Computers work with 2 main memory or storage components. The primary memory or RAM is a volatile memory and it can’t store data forever. Once you turn off the computer, everything on RAM gets wiped out. So, computers require a storage system to keep data permanently.
Hard drives are used for storing data forever on computers. Additionally, you can retrieve stored data from these hard drives on your computer. If you are interested in purchasing a new hard drive, then you should be aware of the types of hard drives and their pros, cons, and much more.
Let’s learn more about hard drives and their classifications so that you can pick up the right one for you.
Introduction to Hard Drives
What are the different types of hard drives in computers? Before answering this question, we would like to provide you with a brief overview of hard drives. Released by IBM in 1956, hard drives were first used in small and mainframe computers. Till now, hard drives have gone through numerous technological advancements.
Hard drives are non-volatile in nature which means that they can store data until you don’t delete them. Additionally, the data on hard drives don’t disappear even when you cut off the power to your computer. Hard drives keep your data safe and secure.
On the other hand, hard drives store data in a random-access manner instead of sequential access. Therefore, the process of accessing a specific block of data isn’t mandatory to be through other blocks of data.
What are Diverse Types of Hard Drives in Computers?
You might have heard of 2 major types of hard drives available in the market. They are Hard Disk Drives and Solid-State Drives. However, to be specific, there are 5 types of hard drives available that you can utilise as internal or external storage devices for your laptop.
Let’s check them out one by one:
Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment or PATA
Basically, storage devices are categorised based on their types of hard drive connectors. PATA drives were the first hard disks to be manufactured. To connect them to the computers, the Parallel ATA interface was used. These drives are also known as Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics and Integrated Drive Electronics.
Compaq and Western Digital introduced such hard drives in 1986. Both manufacturers offered a common drive interface technology to establish a connection between the hard drives and computers. What is the data transfer rate on a PATA drive? You can expect a maximum data speed of 133MB/s with this type of hard drive.
In addition to this, you can connect at most 2 devices to the drive channel of a PATA drive. Most motherboards allow 2 channels so you can connect 4 Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics devices internally.
PATAs utilise mechanical moving parts. Moreover, they work with parallel signalling technology and store data with the help of magnetism. They use up to 80 wire ribbon cables to transmit multiple bits of data parallelly.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using PATA
The only advantage of using PATA hard drives in your computer is that you can connect 2 devices at the same time. However, PATA drives are quite outdated hardware. Additionally, the data transfer rate of PATA is comparatively slower than all the leading and preferable types of hard drives in laptops.
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or SATA
The next evolution in the hard drive industry is SATA or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment hard drives. SATA dominated PATA in many ways such as data transfer rate, optimised power consumption, portability, and pricing.
The prime physical difference between a PATA and SATA drive is their interface. However, both can connect to a computer in the same way. Still, SATA drives utilise serial signalling methods instead of parallel ones used by PATA drives. This ensures that SATA drives can transfer data faster than PATA drives.
To be noted, SATA drives offer a data transfer rate range starting from 150 MB/s to 300 MB/s. Moreover, SATA drives acquire thinner cables and the limit of the cable remains within the length of 1 metre.
Advantages and Disadvantages of SATA Drives
What are the advantages of SATA over PATA? If you are thinking the same, here is the list of pros of SATA drives:
- SATA offers better data speed compared to PATA drives due to serial signalling techniques
- SATA drives consume less power such as 250mV whereas PATA requires 5V
- These drives feature a 7-pin data connection with a metre-long cable
- SATA cables are more flexible and thinner compared to PATA cables
- A motherboard allows a single SATA drive per controller chip so these disks don’t share bandwidth
- SATA drives offer large storage capacities at lower cost
Among the cons of SATA drives, we think that SATA drives provide a limited data speed. Additionally, they still have mechanical parts that can wear and tear within a few years of use.
Small Computer System Interface or SCSI
If you are looking for upgraded types of hard drives similar to PATA and SATA, then SCSI can be your choice. Achieve more speed, extended storage options, and uninterrupted operations with Small Computer System Interface drives.
The main difference between SCSI and other hard drives is that these drives make use of a small computer system interface. This type of interface is required for connecting to peripheral devices like scanners, printers, and so on. Such interface standards determine protocols, commands, and optical, logical, and electrical interfaces.
On a contrary note, you can connect SCSI drives both internally and externally. The data transfer rate of SCSI drives is 320 MB/s which is impressive. However, the Universal Serial Bus or USB has replaced the connections via SCSI on computers.
Thus, they are no longer used as personal computer hardware. However, enterprises still use them in server farms and hard drive controllers.
Pros and Cons of Small Computer System Interface
Though SCSI drives are no longer used for personal computers you can check out how they outsmarted traditional PATA and SATA drives:
- SCSI drives are faster
- They are reliable modes of storage
- As a user, you can get more scalable and flexible performance
- They offer all-around-the-clock operations
- They are a decent option for moving and storing huge amounts of data
On the other hand, SCSI drives are comparatively costly. The performance might deteriorate with time. In addition, configuring the interface might be difficult for amateurs.
Non-Volatile Memory Express or NVMe
Introduced in 2013, Non-Volatile Memory Express refers to a storage interface and its data travels through the PCI Express interface on your computer’s motherboard. The term ‘Non-Volatile’ indicates the storage device won’t lose data even when you reboot or turn off the computer.
As a user, you can connect these types of hard drives directly to the motherboard. The data doesn’t have to pass through a SATA controller and thus, NVMe drives are faster than traditional SATA ones.
If you consider the PCI Express 3.0 interface then you can get a maximum of 985 MB/s on every lane. If you can use 4 PCIe lanes then you can achieve a data transfer rate of 3.9 GB/s. Additionally, these drives are thin so you can easily place them flat on your motherboard.
Pros and Cons of NVMe Drives
NVMe drives offer better data transfer rates, reliability, and connectivity. However, you can’t install NVMe drives on your laptops. They are a better storage device for desktop computers since they can easily sneak into motherboards and ATX cases.
Solid-State Drives
SSDs are the most trending type of hard drive and they are beyond the wear and tear worries. This is because Solid-State Drives don’t have any moving mechanical components.
Additionally, they don’t rely on magnetism to store data. Rather than that, SSDs use flash memory and semiconductor devices to store data for you.
Flash-memory-based Solid-State Drives were introduced in 1980 by Fujio Masuoka at Toshiba. Later. Toshiba started commercialising SSDs in 1987. However, these hard drives are more sustainable, faster, and more flexible components.
SSDs offer a data transfer rate of approximately 550 MB/s.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Solid-State Drives
Which is better SSD or HDD such as SATA, PATA, etc? Let’s check out the perks of using SSDs, so far:
- SSDs are less prone to shocks and other failures
- They offer faster data transfer rates
- Also, they consume less power
- They provide lower latency
Moreover, they are durable but SSDs offer less storage capacity compared to traditional and mechanical Hard Disk Drives. Additionally, SSDs are more expensive and it can be difficult to recover data in emergencies.
What Type of Hard Drive is Better?
You have already got a brief discussion regarding 5 basic types of hard drives in computers. Differences and similarities among them are clear. If you are looking for reliable speed for your laptop then SSD is the best choice. Otherwise, you can opt for NVMe or SATA Hard Disk Drives.
If you are building a PC for gaming then check out leading NVMe drives for a perfect match. For enterprise storage solutions, you can consider SCSI drives or whatever suits your technical requirements the best.