Internal Hard Drive

Internal Hard Drive

An internal hard drive is where the computer stores its files. This is what would be called its memory, not to be confused with RAM (Random Access Memory) which is what is used to execute individual tasks in the schedule which makes a computer do 'work'. Internal hard drives are available in many different sizes, but the basic types are only two.

Types of internal hard drives

The older models are hard disk drives, these have a rotating disk onto which the files are written and from which they are read. The modern internal hard drives are solid state drives, these are based on the flash memory technology and do not have moving parts thus making the reading and writing speeds a lot faster.

There are other differences that can make the SSDs even faster. This would be in relation to the protocol systems in place. Ther are SSDs that have PCIe support and can make use of the NVMe (Non-volatile-memory-express) protocol. The NVMe protocol has a performance edge over other protocols due to a higher rate of input/output operations per second (IOPS), this decreases working latency. 

Interface differences

The older interface that connects a hard drive to the motherboard was PATA. Today the more common interface is SATA, it has faster transfer rates than PATA. A PC can connect more SATA drives than PATA drives. The SATA cables are thinner meaning that they are better for the flow of air inside which helps with ventilation which in turn helps keep the machine cool. A PC can also have more SATA drives as it as 4 SATA ports, whereas only 2 PATA drives can be connected. For laptops, there are some that have space for 2 internal hard drives, but generally, laptops have one hard drive.

If one has professional level requirements pertaining to servers or other high-performance machines they can make use of the SCSI (Small Computer System Interface). This will give them an edge over the speed by a huge margin so larger data can be easily processed. Hard drives with SCSI are more reliable than SATA ones, can be used 24/7 and have an operating capacity of 1.6million hours at operating temperatures of 45 degrees Celcius. The storage capacity is lesser and these cost more than the SATA variants but make up for it in performance.

The NAND based risk

SSDs based specifically on NAND Flash technology will leak data over time if they have passed their 'endurance rating' period and loose all power from their internal capacitors which keep the information safe. The endurance rating is the number of write cycles the SSD can take, this number is usually in the thousands so there is a lot of usage before a drive gets there. If an SSD has reached its endurance rating and is not used once in a while to maintain some power in its capacitors, it will start bleeding data. The rate varies but it can start after 1 year without power at 30 degrees Celcius, or after 2 years if it is at 25 degrees.

Comments

Internal hard drives come in many storage sizes, one can find something that is only 256GBs all the way up to a drive that has 4TB of space. The SSD drives are still a lot more expensive as the technology is newer.

The price of an internal hard drive depends on the amount of space it has and what the specific type is. One can choose based on their needs and budget. Known brands producing them include Western Digital, Kingston, Toshiba, Seagate and HP.