Buyer's guide - Hard Drives

Heavyweight storage

With films, photos, video games and more, your passion for multimedia can take over your computer. So why not give it a helping hand with an additional, or more powerful, hard drive? You'll find a huge selection of hard drives to choose from on Pixmania.com, ranging from 40 to 6,000 GB (6 TB) in size. Installing an internal hard drive generally requires a basic understanding of I.T., although you can always ask a professional for help. To find the most appropriate hard drive for your I.T. system, you should first of all identify the interface you need. This means checking which interfaces already exist on your computer's motherboard. SATA, PATA or SCSI? These abbreviations are interfaces with different data transfer speeds - an essential factor when it comes to copying a film or HD photos. The oldest interface is the PATA, or IDE, which offers maximum transfer speeds of 133 MB per second, whereas the newer SATA offers theoretical maximum rates of 150 to 300 MB per second (SATA II). The interface with the highest-performance is the SCSI, although it's also the most expensive. It's therefore generally only suitable for professional use and requires a specific controller card. If you're looking for a huge storage capacity and/or a storage solution for several PCs, then you need a desktop hard drive or an NAS (network-attached storage) device. Despite their relatively compact size, they can offer up to 6 TB of memory, and soon even more. This type of external hard drive is certainly intended to stay on your desk though, as most models are fairly heavy. A desktop hard drive or external drive bay is like having your own virtual attic for storing all your most treasured memories. You should therefore look for the highest possible capacity. Did you know that a 15 minute video from an HD camcorder takes up 1 GB of memory? A NAS drive is a practical and cost-effective network storage solution that allows you to save files from several computers quickly and easily via an Ethernet network. NAS solutions were originally designed for professional use, although they are becoming increasingly accessible to home users.

Multimedia in your living room

Hard drives can do much more than simply store files; they can also bring a new lease of life to your home entertainment set-up! With a multi-functional multimedia hard drive, you can watch DivX files on your TV, as well as listen to MP3s through your hifi. These stylish and compact devices can be discreetly added to your existing TV or hifi set-up and are usually supplied with their own handy remote control. Because they're principally designed to store films, photos and music, multimedia hard drives usually have high storage capacities. This is just as well, considering that a film compressed in DivX format takes up around 700 MB, a single photo takes up 2 MB and an MP3 track between 3 and 7 MB. So with models ranging from 120 GB to over 1 TB in size, there's plenty of room for all your multimedia. It's useful to bear in mind that on average, a 500 GB hard drive can store over 600 DivX, 100,000 songs or 200,000 photos. Transferring multimedia files onto a hard drive is incredibly simple - just hook it up to your computer via its USB 2.0 port, or connect it directly to your home network via the Ethernet interface and you'll be up and running in no time. For those of you who've gone wireless, a wifi multimedia hard drive is a must-have for transferring files from your PC quickly and easily - no cables required! Some multimedia hard drives even have an LCD screen, so you don't need to use your TV to select files. Some fast and functional models of multimedia hard drive can bring the cinema right into your living room with high-definition viewing. So to get the best out of your Full HD TV, you should look for a hard drive with an HDMI port, optical audio output and, above all, a minimum capacity of 500 GB. Some models even feature a recording function for capturing and saving all your favourite TV shows! Also, don't forget to check the multimedia hard drive's compatibility with different file types before you buy. The most common are MP3, WMA, AAC and OGG for music; JPG, BMP and PNG for photos; and DivX, Xvid, MPEG or H.264 for HD films. If a new format appears, then don't worry, you'll be able to update your hard drive with the new codecs it needs to read the new files.

Carrying your hard drive

Whether internal or external, your hard drive is sensitive to the effects of travel and transport. You can help keep your data safe by making sure you always carry it in a case or bag. A case can make a stylish and practical accessory, but you should always be sure to choose one that fits your drive like a glove. Go for a case designed for the drive format (2.5 or 3.5 inches) for optimal protection. A hard case is a more sturdy and robust option, and usually features a reinforced pocket for carrying your hard drive, as well as a cable storage compartment. Some are even waterproof - so you can take them just about anywhere with you! If you need more storage compartments for all your accessories, you can pick up a comfortable carrying bag with plenty of pockets for cables, power packs, a remote control and more.

Multimedia accessories

Docking stations

If you need to transfer the contents of your internal hard drive to another computer before it's been formatted, then you need to get yourself a docking station. These compact and practical accessories can be used to connect your hard drive to your computer in the easiest possible way. Just like an external drive bay, a dock can house several hard drives at once, provided they don't have outer cases.

Freeview recorders

Another option is to get yourself a Freeview tuner/recorder so you can enjoy the full range of free digital TV stations on your TV and save all your favourite series and shows on your hard drive! Most brands of hard drive offer their own versions of these handy gadgets, so make sure you check compatibility before you invest.

Capacity and speed

From 40 to over 6,000 GB, and soon more - hard drives offer huge amounts of storage and their compact size means they won't clutter up your desk. For an internal hard drive, you'll find that 250 GB is a standard minimum, although 500 GB is becoming increasingly common in newer PCs. Have you ever noticed a difference between the capacity your computer claims to have and the actual capacity it recognises? This is common to all hard drives. The stated capacities are always higher because there are two different ways of calculating capacity. "Manufacturers base storage capacities on the assumption that 1 GB = 1,000 MB. However, computers use the basic I.T. rule that 1 GB = 1,024 MB. It's worth noting that a 500 GB drive ""only"" offers 465 GB of actual storage space." The rotation speed determines how quickly the drive works, as well as the time required to access the information it contains. It's measured in rotations per minute (RPM), and currently ranges from 4,200 to 10,000 RPM. The higher the speed, the faster you'll find what you're looking for. A good hard drive should offer an access time of less than 10 ms. So be careful! For the same money, it's better to pick a hard drive with a lower capacity but with a rotation speed of 7,200 or 10,000 RPM because its performances will be noticeably better.

Stay connected!

The type of connection your hard drive uses is just as important as its capacity and RPM, as it directly influences the data transfer speed. A USB port is practical for powering portable drives, and although it only offers an average transfer speed of 30 MBps, it's compatible with the greatest number of computers. FireWire (400 or 800) ports are twice as fast, although they are more commonly found on Macs than PCs. You can always use a PCI expansion card to add a FireWire port to your computer if required. The most recent development, however, is the eSATA - the external version of the SATA interface. It allows you to transfer large files to your external hard drive as quickly as with an internal hard drive (up to 100 MBps!). For wireless and/or network data transfer, you should look for a hard drive that offers Wifi and/or Ethernet connections to transfer files with complete freedom! We've already seen that a NAS drive is a sharedstorage solution, similar to a server. It works via an Ethernet network, which you set up between several computers. To do this, you'll need a basic knowledge of I.T. A NAS can come in the form of an empty external case or with a hard drive (generally 1 TB) already built in. They offer optimal storage for several users and work out cheaper than buying several smaller drives for users needing plenty of storage. For transferring data quickly to your NAS drive, you should look for Ethernet 100 (10 MBps), or 1,000 (1,000 MBps). NAS drives also have USB ports for connecting additional external hard drives, a printer or any other compatible device for everyone on the network to access!