Best Seller in Internal Hard Drives Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch – Frustration Free Packaging (ST2000DM008) 4.7 out of 5 stars 27,007. You forgot the '2' in 3-2-1 which is 2 distinct and different physical storage mediums for the copies. Hard drives, even multiple, only qualify as '1' in this strategy. You need another medium (optical, tape, what have you) as well as a cloud off-site backup to complete the matrix.
Even before the first commercial electronic computers appeared in 1951, 'mass' storage - although minuscule by today's standards - was a necessity. As early as the mid-1800s, punch cards were used to provide input to early calculators and other machines. The 1940s ushered in the decade when vacuum tubes were used for storage until, finally, tape drives started to replace punch cards in the early 1950s. Only a couple of years later, magnetic drums appeared on the scene. And, in 1957, the first hard drive was introduced as a component of IBM's RAMAC 350. It required 50 24-inch disks to store five megabytes (million bytes, abbreviated MB) of data and cost roughly $35,000 a year to lease - or $7,000 per megabyte per year.
For years, hard disk drives were confined to mainframe and minicomputer installations. Vast 'disk farms' of giant 14- and 8-inch drives costing tens of thousands of dollars each whirred away in the air conditioned isolation of corporate data centers. The personal computer revolution in the early 1980s changed all that, ushering in the introduction of the first small hard disk drives. The first 5.25-inch hard disk drives packed 5 to 10 MB of storage - the equivalent of 2,500 to 5,000 pages of double-spaced typed information - into a device the size of a small shoe box. At the time, a storage capacity of 10 MB was considered too large for a so-called 'personal' computer.
The first PCs used removable floppy disks as storage devices almost exclusively. The term 'floppy' accurately fit the earliest 8-inch PC diskettes and the 5.25-inch diskettes that succeeded them. The inner disk that holds the data usually is made of Mylar and coated with a magnetic oxide, and the outer, plastic cover, bends easily. The inner disk of today's smaller, 3.5-inch floppies are similarly constructed, but they are housed in a rigid plastic case, which is much more durable than the flexible covering on the larger diskettes.
With the introduction of the IBM PC/XT in 1983, hard disk drives also became a standard component of most personal computers. The descriptor 'hard' is used because the inner disks that hold data in a hard drive are made of a rigid aluminum alloy. These disks, called platters, are coated with a much improved magnetic material and last much longer than a plastic, floppy diskette. The longer life of a hard drive is also a function of the disk drive's read/write head: in a hard disk drive, the heads do not contact the storage media, whereas in a floppy drive, the read/write head does contact the media, causing wear.
Best Mass Storage Hard Drive
By design, hard disk drives contain vastly greater amounts of data than floppy disks and can store and retrieve it many times faster. Rapid declines in price for hard disk drives meant that by the mid-1980s, a drive of at least 20 MB capacity was a standard component of most PCs. (Because floppy diskettes are a cheap and removable storage media, floppy drives still are included in most PCs as a means for loading software and transporting and archiving vital data.)
Like any other product of the electronics industry, hard drives were subject to the inexorable law of miniaturization. By the mid-1980s, 5.25-inch form factor drives had shrunk considerably in terms of height. A standard drive measured about three inches high and weighed only a few pounds, while lower capacity 'half-height' drives measured only 1.6 inches high. By 1987, 3.5-inch form factor hard drives began to appear. These compact units weigh as little as a pound and are about the size of a paperback book. They were first integrated into desktop computers and later incorporated into the first truly portable computers - laptops weighing under 12 pounds. The 3.5-inch form factor drives quickly became the standard for desktop and portable systems requiring less than 500 MB capacity. Height also kept shrinking with the introduction of one-inch high, 'low-profile' drives.
Even as 3.5-inch form factor drives were gaining acceptance, yet a smaller form factor of 2.5 inches appeared on the scene. This was in direct response to the need to further reduce size and weight in portable computers for four to six pound notebook computers. Today's 2.5-inch drives are about the size of a deck of cards, weigh as little as four ounces, and deliver capacities of more than 500 MB.
Not surprisingly, the march to miniaturization did not stop at 2.5-inch drives. By 1992, a number of 1.8-inch form factor drives appeared, weighing only a few ounces and delivering capacities up to 40 MB. Even a 1.3-inch drive, about the size of a matchbox, was introduced. Of course, smaller form factors in and of themselves are not necessarily better than larger ones. Disk drives with form factors of 2.5 inches and less currently are required only by computer applications where light weight and compactness are key criteria. Where capacity and cost-per-megabyte are the leading criteria, larger form factor drives are still the preferred choice. For this reason, 3.5-inch drives will continue to dominate for the foreseeable future in desktop PCs and workstations, while 2.5-inch drives will continue to dominate in portable computers.
The drive to smaller form factors is made possible by continuing advances in electronics, disk media, read/write heads, and other disk drive technologies - all of which provide the ability to store ever more data on a given disk surface area. Historically, technology advances have resulted in the doubling of areal density - and thus the megabyte capacity of a disk - about every 18 months.
Since its introduction, the hard disk drive has become the most common form of mass storage for personal computers. Manufacturers have made immense strides in drive capacity, size, and performance. Today, 3.5-inch, gigabyte (GB) drives capable of storing and accessing one billion bytes of data are commonplace in workstations running multimedia, high-end graphics, networking, and communications applications. And, palm-sized drives not only store the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of pages of information, but also retrieve a selected item from all this data in just a few thousandths of a second. What's more, a disk drive does all of this very inexpensively. By the early 1990s, the cost of purchasing a 200 MB hard disk drive had dropped below $200, or less than one dollar per megabyte.
A Look Ahead
Microsoft ex-CEO Bill Gates predicted that as PC users evolve into 'knowledge navigators,' the demand for mass storage speed and capacity will continue to outpace technology developments. Gates speaks with authority as the mastermind behind dozens of PC applications and the leading PC operating environment, Microsoft Windows, all of which require increasing amounts of storage at higher levels of performance. Mac click with keyboard. As just one example, a complete installation of Microsoft Word, with its built-in spell checker, thesaurus, and grammar checker, now occupies 24 MB of hard drive space - more than two times the entire hard disk drive capacity of the original IBM PC/XT. Emerging applications such as multimedia, which requires storage of video images, demand even more hard drive capacity and performance. For example, a single frame of video can comprise over 4 MB of data. Given that 'true motion' video operates at 30 frames per second, it's not hard to understand how a multimedia application can easily devour a gigabyte of storage. The remainder of this book will familiarize you with mass storage options, and the hard disk drive in particular, one of the most vital components of the modern computer. You will learn about computer systems, disk drives, and other forms of mass storage. Finally, this book looks into the future to highlight new technology developments that promise to keep hard disk drives revolutionizing our lives for years to come.
'The Evolution of Mass Storage' is ©1998-99 Quantum Corporation
Best answer: The best setup for most is a combination, where the solid-state drive (SSD) boots Windows and most used applications, and the hard disk drive (HDD) is used primarily for mass storage.
- Best NVMe SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus (From $75 at Amazon)
- Best budget NVMe SSD: Sabrent Rocket Q (From $70 at Amazon)
- Best 2.5-inch SSD: Samsung 860 EVO (From $60 at Amazon)
- Best HDD: WD Black (From $56 at Amazon)
What's the difference between the two?
In its purest form, an SSD is flash storage and has no moving parts whatsoever. As a result, they're smaller and take up less space in a PC case, in some instances even mounting directly to the motherboard. SSD storage is much faster than its HDD equivalent. Best hd video player for mac.
HDD storage is made up of magnetic tape and has mechanical parts inside. They're larger than SSDs and much slower to read and write.
Why use an SSD?
© Windows Central Sabrent Rocket QIf you're building a PC for any purpose, you're going to want speed. If you only have HDD storage in your machine, then speed isn't something coming your way. Windows will take longer to boot up, applications will take longer to load, and files will take longer to open and save.
The beauty of an SSD is that this waiting time is dramatically reduced, even on cheaper drives, when compared to HDD. Anything you load on it will perform actions much quicker.
One of the best uses for an SSD in a PC is as a boot drive. This means installing a small-ish capacity drive on which your Windows 10 operating system will live and boot up from every day. By doing this, your PC will boot up and be ready to go in a flash. You can also put your most frequently used software on there for a similar effect.
© Provided by Windows CentralThe lifespan of an SSD isn't as long as that of an HDD, but you can certainly use an SSD as your only drive in a PC. Many laptops only have SSD storage, for example. You're not looking at a short-term life, but compared to HDD storage, it is reduced. SSDs don't handle being written to as well over time, but a boot drive wouldn't suffer this.
SSD prices have come down a lot in recent times, too, with the price per gigabyte much lower than it once was. Large capacity drives are still expensive, as are the highest performing ones, but generally speaking, they're more affordable than ever.
A note on PCIe 4.0 SSDs
If you're using the AMD platform, you might be able to use the new-gen, absurdly fast PCIe 4.0 SSDs. These are currently the fastest consumer drives on sale.
However, unless you're using both a Ryzen 3000 processor and the AMD X570 chipset on your motherboard, you won't be able to take full advantage.
Sabrent Rocket
© Provided by Windows CentralBest Mass Storage Hard Drives
Take full advantage of the new, fast PCIe 4.0 SSD with the Sabrent Rocket and get up to 5,000 MB/s read speeds and 2,500 MB/s write speeds.
If you are, something like a Sabrent Rocket is both great value and incredibly fast.
Why use an HDD?
© Provided by Windows CentralThe best case for HDD is mass storage. This type of drive is cheaper than SSD and available in some quite massive sizes. Have a lot of games or media to keep on your PC? No problem, you can get one or more drives over 1TB in size for a fraction of the cost of their SSD equivalents.
PC cases usually have space for more than one drive, meaning you can stack up as much mass storage as you can stash, and your budget will allow.
Price per gigabyte is still much less than SSDs, and large capacity drives won't take all your money. An efficient system would have an SSD to boot Windows from and one or more HDDs for mass storage.
Our recommendation
© Provided by Windows Central![Best Mass Storage Hard Drive Best Mass Storage Hard Drive](https://static.techspot.com/images/products/2017/cases/org/2018-04-17-product-25.jpg)
Our ultimate recommendation is to opt for a mixed system with HDD mass storage and an SSD boot drive for your Windows 10 install. This way, you'll get a balance of price, performance, and space, and you'll have a well-rounded machine for all occasions. If your storage requirements are smaller, an all SSD system is the way to go.
If you can have an NVMe drive in your PC, then these will yield the best performance, and thankfully aren't that expensive anymore. Our ultimate recommendation is the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, thanks to its reliability, insane performance, great warranty, and reasonable price.
Best SSD
Samsung 970 EVO Plus
© Provided by Windows CentralThe best SSD money can buy.
If you were building a PC in 2019, there's a strong chance you have support for NVMe drives on your motherboard, and this is the best of the bunch. Insane read and write speeds meet proven reliability, user-friendly companion software, and a stellar warranty.
If you're looking to get some of that NVMe performance on a budget, you can also do that with the excellent Sabrent Rocket. It's not as fast as a Samsung SSD, but it costs a good chunk less.
Best budget NVMe
Sabrent Rocket Q
© Provided by Windows CentralExcellent performance at a low price
This is an excellent SSD, especially at the price, and a definite upgrade from an HDD or a SATA SSD.
For mass storage, whether you go for a 2.5-inch SSD or an HDD, these are our top recommendations. Both are from well-respected brands, are reliable products, and won't run away with your wallet.
Best 2.5-inch SSD
Samsung 860 EVO
© Provided by Windows CentralSamsung quality, lower price
If you're looking for an excellent 2.5-inch SSD for a laptop or desktop, this is it. You get excellent performance, a great warranty, and an affordable price. Great for all-purpose use.
Best HDD
WD Black
© Provided by Windows CentralStore all of the things
This is an excellent HDD available in some quite massive storage sizes, which makes it perfect for storing large quantities of files, less essential apps, and games.