Types of hard drives today 【all the information】?
Table of contents:
- The different formats of hard drives that exist today
- Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA)
- Serial ATA (SATA)
- Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)
- Solid state drives
- Formats 2.5 ″ vs 3.5 ″
All computers and computer systems in general depend on hard drives to store data permanently. These hard drives are storage devices that are used to store and retrieve digital information, which will be required for future reference. In this article we talk about the different types of hard drives, as well as their most important characteristics.
The different formats of hard drives that exist today
Hard drives are not volatile, which means they retain data even when they don't have power. The stored information remains safe and intact unless the hard disk is destroyed or interfered with. Information is stored or retrieved randomly instead of sequential access. This implies that the data blocks can be accessed at any time without having to go through other data blocks.
Hard disk drives were introduced in 1956 by IBM. At the time, they were being used with general-purpose mainframes and minicomputers. Like other electronic devices, these have undergone numerous technological advances over the years in terms of capacity, size, shape, internal structure, performance, interface, and data storage modes.
These numerous changes have made hard drives have lasted to this day, not like other devices that became obsolete shortly after the time they were introduced to the market.
Currently, we can group available hard drives into four types:
- Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) Serial ATA (SATA) Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) Solid State Drives (SSD) Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment
Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA)
- 3.5 "DesktopHDDIDE160GB
These were the first types of hard disk drives and used the parallel ATA interface standard to connect to computers. These types of units are what we call Integrated Unit Electronics (IDE) and Enhanced Integrated Unit Electronics (EIDE) units .
These PATA drives were introduced by Western Digital in 1986. They provided a common drive interface technology to connect hard drives and other devices to computers. The data transfer rate can be up to 133 MB / s and a maximum of 2 devices can be connected to one drive channel. Most motherboards have a two-channel arrangement, so a total of 4 IDE devices can be internally connected.
They make use of a 40- or 80-wire ribbon cable that transfers multiple bits of data simultaneously in parallel. These units store data through the use of magnetism. They have been replaced by Serial ATA.
Serial ATA (SATA)
- 1TB Capacity Hard Drive Size: 3.5'Rotate Speed (rpm) 7200 rpm
These hard drives have replaced PATA drives in desktop and laptop PCs. The main physical difference between the two is the interface, although their method of connecting to a PC is the same. Here are some advantages of SATA hard drives. It should be noted that its capabilities vary greatly and so do prices. When purchasing a disk drive, you must know its storage capacity and the amount of storage you want to store.
- SATA drives can transfer data faster than PATA types by using serial signaling technology. SATA cables are thinner and more flexible than PATA cables. They have a 7-pin data connection, with limit of 1 meter cable. Disks do not share bandwidth because there is only one disk drive allowed for each SATA controller chip on the computer motherboard. They consume less power. They only require 250 mV as opposed to 5V for PATA.
We recommend reading our article on:
- Seagate hard drives: Barracuda, Firecuda, SkyHawk, IronWolf... Western Digital Blue, Green, Black and Purple. Differences and which to choose The best hard drives on the market
Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)
- 07N8802R
These are quite similar to IDE hard drives, but use the Small Computer System Interface to connect to the PC. SCSI drives can be connected internally or externally. Devices that are connected in a SCSI must be terminated at the end. These are some of its advantages.
- They are faster They are very reliable Good for 24/7 operations Have better scalability and flexibility in arrangements Well suited for storing and moving large amounts of data.
Solid state drives
- Faster startup; load files faster; improve overall system responsiveness 300% times faster than a normal hard drive Improves battery life because it is 45 times more energy efficient than a conventional hard drive Micro 3D NAND - world innovator of memory and storage technology during 40 years The product is shipped with the Amazon Certified Frustration Free package (may vary from the package represented in the product attachment)
These are the latest advancements in drive technology that we have in the computer industry. They are totally different from the other units in that they do not consist of moving parts. They also don't store data using magnetism. Instead, they make use of flash memory technology, integrated circuits, or semiconductor devices to store data permanently, at least until it is erased. These are some of its advantages.
- Faster data access, less susceptible to shock, shorter access times and latency, less energy consumption.
Current SSDs are available in both SATA and M.2, U.2 and PCI Express 3.0 card formats. The last three make use of the NVMe protocol and the PCI Express 3.0 x4 interface, which allows them to exceed 3000 MB / s of read and write speeds, compared to the 520 MB / s that SATA drives usually reach at most.
We recommend reading our article on SATA SSD vs M.2 vs SSD PCI-Express. Better for my PC?
Formats 2.5 ″ vs 3.5 ″
Hard drives come in either 3.5 ″ or 2.5 ″ formats depending on the intended use. The 3.5 ″ models are focused on desktop systems, while the 2.5 ″ models are focused on laptops, Mini PCs, and video game consoles. Their differences are in capacity and speed, as 3.5-inch hard drives reach 7200 RPM and are available in capacities ranging up to approximately 16TB.
By cons, 2.5 ″ hard drives are usually limited to 5400 RPM, although there are also models at 7200 RPM. Its biggest limitation is the size, since there is less space to put dishes, and it is difficult to see that they exceed 4-6 TB of capacity.
This ends our article on types of hard drives today, remember to share it so that it can help more users who need it.
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