| The Hard Drive is the component of
a computer that serves as communication to the rest of the computer.
This is a very important component of the computer, so knowing
what to look for in a Hard Drive is important. This article will
help the reader learn more what to look for in a Hard Drive.
When getting a Hard Drive, you should first
learn about the technology. Would you rather get an IDE or SCSI?
IDE stands for Intelligent Drive Electronics that is a common
disk interface for hard drives. The IDE is easy to use but also
limited, only allows for 4 devices. The IDE is incorporated
with the motherboard.
SCSI is a faster option because it allows multi
tasking and takes a load of burden from the CPU. SCSI is rarely
used by home owners, but for people who really want the best,
SCSI is an option. If you have lots of devices to use SCSI is
also an option.
However, IDE has gotten closer to the speed
of SCSI. IDE is also cheaper.
If you have decided on getting IDE, there are
two options. There is a traditional IDE and the Serial ATA.
However, serial ATA can only be used by newer motherboards.
ATA has higher speeds and thinner cables.
If you always transfer data or files from one
computer to the other, using a Fire wire hard drives is suggestible.
In terms of speed, the rpm of the hard drive
is important to look at. Faster rpms spin the disk faster making
it faster to access the particular area of the disk. A suggestible
rpm to use is around 7200.
Access times are also important. The lower
the access time the better it is. It means that the hard drive
can access the particular area on the disc faster.
If you are getting the traditional IDE, get
the Ultra ATA or DMA rating. This means that the bus is capable
of transferring the data at a certain rate. To explain it further,
a combination of 4 IDE hard drives and ATA 33 can only transfer
33 MB/second.
If you decide to get SCSI, it will be more
complicated for you. They will be hard to define because each
company defines them differently. To make your life easier,
look for the number of pins the controller has.
A SCSI that has 68 pins already has wide capability.
If you get a 68 pin connector, look for the highest SCSI rating.
The next thing to consider is the amount of
cache on the drive. The usual cache memory is around 128kb to
512kb. SCSI has cache that could reach 16MB.
Another thing to consider aside from speed
is the amount of data the hard drive can hold. You would need
to look at the GB size of the drive. The newer hard drives always
start out at around 40 GB.
Hard drives are prone to failure, so it’s important
to look at the warranty. IDE’s should have 1-3 year warranty
and SCSI has 5 year warranties.
You may want to also get a hard drive with
cooling fans for hard drives that run faster and hotter.
|
