors from Fujitsu. I recommend buying this model to users whose interests lie in the field of business. Office applications run quite fast on this hard drive, and its reliability guarantees their safety.

Conclusion

As a result, I want to offer you a table that clearly shows which disk you need to purchase to solve certain problems.

Hard disk name IBM DTLA 307045 Fujitsu MPF-3204AH Seagate Barracuda ATA ST320430A Western Digital 450 AA
Main characteristics (size, turnover, cache, average access time) > 45 GB 7200 rpm 2048 KB 8.5 ms > 20.4 GB 7200 rpm 2048 KB 8.5 ms > 20.4 GB 7200 rpm 512 KB 7.6 ms > 45 GB 5400 rpm 2048 KB 9.5 ms
Warranty 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years
Main characteristics Pros: fastest speed Cons: low reliability, high temperature, high price Pros: Good speed characteristics Good reliability, absolute noiselessness Cons: Poor prevalence Pros: Very high reliability, low cost Cons: low speed characteristics Pros: Good speed Cons: Overpriced

Unfortunately, at the moment I cannot provide the results of testing two more hard drives. You probably already guessed it, these are Samsung and Maxtor. In our next article, we will talk about these hard drives and, in addition, we will talk about the main ways to test hard drives.

It is an essential device for any personal computer. The question of choosing a hard drive, as a rule, arises when assembling a desktop personal computer, since mobile devices (laptops and netbooks), as a rule, are initially equipped with hard drives of one size or another and the need to replace them arises in rare cases. Nevertheless, recently we can note an increase in demand for mobile hard drives. As a rule, they are used to create external drives. Purchasing a case with a SATA=>USB 2.0 or SATA=>USB 3.0 bridge allows you to organize an external mobile drive of an individual design and volume. In the course of performing these tasks, the only and main question arises - what criteria should be followed when choosing a hard drive or hard drive?
Hard drive reliability

First of all, it must be understood that any HDD is a rewritable device designed for repeated recording and deletion of information. As a rule, information on hard disks is stored thanks to ferromagnetic plates and heads that read / write data while moving along them. Therefore, the main criterion for all hard drives is reliability. Almost all hard drives that exist today do not have any model that would have problems with reliability. This criterion must be taken into account when purchasing a hard drive in the secondary market. Often, in the regions of our country system blocks users are collected on the basis of used hard drives. This is due to the fact that, unlike other equipment, personal computer hard drives move from one system unit to another and, as a rule, hard drives are sold on the secondary market that have certain problems on the ferromagnetic plates or in the controller.

Problems with the hard disk controller can be easily identified by reading its table S.M.A.R.T. which ideally indicates the degree of wear and the number of errors that occur in the device during reading or writing data from it. When the number of errors in S.M.A.R.T. reaches a critical level, the BIOS of the personal computer notifies the user that it is time to replace the hard drive. In any case, this information can be found in any of the information programs - HD Tune, Everest Ultimate, etc.

with errors on ferromagnetic plates the situation is much more difficult. This is due to the fact that many users have been struggling with this problem for many years. Ever since the days of the DOS operating system, we remember the "Bad sectors" - this is hard disk in which data storage is not possible due to its physical damage. To date, the surface of the hard disk is checked in last resort. This is largely due to the increased reliability of existing devices. However, the appearance of one or two "bad sectors" is a signal to the user that it is time to get rid of this drive. This is due to the fact that storing data on these hard drives is a rather risky business, and the process of platter destruction that has begun is, as a rule, irreversible and gradually progresses.

Hitachi hard drive marking with release date. Image is clickable --

The question arises: how to control that you have a new hard drive in your hands? Actually, it's quite simple. New hard drives are always shipped in an antistatic bag. A supplier who respects himself and the buyer either does not open the antistatic bag, or opens it in front of the buyer. If you purchased a ready-made system unit, then just pay attention to the release date of the hard drive, which is MANDATORY indicated on its front wall. If this date exceeds 12 months, then the probability that a used hard drive was installed in your system unit increases many times over. Never forget about the device warranty. Many manufacturers give a 36-month warranty on their hard drives, some are limited to 12 months. If the seller tells you that he gives less than 12 months of warranty for the hard drive, we recommend that you think about the need to purchase it from him.

Speaking of Reliability existing hard drives, it is impossible not to touch on the manufacturer. The most popular manufacturers of hard drives supplied to our country are: Seagate, Western Digital (WD), Hitachi, Samsung, Fujitsu. With full responsibility and based on our experience accumulated over the course of six years of working with these products, the manufacturer can say that the reliability of all devices, today, is at the appropriate level. Yes, a few years ago there were problems with Fujitsu hard drives, which, due to the flux on the controller that was not washed off, burned out, and Samsung hard drive controllers also managed to show themselves not from the best side. But these "childhood diseases" have long been corrected and the reliability of hard drives from any of the manufacturers does not raise any doubts.

Hard drive volume

The second important parameter of the acquired hard drive is its volume or capacity. When talking about the size of a hard drive, I always avoid specific numbers. This is due to the fact that the hard drive market is changing at a rapid pace. Larger and larger drives are emerging, allowing manufacturers to increase the size of their software. If you are a maximalist, then you should purchase hard drives of the maximum volume, but for most users we recommend looking at the cost of 1 GB of hard drive capacity. To do this, the cost of the hard drive must be divided by its volume.

Let's give an example. At the time of this writing, the cost of hard drives of various sizes was at the following levels:
- Hard drive 320.0 Gb Hitachi HDS721032CLA362 SATA-II 1285 rubles
- Hard drive 500.0 Gb Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 SATA-II 1320 rubles
- Hard drive 1Tb Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 SATA-II 2000 rubles

From the presented data, even without additional calculations, it can be seen that a 1 TB hard drive will be the most profitable purchase.
Speaking about the volume of the hard drive, one cannot fail to mention such an important parameter as the recording density. The recording density index characterizes the amount of information that can be placed on one ferromagnetic plate of the hard drive. It should be understood that manufacturers of hard drives are taken within a rather rigid technological framework. Desktop hard drives are limited to 3.5 inches and mobile hard drives are limited to 2.5 inches. Therefore, the dimensions of ferromagnetic plates cannot be increased, only the recording density on them can be increased. Therefore, it makes sense to ask on the basis of how many plates this or that hard drive is assembled. As a rule, this information is encrypted in the serial number of the device.

Hard drive platters with read/write heads. Image is clickable --

For example, let's analyze the marking of one of the above hard drives: 500.0 Gb Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 SATA-II. The marking of this hard drive is the character sequence: HDS721050CLA362. So, in order:
- the first letter "H" means the marking of the manufacturer - Hitachi,
- the second letter "D" symbolizes a series of devices. In this case, it is a Deskstar desktop hard drive. At the same time, Hitachi has mobile and server solutions of the Travelstar, Ultrastar, Endurostar series,
- the third letter "S" tells the user that the hard drive is a standard production model,
- the fourth and fifth digits "72" symbolize the speed of the hard drive spindle. In this case, it is 7200 rpm, while there are models on the market with a speed of 5400 rpm, 5900 rpm and 10000 rpm,
- the sixth and seventh digits "10" indicate the maximum volume of the hard drive of this series multiplied by one hundred, that is, in this case 1000 GB is the maximum volume of the series,
- the other two numbers "50" characterize the volume of this hard drive multiplied by ten, that is, 500 GB,
- the letter "C" marks the series of the device,
- the letter "L" marks the height of the device, in this case L is 26.1 mm,
- the characters "A3" indicate that the Serial ATA interface with a data transfer rate of 3 Gb / s is used,
- the number "6" indicates the size of the controller's cache memory. In this case, "6" is 16 MB, if there is a number "3", then this is already 32 MB,
- the last digit indicates the number of plates in the device or is a number reserved by the manufacturer for further needs.

In this case, we have the number "2", which indicates that this hard drive is based on two ferromagnetic plates. Therefore, the data recording density per platter is 250 GB.

If you look at the label of a 1TB copy from the same manufacturer 1Tb Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 SATA-II, then you will see that this hard drive is also based on two ferromagnetic platters with a recording density of 500 GB per platter. Previously, these hard drives were based on four 250 GB platters, but manufacturers increased the recording density, which made it possible to reduce the cost of hard drives, produce larger copies and, most importantly, increase their performance.

As the recording density increases by one plate the speed of reading data from the hard drive increases, since the number of heads on one plate remains unchanged, and they can read the same physical volume as before. Therefore, if you overpay for a hard drive released two years ago based on four 250 GB platters, you will not get better performance - you will just get a hard drive based on outdated technologies.

Speaking about the capacity of the hard drive, it is necessary to dwell on the fact that manufacturers are somewhat deceiving buyers. At the same time, deception lasts for many years and its magnitude directly depends on the volume of the drive. It is accepted by manufacturers that 1 KB of data is not real 1024 bytes, but 1000 bytes. Accordingly, 1 GB holds not 1024 MB, but 1000 MB; 1 TB = 1000 MB, not 1024 MB. You can also find this discrepancy on your computer by looking in the "Properties" section of your hard drive. The losses are significant. For example, a 250 GB hard drive actually has a capacity of 220 GB, or more than five movies in DVD quality and hundreds of thousands of music recordings. Unfortunately, this is a fait accompli and accepted by all manufacturers, and we users have to accept everything "as is".

hard drive interface

The next important parameter of any is its interface. To date, internal hard drives are represented by three interfaces: IDE, SATA II and SATA III. External hard drives can additionally be equipped with USB, eSATA interfaces.

First, let's dwell on the interfaces of internal hard drives. IDE Interface stands at the origins of computer engineering. There were different versions of this interface, which differed from each other only in bandwidth. For example, IDE 33 means an ATA interface with a maximum data transfer of 33 Mbps. The maximum speed of this interface is 133 Mb / s, which is supported by all devices this format presented on the market. All varieties of the IDE interface are compatible with each other, so you can buy a more modern hard drive without looking at the controller you have on the motherboard. In principle, for a standard hard drive, the speed of the IDE interface of 133 Mb / s is enough, since a rare instance of the device can demonstrate higher performance.

The most popular hard drive interface today is the SATA interface. There are three types of this interface - SATA I, SATA II, SATA III. All these interfaces differ only in the maximum data transfer rate and are fully backwards compatible. The SATA I interface provides a data transfer rate of 1.5 Gb / s, SATA II - 3 Gb / s, SATA III - 6 Gb / s. Almost all hard drives on the market have a SATA II interface, which is due to the popularity of this interface among users. The SATA III interface is relatively recent and is not supported by all motherboards. Its appearance is largely due not to the increased needs of hard drives, but to the appearance of solid-state drives, which have several times the performance of hard drives. Nevertheless, it should be understood that in the near future all hard drives will have a SATA III interface. This interface is backwards compatible with the SATA II interface, so a user with an older controller will not feel any restrictions.

Popular hard drive interfaces are presented. Above is the IDE interface with a wide cable gray color, the following is the SATA interface with a narrow red cable --

External hard drives must be hot-pluggable, which interfaces provide to it. USB And eSATA. The most popular interface is the USB 2.0 data transfer interface. This interface is available on all modern computers, but it has a rather low performance. The performance of the USB 2.0 interface is often not enough to fully realize the high-speed potential of modern external hard drives, so the USB 3.0 interface was developed. The USB 3.0 interface is being actively implemented in modern motherboards, laptops and netbooks. Many external storage devices have appeared on the market with support for this interface, which provides data transfer at the level of 5 Gb / s. At the same time, the USB 3.0 interface is backward compatible with the USB 2.0 interface, but the user who takes advantage of this compatibility will noticeably lose in the performance of his external drive.

eSATA interface It has been on the computer hardware market for a long time. Many laptops, system units, motherboards are equipped with this interface. But, as a rule, this interface exists only in devices of a more expensive price segment, and its relatively low prevalence in the office environment has not led to the growth in popularity that awaits the new USB 3.0 interface.

P.S. In the scope of this article, we do not dwell on the server internal SAS and SCSI interfaces.

The amount of cache memory of the hard drive controller

HDD cache memory- This is the second parameter, after the data interface, which is evaluated at the hard disk controller. In this case, the statement is true: "The larger the amount of cache memory, the better." As the saying goes, "you can't spoil porridge with butter." Nevertheless, one should not think that the difference in performance level between two hard drives with 16 and 32 MB cache will differ by a factor of two or more. As a rule, this difference either does not exist at all, or it is in the range of 5-10%.

Soldered cache memory chips from Hynix on the hard drive controller. Image is clickable --

Performance Boost from extra megabytes of cache memory of the hard drive depends on the controller settings, the size of the hard drive, the type of data that you write to it. If you are reading large files, then a higher amount of cache memory will certainly speed up your work, but if these are ordinary music files of several megabytes, the increase will be minimal.

It should be noted that the user himself can help the controller to increase the efficiency of using the cache memory. To do this, you must regularly defragment the hosted data on your hard drive. During defragmentation, pieces of one file are collected into a single sequence, which makes it possible to more efficiently use the data read from the hard drive as a single block.

HDD spindle speed

Ferromagnetic hard disk platters strung on the motor spindle, which rotates them between the heads. The faster the spindle rotates, the more often the required surface of the insert falls under the head and the faster the user receives the requested data. To date, there are hard drives with a spindle speed:

- 5400 rpm. As a rule, these are mobile hard drives and desktop hard drives of large volumes. If for mobile hard drives this spindle speed is quite acceptable, then for a desktop hard drive it is low. Quite often, manufacturers talk about energy-saving technologies and want to sell copies with a given spindle speed at a much better price;

Top hard drive WD Raptor with a spindle speed of 15,000 rpm. Image is clickable --

- 7200 rpm. Given speed The rotation of the hard drive spindle is the "gold standard" for the desktop segment. Hard drives with this spindle speed are rare in the mobile segment, but almost every manufacturer offers its customers one or two copies of mobile hard drives with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm. These mobile hard drives have one clear advantage - high performance, but they have the following disadvantages: high noise level, high vibration level, high power consumption - which is not quite compatible with the functions of mobile laptops and netbooks;

- 10000 rpm and 15000 rpm. Advanced versions of devices for servers with SAS or SCSI interface, as well as Raptor hard drives from Western Digital, had this spindle speed. These hard drives had high performance, with a high level of heat and noise. Today, they are a thing of the past, as they were replaced by solid state drives, which have low heat dissipation, low power consumption, are absolutely silent and many times more productive than these "advanced" devices in the past.

Conclusion

I really hope that this article will be useful for many people interested in computers. The issue of choosing a hard drive is always the most acute, both when assembling an office computer and when assembling a gaming computer. In principle, we did not dwell on such server data transfer interfaces as SCSI and SAS. The demand for these controllers and hard drives is limited, it is unlikely that they will ever go down to the "user segment", so we consider it unnecessary to add information about them in this article.


A hard drive is needed to install the operating system, programs and store various user files (documents, photos, music, movies, etc.).

Hard drives differ in size, which determines the amount of data it can store, speed, which determines the performance of the entire computer, and reliability, which depends on its manufacturer.

Ordinary hard disk drives (HDD) are large in size, not high in speed, and are not expensive. Solid State Drives (SSDs) are the fastest, but they are smaller and much more expensive. An intermediate option between them are hybrid drives (SSHD), which have sufficient capacity, are faster than conventional HDDs and cost a little more.

Western Digital (WD) hard drives are considered the most reliable. The best SSD drives are produced by: Samsung, Intel, Crucial, SanDisk, Plextor. As more budget options, you can consider: A-DATA, Corsair, GoodRAM, WD, HyperX, since there are the least problems with them. And hybrid drives (SSHD) are produced mainly by Seagate.

For an office computer that is mainly used for working with documents and the Internet, a regular hard drive from the inexpensive WD Blue series with a capacity of up to 500 GB is sufficient. But 1 TB disks are optimal for today, since they are not much more expensive.

For a multimedia computer (video, simple games), it is better to use a 1 TB WD Blue drive as an additional one for storing files, and install a 120-128 GB SSD as the main one, which will significantly speed up the system and programs.

For a gaming computer, it is advisable to take an SSD with a capacity of 240-256 GB, it will be possible to install several games on it.
A-Data Ultimate SU650 240GB Hard Drive

For a more economical option for a multimedia or gaming PC, you can purchase one hybrid Seagate drive(SSHD) with a capacity of 1 TB, it is not as fast as an SSD, but still somewhat faster than a regular HDD.
Seagate FireCuda ST1000DX002 1TB Hard Drive

Well, for a powerful professional PC, in addition to an SSD (120-512 GB), you can take a fast and reliable WD Black hard drive of the required volume (1-4 GB).

I also recommend purchasing a quality external drive Transcend with USB 3.0 interface for 1-2 TB for the system and important files for you (documents, photos, videos, projects).
Hard Drive Transcend StoreJet 25M3 1TB

2. Disk types

Modern computers use both classic magnetic platter hard drives (HDDs) and faster solid-state drives based on memory chips (SSDs). There are also hybrid drives (SSHD), which are a symbiosis of HDD and SSD.

The hard disk drive (HDD) has a large capacity (1000-8000 GB), but low speed (120-140 MB/s). It can be used for both system installation and user file storage, which is the most economical option.

Solid state drives (SSDs) are relatively small (120-960 GB) but very fast (450-550 MB/s). They are much more expensive and are used to install the operating system and some programs to increase the speed of the computer.

A hybrid drive (SSHD) is simply a hard drive that has a small amount of faster memory added to it. For example, it might look like 1TB HDD + 8GB SSD.

3. Application of HDD, SSD and SSHD drives

For an office computer (documents, Internet), it is enough to install one regular hard disk drive (HDD).

For a multimedia computer (movies, simple games), in addition to the HDD, you can put a small SSD drive, which will make the system much faster and more responsive. As a compromise between speed and volume, we can consider installing one SSHD disk, which will be much cheaper.

For a powerful gaming or professional computer, the best option is to install two drives - an SSD for the operating system, programs, games and a regular hard drive for storing user files.

4. Physical dimensions of disks

Hard drives for desktop computers are 3.5 inches in size.

Solid state drives are 2.5 inches in size, just like laptop hard drives.

An SSD drive is installed in a regular computer using a special mount in the case or an additional adapter.

Do not forget to purchase it if it is not included with the drive and your case does not have special mounts for 2.5″ drives. But now almost all modern cases have mounts for SSD drives, which is indicated in the description as internal 2.5″ bays.

5. Hard Drive Connectors

All hard drives have an interface connector and a power connector.

5.1. interface connector

An interface connector is called a connector for connecting a disk to a motherboard using a special cable (loop).

Modern hard drives (HDDs) have a SATA3 connector that is fully compatible with older versions of SATA2 and SATA1. If your motherboard has old connectors, don't worry, a new hard drive can be connected to them and it will work.

But for an SSD drive, it is desirable that the motherboard has SATA3 connectors. If your motherboard has SATA2 connectors, then the SSD drive will work at half its speed (about 280 Mb / s), which, however, is still much faster than a regular HDD.

5.2. Power connector

Modern hard drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) have the same 15-pin SATA power connectors. If the disk is installed in a desktop computer, its power supply must have such a connector. If not, then you can use a Molex-SATA power adapter.

6. Volumes of hard drives

For each hard type disk, depending on its purpose, the amount of data that it can hold will be different.

6.1. Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Capacity for Computer

For a computer designed for typing and accessing the Internet, the smallest of modern hard drives is enough - 320-500 GB.

For a multimedia computer (video, music, photos, simple games) it is desirable to have a hard drive with a capacity of 1000 GB (1 TB).

A powerful gaming or professional computer may require a 2-4 TB drive (according to your needs).

Please note that the computer motherboard must support UEFI, otherwise the operating system will not see the entire disk capacity of more than 2 TB.

If you want to increase the speed of the system, but are not ready to spend money on an additional SSD drive, then as an alternative, you can consider purchasing a hybrid SSHD drive with a capacity of 1-2 TB.

6.2. Hard disk (HDD) capacity for a laptop

If the laptop is used as an addition to the main computer, then a 320-500 GB hard drive will be enough for it. If the laptop is used as the main computer, then it may require a 750-1000 GB hard drive (depending on the use of the laptop).
Hard Drive Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680 500GB

You can also install in a laptop SSD drive, which will significantly increase its speed and system responsiveness, or an SSHD hybrid drive, which is slightly faster than a regular HDD.
Seagate Laptop SSHD ST500LM021 500GB Hard Drive

It is important to consider what thickness of disks your laptop supports. Discs with a thickness of 7 mm will fit into any model, and 9 mm thick may not fit everywhere, although there are not many of these already produced.

6.3. Solid state drive (SSD) capacity

Since SSDs are not used for data storage, when determining their required capacity, you need to proceed from how much space the operating system installed on it will take up and whether you will install any other large programs and games on it.

Modern operating systems (Windows 7,8,10) require about 40 GB of space for their work and grow with updates. In addition, at least the main programs must be installed on the SSD, otherwise there will not be much sense from it. Well, for normal operation, the SSD should always have 15-30% free space.

For a multimedia computer (movies, simple games), the best option would be a 120-128 GB SSD, which will allow you to install several simple games on it in addition to the system and basic programs. Since the SSD is required not only to quickly open folders, it is rational to install the most powerful programs and games on it, which will speed up the speed of their work.

Heavy modern games take up a huge amount of space. Therefore, a powerful gaming computer requires a 240-512 GB SSD, depending on your budget.

For professional tasks such as editing high-quality video, or installing a dozen modern games, you need a 480-1024 GB SSD, again depending on the budget.

6.4. Data backup

When choosing a disk size, it is also desirable to take into account the need to create a backup copy of user files (video, photos, etc.) that will be stored on it. Otherwise, you risk losing everything that you have accumulated over the years in one moment. Therefore, it is often more expedient to purchase not one huge disk, but two smaller disks - one for work, the other (possibly external) for backing up files.

7. Basic parameters of disks

The main parameters of disks, which are often indicated in price lists, include the frequency of rotation of the spindle and the size of the memory buffer.

7.1. Spindle speed

The spindle has hard and hybrid disks based on magnetic platters (HDD, SSHD). Since SSDs are based on memory chips, they do not have a spindle. The speed of the hard drive spindle depends on the speed of its operation.

The hard drive spindle for desktop computers generally has a rotation speed of 7200 rpm. Sometimes there are models with a spindle speed of 5400 rpm, which are slower.

Laptop hard drives generally have a 5400 RPM spindle speed, which allows them to run quieter, run cooler, and consume less power.

7.2. Memory Buffer Size

A buffer is a hard drive cache based on memory chips. This buffer is designed to speed up the hard drive, but has a small impact (on the order of 5-10%).

Modern hard drives (HDD) have a buffer size of 32-128 MB. In principle, 32 MB is enough, but if the price difference is not significant, then you can take a hard drive with a larger buffer size. Optimally for today 64 MB.

8. Speed ​​characteristics of disks

Speed ​​characteristics common to HDD, SSHD and SSD drives include linear read/write speed and random access time.

8.1. Linear Reading Speed

Linear reading speed is the main parameter for any disk and dramatically affects the speed of its operation.

For modern hard drives and hybrid drives (HDD, SSHD), an average read speed of closer to 150 Mb/s is a good value. You should not buy hard drives with a speed of 100 Mb / s or less.

Solid State Drives (SSDs) are much faster and their read speed, depending on the model, is 160-560 MB/s. Optimal in terms of price / speed ratio are SSD drives with a read speed of 450-500 Mb / s.

As for downloading HDDs, sellers in their price lists usually do not indicate their speed parameters, but only the volume. Later in this article I will tell you how to find out these characteristics. With SSD drives, everything is easier, since their speed characteristics are always indicated in the price lists.

8.2. Linear write speed

This is a secondary parameter after the reading speed, which is usually indicated with it in pairs. For hard and hybrid drives (HDD, SSHD), the write speed is usually slightly lower than the read speed and is not considered when choosing a disk, since they are mainly guided by the read speed.

SSDs can have write speeds that are less than or equal to read speeds. In the price lists, these parameters are indicated through a slash (for example, 510/430), where a larger number means the read speed, a smaller one means the write speed.

For good fast SSDs, it is about 550/550 MB / s. But in general, the write speed affects the speed of the computer much less than the read speed. As a budget option, a slightly lower speed is allowed, but not lower than 450/350 Mb / s.

8.3. Access time

Access time is the second most important disk parameter after read/write speed. The access time affects the speed of reading/copying small files especially strongly. The lower this setting, the better. In addition, low access time indirectly indicates a higher quality of the hard disk (HDD).

A good hard disk drive (HDD) access time is 13-15 milliseconds. Values ​​in the range of 16-20 ms are considered a bad indicator. I will also tell you how to determine this parameter in this article.

As for SSD drives, their access time is 100 times less than that of HDD drives, so this parameter is not indicated anywhere and is not paid attention to.

Hybrid disk drives (SSHD) achieve lower access times than HDDs, which are comparable to SSDs, with additional built-in flash memory. But due to the limited amount of flash memory, a lower access time is only achieved when accessing the most frequently used files that have ended up in this flash memory. Usually this system files, which provides a faster computer boot speed and high system responsiveness, but does not drastically affect the operation of large programs and games, since they simply do not fit in the limited amount of fast SSHD memory.

9. Manufacturers of hard drives (HDD, SSHD)

The most popular hard drive manufacturers are as follows:

Seagate- produces some of the fastest drives today, but they are not considered the most reliable.

Western Digital (WD)- are considered the most reliable and have a convenient classification by color.

  • WD Blue- low cost general purpose discs
  • WD Green– quiet and economical (often switched off)
  • WD Black– fast and reliable
  • WD Red– for data storage systems (NAS)
  • WD Purple– for video surveillance systems
  • WD Gold- for servers
  • WD Re– for RAID arrays
  • WDSe– for scalable corporate systems

Blue - the most common drives, suitable for low-cost office and multimedia PCs. Black ones combine high speed and reliability, I recommend using them in powerful systems. The rest are designed for specific tasks.

In general, if you want cheaper and faster, then choose Seagate. If cheap and reliable - Hitachi. Fast and reliable - Western Digital from the black series.

Hybrid SSHD drives are now mainly produced by Seaagete and they are of good quality.

There are discs from other manufacturers on sale, but I recommend limiting yourself to the indicated brands, since there are fewer problems with them.

10. Manufacturers of Solid State Drives (SSDs)

Among the manufacturers of SSD drives, they have proven themselves well:

  • Samsung
  • Intel
  • Crucial
  • SanDisk
  • Plextor

More budget options include:

  • Corsair
  • GoodRAM
  • A-DATA (Premier Pro)
  • Kingston (HyperX)

11. SSD memory type

SSD drives can be built on different types of memory:

  • 3 D NAND– fast and durable
  • MLC- a good resource
  • V-NAND- average resource
  • TLC- low resource

12. Speed ​​of hard drives (HDD, SSHD)

We can find out all the parameters of SSDs we need, such as volume, speed and manufacturer, from the seller’s price list and then compare them by price.

The parameters of HDDs can be found by the model or batch number on the manufacturers' websites, but in fact it is quite difficult, since these catalogs are huge, have a lot of incomprehensible parameters, which are called differently by each manufacturer, also in English. Therefore, I offer you another method that I use myself.

There is a program for testing HDTune hard drives. It allows you to define parameters such as linear read speed and access time. There are many enthusiasts who conduct these tests and post the results on the Internet. In order to find the test results of a particular hard drive model, just enter in the search google images or Yandex number of its model, which is indicated in the seller's price list or on the disk itself in the store.

Here's what a picture with a disk test from the search looks like.

As you can see, this picture shows the average linear read speed and random access time, which we are interested in. Check only that the model number in the picture matches the model number of your drive.

In addition, according to the schedule, you can roughly determine the quality of the disk. An uneven schedule with large jumps and high access time indirectly indicate inaccurate low-quality disk mechanics.

A beautiful cyclical or simply uniform graph without big jumps, combined with a low access time, speaks of the exact high-quality mechanics of the disk.

Such a disc will work better, faster and last longer.

13. Optimal drive

So, what kind of disk or disk configuration to choose for a computer, depending on its purpose. In my opinion, the following configurations will be the most optimal.

  • office PC - HDD (320-500 GB)
  • entry-level multimedia PC - HDD (1 TB)
  • mid-range multimedia PC - SSD (120-128 GB) + HDD (1 TB) or SSHD (1 TB)
  • entry-level gaming PC - HDD (1 TB)
  • mid-range gaming PC - SSHD (1TB)
  • High end gaming PC – SSD (240-512GB) + HDD (1-2TB)
  • professional PC – SSD (480-1024 GB) + HDD/SSHD (2-4 TB)

14. The cost of HDD and SSD drives

In conclusion, I want to talk a little about the general principles for choosing between more or less expensive disk models.

The price of HDDs mostly depends on the capacity of the disk and slightly on the manufacturer (by 5-10%). Therefore, it is not advisable to save on the quality of HDDs. Get models from recommended manufacturers, albeit a little more expensive, as they will last longer.

The price of SSD drives, in addition to volume and speed, also depends heavily on the manufacturer. Here I can give a simple recommendation - choose the cheapest SSD drive from the list of recommended manufacturers that suits you in terms of volume and speed.

15. Links

Hard drive Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB
Hard drive Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB
A-Data Ultimate SU650 120GB Hard Drive