Help Me Choose: Storage
The Storage drive permanently stores and gives access to the operating system, software applications, files and data on your PC. The storage drive is the only long-term storage on your PC, so it’s a good idea to consider how you are going to use your computer
What Hard Drive Do I Need?
Solid State Drive (SSD)
An SSD, or Solid State Drive, is a type of storage device that doesn’t have moving parts that provide user with longer battery life, improved shock resistance and faster data transfer than HDDs.
Benefits of a solid-state drive:
- Lightweight and cooler than standard hard drives
- Greatly outperforms HDDs in read/write speeds
- Improved performance
- Durability
- Better for mobile users
SATA Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Hard Disk Drive is a data storage device that uses magnetic storage to store and retrieve information on one or multiple platters. HDDs are more sensitive to shock and vibration because they use mechanical parts to transfer data onto disks.
Benefits of using this type of drive:
• Cost per GB is lower compared to SSD
• Much higher number of write and rewrites compared to SSD
Dual-Drives
Some systems have a dual-drive configuration, they are equipped with both HDD and SSD storage devices, allowing the best of both worlds.
Benefits include:
Primary drive: SSD for quick load times on key applications and tasks, such as Operating System, Photoshop and Video Games.
Secondary drive: HDD for cost effective storage for photos and video.
How Much Storage Do I Need?
- Are you going to play video games, consume media, store a few photos and videos?
- Are you the type of user that is looking for high storage capacity and low cost for home media centers, large back-ups, video and photos?
- Do you regularly use programs such as AutoCAD, Adobe Suite or other programs for design or editing?
- Are you going to use your computer to browse the internet, check email, work on documents for school or work?
- Are you working with sensitive information?
Storage Drive Size |
Storage Performance |
---|---|
Less than 256 GB |
Acceptable storage for email and office productivity applications, internet browsing, and other basic functions. |
256 GB – 1 TB |
Adequate storage for most photo, music and video libraries as well as meeting typical office tasks like word processing or building spreadsheets. |
More than 1 TB |
Abundant Storage for large digital libraries, modern video games and content created in applications like Adobe Creative Suite. |
By Media Type
Media Type |
Average file size |
128 GB |
256 GB |
500 GB |
1,000 GB (1 TB) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Music |
4MB per 4 minute song |
Up to 31,000 songs |
Up to 62,000 songs |
Up to 125,000 songs |
Up to 250,000 songs |
Video (HD) |
8.3GB per hour |
Up to 15 hours |
Up to 30 hours |
Up to 60 hours |
Up to 120 hours |
Photos |
3.5MB per 6MP image |
Up to 35,500 images |
Up to 71,000 images |
Up to 142,000 images |
Up to 285,000 images |
DVD-quality movies |
Number of 1.5hr Movies — DVD Quality |
Up to 33 movies |
Up to 66 movies |
Up to 133 movies |
Up to 260 movies |
FAQ
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eMMC (embedded Multi-Media Card) is a type of storage that is offered in an industry-standard BGA package consisting of both flash memory and a flash memory controller integrated on the same silicon die. Performance of eMMC storage is somewhere in between speed of HDDs and SSDs. eMMCs are often paired with cloud storage, i.e. files are stored on a remote server.
Benefits of using eMMC
• Better performance compared to HDD
• Completely quiet compared to HDD
• Low cost/performance solution compared to SSD
Downside of eMMC
• Not easily replaceable
• Limited capacity being the common capacity range 32GB to 128GB
• Slower performance when compared to SSD
• eMMCs are often paired with cloud storage, i.e. files are stored on a remote server -
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All storage is not created equal! Quad-level cell (QLC) technology adds more bits to every memory cell, so you can get up to 1 TB of SSD storage capacity in a small footprint that’s ideal for thin and light PCs. This technology also makes it possible to transfer data at PCIe speeds!