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From photos and videos to movies and video games, if you want to store something on your computer, you need a big hard disk drive. Plus, when you’re running out of space on your current drive, it’s fairly easy to add a lot more storage space with a second or even third hard drive.
There are two main kinds of storage devices. Both are colloquially called “hard drives” but one type is more accurately called a solid-state drive, or SSD. Both store all your data, and most computers can use either.
The main differences are speed and price. Hard disk drives are typically larger in capacity for the same money compared to SSDs. However, SSDs typically read and write data faster. To generalize a bit, for similar price points a hard disk drive will be bigger but slower, while an SSD will be smaller in capacity but faster.
There are two different things to keep in mind when it comes to the size of a hard disk drive. The first, and easiest, is physical size. Hard drives come in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch sizes. The size refers to the width, though 2.5-inch drives are smaller in the other dimensions as well. For typical desktop computers, the 3.5-inch size is common. The 2.5-inch size is for laptops or smaller desktops.
The other important aspect is the capacity of the drive, typically rated in gigabytes or terabytes. A safe rule of thumb is to get the largest capacity drive you can afford. Photos don’t take up too much space, unless you have a ton. Videos take up a lot more, but games will demand the most storage space. Many popular games can fill up dozens of gigabytes or more.
Hard disk drives commonly come in two different speeds, 5,400 and 7,200 RPM. You may occasionally see 5,900 as well. This is how fast, in revolutions per minute, the internal disks spin. A faster hard drive will more rapidly load programs and save and transfer files. However, for occasional file backup or when speed isn’t important, you can save some money by choosing a slower drive.
The best hard disk drives are most commonly made by Seagate and Western Digital.
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