| |
| |
|
Hardware Information |
|
|
|
How to Choose a New Hard Drive for Your Computer
If you are running out of space on your computer or find that programs load a little slow, or that big files take a long time to open, it may be time for a new hard drive. Making a more careful decision about the hard drive can mean a much longer working life for the hard drive. Better reliability, allowing the hard drive to run for many years without mechanical failures or the worst of all, losing your precious data to errors on the drive. Obviously the main thing that people think about when getting a new drive is size. Although a 400GB drive sounds great, there are very few people who actually use this much space. Only if you save DVD movies to your hard drive, or if you do serious amounts of video editing will you need this much space. The smallest size drives available today are about 40GB and will suffice for all your needs. However if you want the latest technologies, bigger sizes are inevitable. Over the years the speed at which hard drives work has increased. One of the main technologies to improve is the connection between the hard drive and the rest of the computer. It passes the information back and forth from the hard drive, the faster it is the faster information can be passed, and so speeding up the programs you use and the files you use. There are 2 main varieties for this connection: The old IDE kind, which comes in 4 flavors: ATA33, ATA66, ATA100 and ATA133, each number corresponding to the transfer rate in MB/s, the bigger the faster. This type is pretty standard. If your computer is older, you may only be able to use this kind, and depending how old will determine which speed. SATA is a newer kind. It uses a different cable and allows much faster information transfer. The slower kind is 150MB/s and the faster is 300MB/s, so they are much faster than IDE. A newer technology called Native Command Queuing (NCQ) speeds up how fast things are found and done on the hard drive. Just briefly, it orders the read and write commands given to it in such as way as to get the tasks done quicker and with less delay. Drives are most often separated by their size and this is a big factor in the pricing of a drive. The smallest drives today are around 40GB, you can get a little smaller, but no point really. The largest of 400GB will be enough for a really long time. The other thing that affects pricing is the rotation speed, which is the speed at which the big disk spins inside the disk drive. The faster it spins the faster information gets found. Look for rotation speeds of 7200RPM as standard and 10000 for the fast end. With all of this it may be hard to decide, but here are my suggestions. For a main drive, which has your Windows and programs on it, go for something faster, but bear in mind that even for me my ATA66 drive is fast enough for my uses. But a faster one will speed up how fast your programs go. It might be a good idea just to go for one big, fast drive. Brand name drives are often worth getting, as manufacturers like Seagate, Maxtor and Western Digital are well known for long lasting quality products, which will not make any difference in the short term usually, but will pay off with long life and reliability. If you want or need two drives the second one can sacrifice speed for size, as that's what's most often needed for a second drive, which usually stores all your information. You should now have enough to make a smart choice in your next hard drive purchase. A good one can be kept for a very long time and minimize any hassles in the future. Peter Stewart is a computer enthusiast, his interest in computers and focus on practicle down to earth advice inspired his two websites. http://www.computer-buying-guide.com - Practical buying tips http://www.computer-reviews.net - Fair and honest reviews and opinions
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Drop On Demand Printers Most HP and Epson printers are drop on demand printers. They use electrical pulses to fulfill requests for ink. Buying Laser Toner Cartridges Compatible Laser Toner CartridgesRecently, there has been a huge legal and investigative battle with people selling "compatible" laser toner cartridges. Often, a distributor will sell their defective, ineffective, or even damaging laser toner cartridges to unsuspecting resellers. Used Laptop Computer: Your Quick Purchase Inspection Guide - Part 2 Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you sift through the mass of available used laptop computers to narrow your search down to the right laptop for you? This is the second part of a series of articles designed to give you a few suggestions for your next purchase. Printers: What Really Happens When You Hit "Print" You just poured hours upon hours into a lengthy research paper. All that's left to do is print it out. Quality Recovery and Rework - When It All Goes Wrong When Quality is the Target, but not the Result, what do you do?While Quality may be the overarching goal of all production, stuff happens, resulting in non-conforming parts. This results in failure verification, rework, recalls, sorting, kitting, retest, relabeling and pipeline management, which are facts of life in the manufacturing, assembly and production world we live in. DVD Media DVD is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for storing data, including movies with high video and sound quality. DVDs resemble compact discs: their physical dimensions are the same-12cm or the mini 8cm-but they are encoded in a different format and at a much higher density. How to Avoid Getting Ripped-Off When You Purchase A New Printer It's no big secret that printer companies like HP and Brother are marketing their printers with the cost of refilling the cartridges in mind. Just the other week my family and I were at our hometown Wal-Mart and we were amazed at the price of a new printer. 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. Buying Cheap Refurbished Laptops When comparing refurbished laptop models, ask about these specifications:Central Processing Unit: The CPU or processor is the heart of the computer. The more software you want in your refurbished laptop, the more powerful the processor has to be. Printer Cartridge Economics -- Four Ways To Make Your Ink Last Longer Printer cartridge overheads can be a major expense for any busy office -- and even if you're working at home, it's important to factor in the amount you spend on your printer ink when assessing the cost of running a home-based business. And what you spent on that bargain-priced printer may turn out to be only a fraction of what you pay annually in printer supplies. How To Choose A Computer Case Things to Consider When Choosing a Computer CaseIn the past, computer cases were all very similar? Clones of the same boring, beige box. With all of the choices available today, this is no longer the 'case', and people can use their systems' chassis as a means to express themselves and to set their system apart from the rest. How To Buy A Printer That Won't Break The Bank OK I confess I've bought at least 10 inkjet printers in the last 5 years and finally found one that I really like. I'm not going to mention the brand here but I will tell you what the must have features are for me. How To Buy The Perfect Student Laptop If you are like most student's, money isn't exactly growing on trees. Choosing the right laptop can be a matter of saving yourself a lot of heartache and money at the same time. To Upgrade or Not? To upgrade or not? That is the question. At least, since the release of the new Athlon 64 FX-57, that is the question I have been pondering. Looking for Information on CD Duplication and Replication? Time is one of the most important things we have that we are always short on. One way to maximize your time is to have the most up to date technology available. Expansion Cards Part 2: AGP Expansion Cards Part 2: AGPThe first in this series of Tech Tips on expansion cards took a look at the PCI slot, and the variety of devices that may find their home in one. Graphics cards are one of the many items that may be used in a PCI slot, but the demands of fast-paced video games require more speed and greater bandwidth than the PCI Bus can provide. Used Laptop Computer: Your Quick Purchase Inspection Guide - Part 3 Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you sift through the mass of available used laptop computers to narrow your search down to the right laptop for you? This is the third part of a series of articles designed to give you a few suggestions for your next purchase. Laptop Computers and the PVP Effect! Roll over lumbering desktop computers, the limber laptop is here, and it's here to stay! For a while now notebooks have outstripped their ageing desktop PC siblings, easily winning the gold medal in the computer sales olympics. We will illustrate how the PVP effect has contributed greatly to the increase in popularity of notebook computers. Give Your PC a Monitor Makeover Whether you are crunching figures at a front office job or crouched over a blood and gore video game in some deep recess of your room, there is the right kind of screen available to suit your needs.Monitors are one segment where you are truly spoilt for choice. Computer Network Installation Computer network installation has become an essential prerequisite for any efficient modern-day business as it allows employees to truly work as a team by sharing information, accessing the same database and staying in touch constantly. For a computer network to give the best results, a lot of detailed planning and foresight is required before installation.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
