Last week, I discovered that one of my hard drives had crashed. (Fortunately, I did not have any business or personal data stored on that drive, only programs.) Then, the next day, the solid-state drive that I had been wanting went on sale at Amazon. I took it as a sign that it was time to buy a solid-state drive. In honor of my drive's arrival yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to do a tip on solid-state drives.
Traditional hard drives have a large aluminum or ceramic platter on which the data is stored. A small motor spins the platters at anywhere from 5,000-15,000 times per second while an arm flies all over the drive reading the data your computer is requesting. This type of drive is cheap to manufacture, but if only one of those moving parts fail, the drive is gone.
Solid-state drives (SSDs) solve the problem of moving parts. They contain flash-based memory instead of the traditional moving parts. This memory is faster and more reliable than the memory contained in your USB flash drives. It is also faster, more reliable, and less shock-resistant than the traditional hard drives that have populated our computers for decades.
SSDs are more expensive than a comparable size traditional hard drive. SSDs of over 250 GB are rare, but available. By contrast, we are quickly getting to the point where traditional hard drives are measured in Terabytes (1000 GB). SSDs can reach 1 TB capacity, but they are not common because of the cost.
Which drive is right for you depends on how you plan to use it. If you like to store or edit videos and photos, you will probably want the cheaper traditional hard drives. Traditional hard drives are also the best choice for those looking for cheaper computers. Solid-state drives are good for those looking for speed over storage capacity, and the high durability makes them beneficial for those who use computers while on the road. Solid-state drives are also good places like recording studios where noise must be kept to a minimum.
About 10 years ago, manufacturers realized they could improve performance by combining the high storage capacity of traditional drives with the speed of a solid state drive. These drives use a small amount of SSD storage to serve as a cache for a larger traditional hard drive. While the drives do improve performance, the gains are minimal compared to the additional cost.
Finally, if you have multiple drive bays (more likely on a desktop than a laptop), you can do what I am doing: install multiple drives. In my case, I will have two 400 GB traditional drives along with my 250 GB solid-state drive. This will allow for ample storage space while still giving me the quick boot and program performance of a solid-state drive.
If you are looking for my recommendation, I recommend sticking with a traditional hard drive unless you are seeking one of the benefits of a solid-state drive. As technology develops and more people become interested in solid-state drives, the price is likely to come down to a more affordable range. Unless you have a reason to buy one, it makes little sense to invest in a solid-state drive now only to see the price come down in the next year.
Showing posts with label Hard Drive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hard Drive. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
What to Look For: Hard Drive
The amount of hard drive space you will need in your computer is probably the most difficult topic to address when assisting with purchasing a new computer. The hard drive is where everything in your computer is stored. When you shut off your computer, the data in the rest of your devices is cleared and transferred to your hard drive. In our office analogy, we said the hard drive was like the desk drawer or file cabinet. It is where the papers are put away for safe keeping until the next time the employee is at the desk.
The amount of space you need is dependent on what you plan to do with your computer more than the computer itself. Drives today can range from 80 Gigabytes all the way to 2 or 3 Terabytes (1 Terabyte is approximately 1000 Gigabytes).
The best way to address this issue is to look at the amount of space your data currently uses. To do this, go to the "My Computer" window in Windows XP or Vista, the "Computer" window in Windows 7, or the "This PC" window in Windows 8. (In XP, Vista, and 7, you can access these options from the start menu. In Windows 8, you will need to open File Explorer from the start screen or the taskbar.
From there, right click on the drive that contains your data. (It is usually the C: drive.) In the menu that comes up, select properties. You should see a pie graph in the center of the Properties window that will show you how much free space you have remaining on your drive. Just above the pie graph, you should see the data for free space and used space on your hard drive. This will show you approximately how much space you need for your <u>current</u> data.
However, you will obviously want to make sure that you leave ample room for new files and data. For this reason, I recommend that you double the amount of space you are currently using to determine the minimum size you should consider. Looking at my primary computer, I am currently using 108 GB of space on my drive. Therefore, using my rule of thumb, I would not consider anything less than 216 GB if I were looking for a new computer. Most computers today will come with much more, and having extra space will do little harm.
If you are planning to use your computer differently (for example, you are considering a career in photography or video production), your storage needs may change. In this case, it would be best to speak with someone already in that field who can advise you on how much space you will need to start. The hard drive is the easiest part of the computer to upgrade on desktops and laptops (tablets and smartphones are much more difficult), and you can also add more space through external hard drives and flash drives.
One final note about hard drives: there is a new type of drive on the market called a solid state drive. Traditional hard drives are prone to failure because they have many moving parts. Solid state drives do not have moving parts, so they are less prone to failure and they also work quicker. However, solid state drives cost a lot more than a traditional hard drive of the same capacity. (A 250 GB traditional drive will cost in the range of $30-$40, while a 250 GB solid state drive may cost $150-$200.) At this time, I would only recommend a solid state drive in a few special circumstances.
My Recommendations:
I do not have a specific recommendation for hard drive size because it is more dependent on your computer usage. For phones and tablets, you are usually stuck with the size chip that they install at the factory, but most Android devices can usually be expanded with a MicroSD card.
For laptops and desktops, I would recommend a hard drive size a least 2-3 times the current space of your data. Since traditional hard drives are relatively inexpensive, extra unused space will not be hard on your wallet.
The amount of space you need is dependent on what you plan to do with your computer more than the computer itself. Drives today can range from 80 Gigabytes all the way to 2 or 3 Terabytes (1 Terabyte is approximately 1000 Gigabytes).
The best way to address this issue is to look at the amount of space your data currently uses. To do this, go to the "My Computer" window in Windows XP or Vista, the "Computer" window in Windows 7, or the "This PC" window in Windows 8. (In XP, Vista, and 7, you can access these options from the start menu. In Windows 8, you will need to open File Explorer from the start screen or the taskbar.
From there, right click on the drive that contains your data. (It is usually the C: drive.) In the menu that comes up, select properties. You should see a pie graph in the center of the Properties window that will show you how much free space you have remaining on your drive. Just above the pie graph, you should see the data for free space and used space on your hard drive. This will show you approximately how much space you need for your <u>current</u> data.
However, you will obviously want to make sure that you leave ample room for new files and data. For this reason, I recommend that you double the amount of space you are currently using to determine the minimum size you should consider. Looking at my primary computer, I am currently using 108 GB of space on my drive. Therefore, using my rule of thumb, I would not consider anything less than 216 GB if I were looking for a new computer. Most computers today will come with much more, and having extra space will do little harm.
If you are planning to use your computer differently (for example, you are considering a career in photography or video production), your storage needs may change. In this case, it would be best to speak with someone already in that field who can advise you on how much space you will need to start. The hard drive is the easiest part of the computer to upgrade on desktops and laptops (tablets and smartphones are much more difficult), and you can also add more space through external hard drives and flash drives.
One final note about hard drives: there is a new type of drive on the market called a solid state drive. Traditional hard drives are prone to failure because they have many moving parts. Solid state drives do not have moving parts, so they are less prone to failure and they also work quicker. However, solid state drives cost a lot more than a traditional hard drive of the same capacity. (A 250 GB traditional drive will cost in the range of $30-$40, while a 250 GB solid state drive may cost $150-$200.) At this time, I would only recommend a solid state drive in a few special circumstances.
My Recommendations:
I do not have a specific recommendation for hard drive size because it is more dependent on your computer usage. For phones and tablets, you are usually stuck with the size chip that they install at the factory, but most Android devices can usually be expanded with a MicroSD card.
For laptops and desktops, I would recommend a hard drive size a least 2-3 times the current space of your data. Since traditional hard drives are relatively inexpensive, extra unused space will not be hard on your wallet.
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