What are the hard drives. What is a hard drive? SATA - plug.

Railway ( hDD, HDD) is a PC component designed to store information. In we touched on the topic of railway, today we will talk specifically about each type of drive.

1. So, the first view is the HDD.
  This type of hard drive is the cheapest option, it is noisy. By the speed of reading and writing data, it can be put in 3rd place. Not shockproof, in case of breakdown it is possible to “pull out” the data stored on it.

There are two types of railway: internal and external. External railways are more resistant to shocks, temperature changes, differ in interface. In addition, they are divided into user and server, they differ in the amount of space for storing information.

2. The next type of hard drive is SSD.
  Compared to HDD, this type of HDD is not afraid of shock, it works almost silently, fast-acting. The main disadvantage is that when a failure occurs, the data stored on it cannot be pulled out. At the same time, its price is much higher.

Another feature is the economical power consumption, which in SSDs is lower than usual from 40-60%. SSD does not need to be formatted, the OS must be TRIM-enabled. And one more main rule, you do not need to clog the SSD to the limit.

3. H-HDD. This is another kind of storage drive, which is used very rarely. This disk model is a hybrid of their HDD and SSD. As for memory, compared to SSD it is more than 2 times. By appearance  similar to HDD.


In addition, there are also external HDDs that connect via USB2.0 and 3.0. Their price depends on the amount of memory: 128, 250, 500GB, 1TB, etc. Shockproof, good information transfer rate. Convenience, you can take with you.

For a desktop computer, it is better to choose HDD or SSD. For laptop and netbook, I recommend SSD either portable hard  disk. The choice is naturally up to you.

A laptop has long replaced many of us personal Computer. This device greatly expands the capabilities of man. And it is not at all necessary that he will occupy a static position in the apartment. He can become a real companion on the road, or he can be taken with him to work, and on a business trip. Working with such a device is a pleasure. Sometimes you need to buy good hard drive for laptop. The modern market offers many varieties of such devices. It is about how to choose a good hard drive for a laptop, we will talk in our article today. This technique aims to expand the capabilities of existing equipment. In fact, the selection process itself is not much different from choosing a drive for a personal desktop computer, but there are several nuances.

A type

There are two types of modern hard drives. Below we will talk how they differ from each other and what their price depends on. Also, how to choose both options.

Internal drive

Internal disk - located directly in the laptop itself. This is convenient, but its volume is limited by the size of the drive bay.

External drive

The external drive is connected to the laptop using a cable to one of the external connectors - USB 2.0, USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire. The memory capacity of external drives can reach large values, but in terms of mobility, this form factor is inferior to the built-in convenience. It is better to buy an external hard drive with an increasingly popular connector - USB 3.0.

Form factor

In laptops are used exclusively hard disks  2.5 inches in size. And 3.5 inch drives are used for desktop computers, servers, media players and other devices. But, almost never for laptops.

Thickness


At choosing hard  drive for a laptop be sure to pay attention to its thickness. These devices use 2.5 inch hard drives with a thickness of 15, 9.5 and 7 mm. If the disk is thicker than the memory compartment, you simply cannot insert it there. If it is thinner than intended, it will stagger, and eventually fail. Therefore, before buying, remember the required thickness.

Memory size

Of course, the person who decided to purchase a cool hard drive for a laptop, first of all looks at its volume. This parameter is fundamental. If a collection of films will be stored on it, it is better to buy a larger copy. 1 terabyte will be enough. For those who use the laptop solely to sit on the Internet or fill out text documents, this volume will be too much. Overpaying in this case is not worth it. It is better to purchase a budget hard drive for a laptop. He will do his job well. Photos and video files can be stored on a separate device connected via USB.

Cache size

Modern disks come with a cache, the volume - 16, 32 and 64 MB. Cache is a temporary data storage used during operation. hard drive. The larger the cache, the faster the information will be processed, especially for small files.

Data reading speed


Be sure to look at this parameter. Everything is quite simple here - the higher the reading speed, the faster the operating system and other applications installed on the computer will load. Today, this option is especially important for powerful gaming laptops. If you have a budget version of the computer, then you should not pay close attention to this parameter, since the system will still not work fast enough.

Connection interface


Be sure to pay attention to which connector you need to connect the drive to motherboard, SAS or SAS \\ \u200b\u200bSATA. Although there are hard drives with SAS and a SATA interface on sale, laptops use only the SATA interface. Well, the SAS interface is used only on servers.

Manufacturer

Currently, the highest quality products are produced by companies - Hitachi, Seagate and Western Digital. Unlike others, the products of these companies have proven their high reliability. for SSD the best  are products of firms - Intel, Samsung, Kingston and OCZ.

Types of laptop hard drives


As for the types of hard drives for a laptop, there are three.

Classical

Magnetic HDD got its name thanks to the plates on which information is recorded. Classic options that are based on HDD technology have several advantages. The most important thing is that it has a low cost. You can also note a very large capacity of such devices. This device also has its drawbacks. The most tangible can be called low resistance to mechanical stress, noise and overheating. As a result of even the smallest contact, the hard drive may be damaged, and all the data stored on it is lost. A laptop is a compact device. That is why HDD technology has not taken root here.

SSD drive


Today, an SSD is considered a more popular model. it best hard drive for the laptop, which was invented to date. It has become a real full-fledged replacement for a fragile HDD. Such models are solid state, that is, there is no need to talk about any magnetic media. The main storage medium on such hard drives is flash memory. It is characterized by a high degree of resistance to mechanical stress. By the way, temperature changes to such hard drives are also not scary. The structure of the flash memory is such that it allows you to record much faster than the HDD does. This is ideal for any mobile device. They do not produce any extraneous noise during operation, in addition, the energy class of these drives is much lower. They will allow you to hold the battery longer, which is important if the laptop is used regularly on the road or at work. This device, of course, has its drawbacks. The most important thing is the high cost of such memory. Some models may be superior to their older counterparts working on HDD recording technology by an order of magnitude. Do not forget about another drawback of such popular laptop hard drives, which is the ability to record only a limited amount of information. This is due to the structure of the device itself. Flash memory, unfortunately, has not yet gained the necessary volume characteristics, but leading engineers are already developing in this direction.

Hybrid

All the advantages of the two above models were combined in hybrid hard drives for a laptop. Here it is worth talking about the high speed of reading information, and about a relatively low cost. For example, the SSD option will cost much more. The principle of operation of such a device is quite simple. First, the data is recorded on the HDD, and the information that is accessed more often is transferred to the SSD medium. Here is such an interesting device that intelligently increases the processing speed of any request. Here the flash memory acts as a kind of buffer, which serves to temporarily store information. At the same time, the drive itself is at rest, that is, it does not make any extra sounds, and does not consume excess energy. The operating system itself also starts to run much faster. It is loaded exclusively from flash memory. As we noted earlier, it has a higher speed. When it comes to recording large amounts of information, they are recorded on the hard drive itself. A distinctive feature of this model is its intelligent system, which allows itself to determine what information should be entered on magnetic carrier, and what is the place on the flash memory. This is perhaps the best laptop hard drive to date.

The rating of hard drives for a laptop in 2016

So, dear readers, we have figured out how to choose a hard drive for a laptop. It was told about the three main technologies that modern devices of this type rely on. And now we bring to your attention a small rating of the best hard drives for a laptop in 2016, an average price category, based on the opinions of experts.

Seagate ST500LM021

Laptop HDD - Seagate ST500LM021 from the 3rd generation of the company - Laptop Thin HDD has a thickness of 7 mm and a form factor of 2.5 inches. With a volume of 500 GB, the hard drive has 32 MB of buffer memory, and the rotation speed is 7200 rpm. The disk is connected via a SATA connector, which has a data transfer rate of 6 Gbit per second. The drive supports technology - Seagate SmartAlign, which allows you to use advanced formatting methods without the use of additional software. The high speed of rotation of the disk with a small thickness of the hard drive will interest owners of thin laptops who want to buy an inexpensive HDD-drive.

Toshiba MQ01ABF050


Laptop HDD - Toshiba MQ01ABF050 has a 2.5-inch form factor, 7 mm thickness, and support for 4 KB sectors. With a volume of 500 GB, the hard drive has 8 MB of buffer memory, and the rotation speed is 5400 rpm. It is equipped with 2 heads and one plate. The disk is connected via a SATA connector, which has a data transfer rate of 6 Gbit per second. Hybrid drive has a high speed solid state drive and low price magnetic disk.

HGST HTS721010A9E630

Laptop HDD - HGST HTS721010A9E630 has a form factor of 2.5 inches, a thickness of 9.5 mm, and support for sectors with a size of 4 KB. With a volume of 1000 GB, the hard drive has 32 MB of buffer memory, and the rotation speed is 7200 rpm. The disk is connected via a SATA connector, which has a data transfer rate of 6 Gbit per second. Hybrid drive has a high speed solid state drive and low price magnetic disk. Winchester received an internal data transfer rate of 1284 Mbps, and is intended for mobile devices of the widest application. The disadvantage of a relatively thick disk is the inability to install it in an ultra-thin laptop. And the traditional powerful plus is the affordable price.

Transcend TS1TSJ25M3


Hard external HDD  for a laptop - Transcend TS1TSJ25M3 has a form factor of 2.5 inches and is powered by 2 USB. With a volume of 1000 GB, the hard drive has 8 MB of buffer memory, and the rotation speed is 5400 rpm. The disk is connected via a USB 3.0 connector, which has a data transfer speed of 500 Mb / s. The dimensions of the device are 82.4 by 20.4 by 129.5 mm, weight - 216 g. On the front side there is a button to start automatic data archiving using proprietary software - Transcend Elite. Using this software, you can encrypt stored information with the AES algorithm. The drive is equipped with three-level protection against vibration and shock, which complies with the US Department of Defense standard. The device has auto mode  energy saving, included when more than 10 minutes of inactivity.

Samsung HM100JC


Quiet and reliable hard disk drive for laptop - Samsung HM100JC has a 2.5-inch form factor. With a volume of 100 GB of hard drive line-up, the SpinPoint M60 has 8 MB of buffer memory and a rotation speed of 5400 rpm. The disk is connected via an IDE connector, which has a data transfer rate of 100 Mb / s. It is equipped with 4 heads and 2 plates. Hybrid drive has a high speed solid state drive and low price magnetic disk. Winchester has an internal data transfer rate of 495 Mbps, and is designed for mobile devices of the widest application. The disadvantage of a relatively thick disk is the inability to install it in an ultra-thin laptop. And the traditional powerful plus is the affordable price.

Conclusion

The choice of hard drive model depends on the functions it performs. Mostly the drive is bought to expand memory. but often it is necessary for quick start  operating system. And the requirements for the hard drive in both cases are different. First, you need to understand what kind of hard drive you need, what functions it will perform. If the priority is to store information, perhaps you will have enough cheap magnetic HDD. If you need quick work  operating system, then you need an SDD drive. Or it should be a hybrid drive. Choose a hard drive with a memory capacity of up to 750 GB, because very high volume drives disk space  unreliable. It’s better to gradually buy additional discs, so the information is better preserved. In addition, the drive up to 750 GB has low power consumption, which is extremely important for a laptop, which is essentially mobile device. That, in fact, is all you need to know about how to choose a good hard drive for a laptop. If you are interested in any model, it’s useful to visit thematic forums and read reviews about it by real owners of the hard drive.

It is the main data warehouse. In addition to it, laptops can use an SSD drive, which will be described in one of them. A hard disk is a storage device that uses the principle of magnetic recording of information. The information in it is recorded on hard (aluminum or glass) disks (pancakes), coated with a thin layer of magnetic material (usually chromium dioxide). A hard disk drive can use one or more drives. Because Since both sides of the disk are covered by a ferromagnet, then two magnetic heads moving along each side of the disk are used to read (write) information. These heads in working condition do not touch the surface of the disk due to a layer of air from the incoming air flow generated during the rapid rotation of the disks. The distance between the surface of the disk and the magnetic head in modern drives is about 10 nm, which is 2000-3000 times thinner than a human hair. The absence of mechanical contact ensures a long period of operation of the drive. When the discs do not rotate, the heads are in a safe area (in the parking zone) outside the disc or at the rotary spindle itself.

In a hard disk drive, the storage medium (the disk itself) is combined with a read-write device, an electronics unit and a drive. A drive with disks and a block of heads with a reader are placed in the so-called hermetic zone. Some manufacturers fill it with purified air or nitrogen, and put a thin membrane made of metal or plastic to equalize the pressure. Others equalize pressure through a small hole with a fine filter. Pressure equalization is necessary to prevent deformation of the housing of the hermetic zone (and as a result of this violation of the correct operation of the reading mechanism) during atmospheric pressure drops or heating of the mechanism during operation. Dust particles in the containment zone during operation of the device with nano-gaps between the head and the disk can lead to irreparable consequences, therefore, when the disks rotate, they are drawn into another dust filter.

Consider the main characteristics hard drive for laptop.

Interface, i.e. electrical connection method (connector type and electrical interaction protocol) with the main processor. IN   most commonly used interfacesIDE or SATA.

Physical disk size   (form factor) 2.5 inches; 1.8, 1.3, 1, and 0.85 inches are also available. Average dimensions disk drives for laptops are usually within 100x70x9.5 mm.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)  - is one of the most important computer parts! And it is the hard drive that most often fails. As a result, sometimes the loss of the most important information. Therefore, to the choice HDD  need to treat with maximum seriousness!  In this article, we will analyze which   there are hard drivesas   choose hard disk (HDD)for your computer how   avoid problems with information lossand with   what programs you can restore it.


The size of the hard drive.

Hard disk size (its width, suitable for standard mounts in desktop computers and laptops)   calculated in inches.

Usually for home (stationary)  system units use hard drives 3.5 inch (3,5" ).

For laptops  - 2.5 inch, respectively - 2,5" .

Connector Type.

HDD Connector Interface  there are two types - IDE  and SATA.

IDE  - still comes across old computers and differs by the number of veins  on the loop ( 40   and 80   lived, they are interchangeable, differ in bandwidth speed ).

IDE - plug

SATA  - A newer, more modern interface. Of course higher throughput  in comparison with   IDE.

SATA  there are three types. SATA (up to 1.5 Gbps), SATA 2 (before 3 Gbps)   and SATA 3 (before 6 Gbps) . Differ in data transfer rate.

SATA, SATA2 , SATA3 - interchangeably.  But, before you buy a more expensive hard drive with SATA3   make sure your motherboard has support SATA3, otherwise you will receive an inappropriate expenditure of funds, because SATA3 HDD  connected to the interface SATA  on an old motherboard, will run at a limited speed up 1,5   Gbps, not using all its capabilities.

SATA - plug

Hard Disk Capacity.

Quite often, computer users confuse concepts - memory  and volume. :) Remember, please, the hard drive has only cache memory   (we'll talk about it below ...).

Volume, this is - capacity!  Namely - quantity digital information,   which is able to accommodate one or another HDD  Now the volume of the hard drive is calculated in Gigabytes (GB)  and Terabytes (TB).

For reference: 1 TB \u003d 1024 GB

1   GB \u003d 1024 MB

Disk rotation speed.

A fairly common indicator of the speed of the HDD - disk rotation speed  (r / min.). Of course, the higher the rotation speed, the harder the hard drive will make noise and its power consumption will increase (this affects the service life). If you are going to purchase a HDD, simply to store information ( additional disk), in this case - do not chase speed. I advise you to choose a faster hard drive - if you install the Operating System on it. At the moment, 7200 rpm is the most the best option.


Cache size.

Cache memory  (buffer) is intermediate memory. It is designed to increase speed. hard work  disk while accessing its data. IN cache are storedresponses to the most frequent requests of the system and applications.  And of course, there is no need to constantly read information from the disk itself. this increases the efficiency of the HDD and the system as a whole. The size of the "cache" in modern hard drives usually varies from 8   before 64   Mb

Manufacturing firm.

At the moment, the main manufacturers of hard drives are - Western digital, Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate technology, Toshiba. You can up to us.achki :) argue which company is better ... But let's turn to the facts. We type in an intelligent search engine Nigma.ru "a problem with hard drive....."   (instead of dots - we write a company):

hard drive problemHitachi -requests 5 400 000.

hard drive problem Seagate  - requests 5 500 000.

hard drive problemWestern Digital -requests 7,400,000 .

hard drive problemSamsung -requests 17 000 000.

As you can see, the first place in reliability is Hitachisecond y Seagate Although I would, based on my own experience, put in second placeWestern Digital (WD).

Wdcome with stickers in different colors - Black  (the black), Blue   (blue), Green   (green). The most reliable is considered Black, In second place Blue   and at the last Green.

So, when choosing a hard drive:

1. Important!   You need to find out - which plug  at your old hard drive. If IDE, then I advise you to see the connectors on the motherboard. In the presence of SATA-connectionsbetter to buy SATA hard drive.  With absence SATA  buy IDE.


2. Important! Find out if your old power supply will pull - new (perhaps more voluminous and faster) hDD.

You can find out how to do this by watching a video tutorial

3.   Decide on Volume(number of GB)   Speed(rpm) and "Cash"  (8-64MB) hard drive.

4. Select manufacturing company.

How to avoid problems with the loss of information.

1.   Keep backup copy of data  on removable media.

2.   Occasionally control hard state  drive  using programs Speedfan  and HDD scan .

3.   Buy a UPS. Choose the right power supply! How to choose the right power supply!

How to recover information.

From the service life, from shocks and shocks (transportation in the car), or maybe from power surges and a weak power supply - your hard drive is intermittent, Operating system  increasingly issues Blue Screen A program for detecting Windows BSOD errors! Video.



Recommend!

Hard drive size: why is it so important?

A hard disk (hard drive) is the main storage device for information on a computer. This is a non-removable device on which all information is stored, even when the computer is turned off. A fast hard drive allows you to access data as fast as necessary. The size of the hard drive is measured in gigabytes (GB), and the larger the number of gigabytes, the more information can be stored on the computer. When buying a new one home computer  or a laptop, it’s important to understand how the hard drive works and what size you need.

When saving information on a computer, the application is written to magnetic disk  inside the hard drive. Most hard drives consist of several hard drives, which allows them to gain speed up to 15,000 rpm. The amount of space on your computer’s hard drive directly affects the amount of data that can be stored on it. Data can be deleted from the hard disk at any time, and the storage of information does not require a constant power source.

Previously, hard disks contained no more than 5 megabytes of information, while now most new computers and laptops have a hard disk of at least 40 GB. Some hard drives may exceed 120 GB in size. Today, computers with these characteristics can be stored a large number of  information, videos and photos without the need for recording on third-party media.

Choosing a hard drive can seem like a pretty tricky job if you don't know what to look for. Hard drives can be very large, or can be very small. When choosing a hard drive for a computer or laptop, it is important to know what you need. Hard drive performance can vary widely. There is nothing worse than trying to save necessary information  Detect that your hard drive is full. If you are going to store a minimum of information on your hard drive, you may not have to pay extra money for a larger hard drive.

To save large files, videos, music and images, you need a larger hard drive. In this case, you can purchase a hard disk of 160 GB or more. The basic rule that you should adhere to when buying a hard drive is to choose the largest hard drive that you will need; however, do not forget about the price.

Price is another factor affecting the choice of hard drive. The most common are hard drives ranging in size from 60 to 80 gigabytes. It is this size of hard drives that are sold with most computers. They are the most economical choice for users who use the computer on a daily basis.

In addition to the size of the hard drive, its price is also influenced by such indicators as access time and data transfer speed. Data transfer rate is an indicator that explains how much information can be transmitted per second. Although this indicator, in turn, depends on the state of the computer. A computer whose hard drive is nearly full can have a much lower data rate.

There are 2 indicators of data transfer rate:
  - external;
  - internal.

Internal data transfer rate shows how fast the hard drive can read data. External data transfer rate shows how fast the hard disk can transfer data to the device to which it is connected. In most cases, the data transfer speed will be much lower than indicated in the product specifications, so it is best to choose a hard drive with a higher data transfer speed. The external data transfer rate depends on the type of hard drive used.

In addition, it should be remembered that the speed of the hard disk depends on the characteristics of the computer. If you have a slow computer, a large and fast hard drive is unlikely to make a big difference. In addition, with a slower computer, the hard disk is at risk of information loss. If your computer is slow, you must uninstall unnecessary files  from the hard drive. Another way to optimize the performance of slow systems is to defragment your hard drive.

Fragmentation of the hard drive occurs when the system splits the stored files into separate parts and saves them in different places. This usually happens when there is not enough space on the hard disk to store all the data. During defragmentation, fragments of these files are collected together and saved as a single file. This process can take a lot of time, but it will help optimize the use of space on your hard drive and increase the speed of your computer.