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Getting the best from your hard drive

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 11 Nov 2015
Performance hard drives are becoming an increasing necessity, with in-built applications such as graphic design, computer aided design, gaming and more.
Performance hard drives are becoming an increasing necessity, with in-built applications such as graphic design, computer aided design, gaming and more.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, a punched card was once the basis for digital information used for computer programs and data storage. As technological innovation advances, people around the globe are forced to work more smartly and more efficiently.

PCs were once regarded as a 'one size fits all', but in the advent of progressive computer systems, we have seen an evolution in an array of PCs, notebooks and ultra-books that are geared for every type of user, be it a corporate suit, a graphic designer or even a gaming addict.

Kalvin Subbadu, Western Digital Storage Technology sales manager for SA, says at the heart of these new technological developments that are geared for specific applications and career fields lies the hard drive (HD).

He explains that performance HDs are becoming an increasing necessity, especially with applications such as graphic design, computer-aided design, desktop publishing and gaming.

"Over the last decade, we have seen hard drives increasingly becoming segmented and accustomed to various fields, ensuring they are fit for purpose. Performance HDs have come to the fore and what traditionally hindered the advancements of this technology was the fact that it was difficult to combine performance with capacity," says Subbadu.

He notes that in the past one had to choose between having a super-fast hard drive with smaller capacity which does not help if a gamer wants to store many games on their hard drive but also want the speed and power of a performance hard drive. This is now changing and PC users no longer have to compromise performance versus capacity.

"This is because the hard drive market has matured where we are now seeing greater capacities than ever before along with hard drives that are built for specific needs and purposes," he adds.

There are currently significant breakthroughs in hard drive capacities and industry experts are anticipating more advanced memory technologies in the future. Subbadu attributes this to the fact that manufacturers are now getting a better understanding of the impact of the 'data explosion' driven by high speed, more affordable broadband and other influences such as social media.

The requirement to download digital content such as high definition movies that require more capacity is also taken into consideration.

Elaborating on a successful combination of high performance, reliability and cutting-edge technology, he suggests that the black series drives would be the best option as they are designed for power users such as graphic designers, photo and video editors, gamers etc.

"Increased Reliability: Black drives are equipped with StableTrac Technology (2 TB and larger models). This secures the motor shaft inside the hard drive to increase reliability and help reduce impact due to system-induced vibrations from other components", he says.

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