For many years, hard drives all had the same type of interface called IDE. IDE worked great and still works great if you have an older computer. As time went on, the 
demands for a hard drive increased and faster and larger drives were needed. The pictures and movies were getting bigger, programs were getting beefier and many folks needed lots of space to store their huge music collections.
That is why in 2003 manufacturers started using the faster SATA interface for hard drives. This not only increased the speed of drives but it also allowed for bigger and better hard drives. For many years, both interfaces were available and you had both available depending on the computer that you purchased. Today, SATA is the standard and it is actually starting to get harder to purchase IDE hard drives. My advise is if you have an older computer that works great and you want to keep using it, pick up a couple spare IDE drives in case a failure occurs down the road.
If you have a fairly new computer and you want to either upgrade the capacity of the drive or maybe you just want to replace a drive that has been is use for a long time, there are a few things you should know. Today, we have more options then just the standard motor driven hard drives. There are hybrid drives and SSD (Solid State) drives.
Hybrid drives are a combination of an SSD and a conventional drive combined. They have the capacity of a conventional drive and the speed of an SSD. These drives are relatively new and they may or may not last as long as a conventional hard drive. The main reason I have doubts about their lifespan is in the way that they operate. These drives initially spin up like a conventional one does and then transfers the data to the SSD part of the drive. At that point, the conventional part of the drive winds down and you actually begin working from the solid-state module instead.
This constant spinning up and down will usually create excessive wear on a drive and for that reason; I do not think this type of drive will last as long. In addition, you have the coast part of the scenario. These drives will cost more then a standard drive but less then a full SSD drive. These drives can be either noisier or quieter depending how you perceive it. When the drive has to spin up, it will create plenty of noise but once the work is completed, it will be extremely quiet.
SSD (Solid State) drives are going to be the next big craze when it comes to upgrading your computer. Although the cost has come down, they are still quite expensive especially if you want the largest drive you can get. The capacity of these drives is not as large as most standard drives but new advances will yield bigger and cheaper drives in the future. I think one of the biggest advantages of these drives is the speed and reliability. They are fast and they have no moving parts. There is nothing to wear out! If you can get by with a little less storage space, this is the option for you. But, there is a way around the space issue.
If you are using a desktop computer, just add a conventional drive to the case and set it as a slave. Now, you can put your large music files and pictures on the conventional drive and use the faster and more efficient SSD drive for your programs and operating system. You will be surprised at the speed increase you will see when using one of these wonderful drives!
So if you want to give your computer a boost or maybe just get yourself a nice Christmas present, get an SSD drive for your system and enjoy all the benefits!
Article by , Ross Deprey
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