Finding the fastest hard drive is not easy right now. This is due to the fact that SSDs are still fast and stable devices. Nevertheless, HDD manufacturers are trying to correct this injustice, since it is still more profitable to purchase hard drives because of their low cost. Therefore, users are trying to find the fastest hard drive.
Characteristics
To determine the fastest hard drive, you need to understand the parameters of the hard drive:
- capacity;
- interface;
- form factor;
- random access time;
- output and input operations;
- rotation speed, etc.
All computer hard drives have a specific connection interface. Most often, modern devices operate using SATA. Therefore, there should be no difficulties in choosing.
Next, you need to choose the capacity of the railway. Depending on the needs, models from 200 GB are available to the user. The most capacious model is 10 TB. The form factor for the PC is represented by a 3.5-inch device, and for a laptop - 2.5 inches.
The following options directly affect hard drive activity. The fastest hard drive can be determined by the spindle speed indicator . It is determined by the number of revolutions per minute.
For home systems, it is enough to choose models that have an indicator of 5400 and 7200 rpm. The fastest hard drives for the computer work with indicators of 10 and 15 thousand rpm. But these options are often used in high-performance systems and server stations.
Random access time also affects the operation of the device. The range of this characteristic is from 2.5 to 16 ms. For comparison, almost all SSDs operate at 1 ms or less.
New: Features
Of course, you can try to find out which hard drive is the fastest by reviewing the settings of each on the Internet. But in the spring of 2018, the record holder in this area was officially presented. At the exhibition, Seagate introduced the fastest hard drive.
Multi-actuator drive has become a feature of the novelty. Mach.2 provided a different positioning of the magnetic heads. 480 MB / s is a new record for reading and writing data. For example, all modern PC models that have 7,200 rpm work with a throughput of 235 MB / s.
Thanks to the new technologies that the hard drive received, it turned out to be 60% more productive compared to models running at 15,000 rpm.
Features
What is the secret of the new railway? High performance was achieved due to the fact that the head blocks are located on separate rods. Therefore, commands can be sent to specific sectors. From here it became possible to start reading and writing data at the same time.
Thanks to its high performance, the fastest hard drive can be installed in high-performance data processing systems.
New technologies
Manufacturers did not stop there and introduced the new HAMR technology. This is a thermomagnetic record that has special operating parameters. First you need to install a laser in the head. This is necessary in order to heat the disc plate to 400 degrees. Thus, it will be possible to record up to 2 TB of data per square inch.
Other models
But until Seagate has launched its model on the market, one will have to look for an alternative to it. It is important to look closely at the parameters of the devices. If you set out to find a fast hard drive for your home PC, you can choose among models with characteristics of 10,000 rpm.
You will also need to select the highest bandwidth. On average, this figure is 100-150 MB / s. You can find models in which this figure exceeds 200 MB / s.
For example, a good model is Western Digital WD4000FYYZ, which has 4 TB. The model works with 7200 rpm and a throughput of 171 MB / s. This version will cost 29 thousand rubles.
For laptops
The fastest laptop hard drive you need to look for among game models. For example, a good Seagate Laptop SSHD hard drive. It is immediately worth noting that this is a hybrid of SSD and HDD, and therefore, a priori, this railway is fast and efficient.
Adaptive Memory is a technology that affects the speed of a device. It also provides high reliability. Because flash drive and drive technology has been used, Seagate Laptop SSHD has a high level of data protection against damage.
Since this is a hybrid, it is most often installed in gaming laptops. Unlike a conventional hard drive, this one is 5 times faster. But among the shortcomings of this model, it is customary to consider noise and energy consumption.
external HDs
Finding the fastest external hard drive is a daunting task. Here it is not easy to look for a good option in online stores, but also to study reviews on the forums.
The SanDisk Extreme 900 turned out to be a good model. The peculiarity of this device is that it was not a large hard drive that was placed inside, but two thin solid-state drives. SSD here works using RAID 0.
Many users respond positively about this model, but they call it large. This drive will be difficult to put in your pocket. Yes, and a handbag for him will need a rather big one. Nevertheless, such dimensions are justified by high speed and the use of technology.
The 2 TB model writes and reads data at a speed of 600-800 MB / s. For more comfortable operation, the device uses a USB 3.1 interface. Of course, such indicators will surprise anyone who wants to purchase the fastest external hard drive. But there is one snag - cost. For speed and reliability will have to pay $ 800.
Alternative
In order not to spend $ 800 on the previous model, you can look at the T5 SSD. This is a product from Samsung, which will cost only $ 350. Its advantage is the relatively high speed and compactness of the device.
The model is available in variations from 500 GB to 2 TB. A USB 3.1 drive works. Of course, this model is not as fast as the previous one, but even it copes with 20 GB transfer in 110 seconds.
If this model also seems expensive to you, you can take a closer look at Seagate Backup Plus Portable. Depending on the capacity, it can cost from 50 to 160 dollars. The model works with USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps). You can purchase a drive for 1, 2 and 5 TB.
There is also an option that works with two integrated solid state drives in a RAID array. This disk has 4 TB of free space. The advantage of this model is the transfer speed of large files, but with small documents the hard drive works more slowly.