Hardware Information |
Hard Drive Selection
Perhaps the biggest mistake people make when building their computer(s) is to underestimate the importance of the hard disk drive (HDD). In our modern society, bigger is synonymous with better, so when you go to buy a hard drive you look at how "big" it is, its data capacity. But is that all you should be considering when buying your hard drive? Like every other component of your computer, the HDD is far too complex a system to describe in any sort of detail here, but hopefully by the end of this article you will know what to look for when you go to buy your new hard drive. There are 4 primary aspects to look at in a hard drive (in order of importance): Rotational frequency has become a large selling point (5400/7200/10000/15000RPM) recently, so you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding out what the rotational frequency of your HDD is when you go to buy it. Now of course the faster it spins, the faster it can read from the disk (there are other advantages also), but be aware that the faster it spins, the more wear is put on the drive, and the more likely it is to encounter errors and malfunctions later in life. Hard drives are pretty much the only systems within your computer that have moving parts (CD-ROM, floppy disk drives, and fans also have moving parts, but they're all cheap and if they break you won't lose all the data you've accumulated over the course of owning your computer, be sure to back up your data regularly!). If you know anything about physics or engineering, then you know that moving parts produce friction and wear, and a faster spinning platter (the part that holds the data and spins) means more friction, and therefore more wear on your drive. Of course the faster it spins the faster it can read data from the platter. So what can you do? well again you backup your data as much as possible and you get the fastest spinning drive money can buy (which is 7200RPM for ATA devices (the sort you are buying) and 15000RPM for SCSI and some Serial ATA devices (you might get Serial ATA, that depends on your motherboard)). So look for a "7200RPM" label on the drive you're thinking of getting, it's important! The "buffer" I'm referring to is the transfer buffer that temporarily stores data to read from or write to the hard drive. The reason for this is that the bus (data channel between the hard drive and the motherboard) can only handle so much information at a time, and it takes a long time for the data to be found and retrieved from a platter (random seek time), so it takes a big chunk of the requested data and stores it in a very fast data buffer to be sent at the bus's convenience. So with a larger buffer you can queue more data for transfer over the bus without having to keep sending requests to slowly find more data from the platters. Some newer drives come with as much as 8MB of buffer capacity, but it is more common to see 2 or 4MB. Usually a drive with a large amount will use that as a selling point and print it on the box/website, otherwise you can assume it has a 2/4MB buffer. My advice is to find one with as much as you can afford. Now for the transfer rates you're going to need to do some searching, the best way to find these numbers is to go to the manufacturer's website and look at specification sheet for the model you're looking to buy (actually this is the best way to get all the information I've talked about so far). One thing to look out for is that you may read something that says 133MB/s or ATA/133 or SATA150 or 150MB/s, and these are not the numbers you are looking for, those numbers describe the bus connecting the hard drive to the motherboard, and are theoretical peak numbers, which tell us virtually nothing. Also, if you are buying a Maxtor, don't bother looking up actual transfer rates, as Maxtor is apparently afraid to release such information. Not to say Maxtor's are bad drives, actually Maxtor has risen to the top in terms of technical support and they are much more willing to replace broken drives than some other companies, which is important since some ridiculously large amount (something like 10 or 15%) of hard drives are either dead on arrival or die within the first few weeks of use. As with the last two points, when looking at transfer speeds (if you can find them) always try to pick the one with the highest numbers you can afford. Notice that the first three of the 4 major aspects were all speed related? That was done intentionally to give you a sense of the importance of speed in the hard drive, because they are very very slow creatures, and for your gaming experience you don't need an enormous hard drive so much as a fast one. To increase speed substantially more you can set up a RAID, which is a network of hard drives which (in RAID0 mode) share portions of the same data, such that accessing data takes 1/n time (n = number of hard drives attached) compared to 1 hard drive. To do this you really need a hardware RAID chipset, which are commonly included on higher-end mainboards. Finally, capacity is an unnecessary nicety. The smallest hard drives you can buy today that are still within those higher speed classes are all about 30GB, which is more than enough for your games. But since games are not everything, and if you happen to be an iTunes member or like to download anime then you will really want some extra space. So I would recommend getting something between 60 and 120GB, any more and you're going to be paying through your teeth, any less and you might be looking to buy a supplementary hard drive in a couple years. And, oh yeah, 300GB hard drives from Maxtor are out, but they are comparatively slow, so I wouldn't recommend getting one for gaming, I like to stick to single platter drives (40-100GB usually), as they produce less heat and are less likely to break down on me. That is really all you need to know in order to make a good choice when upgrading your hard drive or buying one for a new computer. Of course there are many other resources on the web if you would like more detail on the inner working of hard drives. About The Author J A Carpunky http://www.computer-gaming-system.com - visit our website for further information.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Shop for Inkjet Printer Cartridges Keeping Shipping Costs DownWhen shopping for inkjet printer cartridges online keep in mind that postage can add significantly to the cost of a single inkjet cartridge. In some cases the cost of postage can be as much as the cost of the inkjet printer cartridge effectively doubling the price you pay. Can I Use My Old Ink With My New Printer? The quick answer is.. Motherboard Basics A recent Tech Tip covered the basics of selecting a computer case and made mention of the various sizes that correspond to motherboards of different form factors. A few people wrote in expressing interest in understanding more about the basics of motherboards, and that's exactly what this Tech Tip intends to address. Your Hard Drive is Going to Explode - Why a UPS is Essential It's most peoples worst computing nightmare. You wake up in the morning, flip on the computer, and it doesn't boot. Review of Logitech Computer Speakers When it comes to computer speaker systems, you have a lot of choice. However, there are simply some brands that stand way out in terms of sound quality and dependability, and one of those brands is certainly Logitech. TiVo: An Introduction for the Few Who Dont Know Yet TiVo will change your life.. A Review of Refurbished HP Laptops HP refurbished laptops can be found on their website hpshopping.com. How to Get the Case Off Your PC! This is the first step to servicing, upgrading or removing PC hardware from your PC. Refer to my other articles on adding, upgading or removing just about any piece of hardware. Emergency Response VSAT Internet Communications As 2005 begins, there are a number of products on the market which enable Emergency Response Units to have internet connectivity at remote disaster locations. The products marketed this year mount on vehicles from Fire Rescue units to most any type of truck or van, on specially designed trailers utilizing portable generators and in transportable boxes which can be shipped by UPS or Fed X overnight to most any location in the U. ESR Meter - The Capabilities To Check Beyond Electrolytic Capacitor There is something good about esr meter because besides electrolytic capacitor it can be use to measure other type of capacitors such as the non polarity capacitor. From esr meter specification, it is usually mentioned only checking the electrolytic type. RFID for Beginners RFID technology is used frequently today and has been around since the 1920s, but not many people know about, or understand it. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and is used to store and retrieve information. LCD Monitors: A Catching-On Technology If you've been in the market for a new computer monitor fairly recently, you might have noticed just how many more LCD monitors you see in the stores now.It's obvious that the main benefit that's being pushed about computer LCD monitors is that they're flat, and you can put them almost anywhere, but you might be curious about just what you're giving up by going LCD. Inexpensive Radius Server Gives Wireless Networks The Security They Need Many small businesses have considered connecting computers and other devices to their corporate network via wireless (WiFi) connections, and a brave few have actually done so. Many of these early networks required that wireless devices be carefully placed within the building so that the wireless signal reached all intended recipients. 5 Tips For Buying The Right Laptop Computer It's easy to be intimidated by all the laptop models on the market today. There are literally dozens and dozens in every price range. Testing Flyback Transformer - How to Test and When to Replace It Nowadays, more and more monitor comes in with flyback transformers problems. Testing flyback transformers arenot difficult if you carefully follow the instruction. Bluetooth Basics - Bluetooth Technology Tutorial Bluetooth BasicsBluetooth technology is nothing new, but in many respects it still seems to be more of a buzz word rather than a well understood, commonly accepted technology. You see advertisements for Bluetooth enabled cell phones, PDAs, and laptops, and a search of the Geeks. Just The Fax, M'am For years, I smugly prided myself as a non-fax machine person. I felt it beneath my dignity to own such a technical contraption. Printer Ink Cartridges - The History You are working at your computer and trying to print out important documents and all at once you find you are out of ink. Years ago that would have presented a big problem. Got The Message that You Need New Ink Cartridges? We all know what it is like when that message flashes on the computer screen as you are printing off an important document. Your ink cartridge is low, replace soon! But, do you know what type of ink cartridges your printer needs? Do you know where to find ink cartridges to replace those? Is this going to be a long, difficult search that will cost you dearly? You don't have to dread that message at all. What is ESR Meter? All capacitors have a certain amount of resistance to the passage of AC current. ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) is the sum of all internal resistances of a capacitor measured in Ohms. |
home | site map | Contact Us |