Choose a hard drive for your computer

Winchester for a computer is a device, without which a complete work with the computer system is impossible. Even the compromise solutions that involve replacing the local hard drive with network resources are much inferior to the convenience of the system with the connected Hard Drive Disk (HDD). In modern computer stores you can buy any necessary component, but how not to make a mistake when choosing? Today we'll look at how to choose a hard drive for your computer.

Design performance

Currently, the most common are two modifications of hard drives: with a chassis size of 3.5 and 2.5 inches. The latter, as a rule, are solutions for portable computers: they are smaller, lighter, have lower energy consumption and are theoretically more reliable. Their disadvantage is the high cost compared to 3.5-inch models. In addition, hard disks can be external devices that are connected to the computer via USB, as well as classic internal ones. So, if you need an additional hard drive for your computer, you should think about an external solution. As the main (working) only the internal model is suitable.

Available disk space

How much to buy a hard drive for a computer? This is one of the "sick" questions that the consultants ask buyers. There are two points of view regarding this problem. The first one suggests that before buying, you need to analyze how much free space is required to work with the main programs used, and to the resulting value add 20-30%. For example, if you plan to install the operating system Win 8, then you need at least 20 GB + the same number for auxiliary applications. If you use a computer for games, you'll need at least 100 GB. Office applications, work with graphics - they have their own requirements for volume. The second point of view is to choose such a hard drive for a computer, the price of which is the most optimal when converted to gigabytes. Suppose that the 320 GB model costs $ 47, the more spacious HDD of the same company at 500 GB will cost the buyer already at $ 62, and 1 TB of the hard drive costs $ 75. Now you need to divide the cost into volume. We obtain 0.14, 0.12, and 0.075, respectively. Obviously, the most expensive choice is a hard drive with a smaller volume, and it is clear that with the increase in disk space the price drops.

Interface

When choosing it is very important to consider the type of bus implemented in the motherboard of the computer. At the moment in the mass models there are two of them: an outdated IDE (PATA) and a new SATA. The first one has already been discontinued, so purchasing an IDE hard drive is not always advisable, if necessary, it is more reasonable to use converter adapters. Knowing the type of bus, it is easy to understand how to connect the hard drive to the computer. A wide cable is designed for IDE devices: on the HDD, you need to put a jumper in the CS (Cable Select), then connect the connector of the cable to the motherboard, and the other side to the hard drive. It is impossible to make a mistake, since there is a groove on the connectors, and a guide rail is on the plugs. Enabling SATA is even simpler: one side connects a narrow wire-loop to the HDD, and the other to a suitable connector on the board. It also provides protection against erroneous switching. It remains to attach power to the device (if there are two connectors - old and new, then select any one) and turn on the computer.

Performance

The speed of data transfer affects a number of parameters. One of the most important - the speed of rotation of disks inside the device. Standard values are three: 5400, 7200 and 10,000 rpm. There are models that automatically adjust this speed depending on the type of load. The higher it is, the more usually the hard drive is more productive.