Comparison WD Blue WD5000AZLX 500 GB

32/7200

vs Toshiba MQ01ABFxxx 2.5" MQ01ABF050 500 GB

The form factor in which the hard drive is made.

This indicator determines primarily the size of the device. But its more specific meaning depends on the execution (see the relevant paragraph). So, in the case of external drives, only the overall dimensions of the case depend on the form factor, and then quite approximately. But internal HDDs are installed in slots with a well-defined size and location of holes for fasteners; these holes are made specifically for one form factor or another. For desktop PCs, the standard form factor is 3.5", for laptops — 2.5" ; at the same time, there has been a recent trend in desktops towards miniaturization and the transition to 2.5-inch drives. Theoretically, there is an even smaller form factor — 1.8", but in fact it is used mainly among ultra-compact external HDDs.

— SATA. Nowadays, it is the most popular interface for connecting internal hard drives. the first version of SATA provides data transfer rates of about 1.2 Gbps, SATA 2 has a practical data transfer rate of about 2.4 Gbps (300 MB / s), and the most advanced generation of SATA 3 has a speed of 4.8 Gbps (600 Mbps)

eSATA. Modification of the SATA interface, designed to connect external hard drives; not compatible with internal SATA. The practical data transfer rate is similar to SATA 2 at about 2.4 Gbps (300 Mbps).

— USB 2.0. The earliest of the USB standards found in modern hard drives — and exclusively external (see "Performance"). Provides connection to a traditional full-size USB port, provides data transfer rates up to 480 Mbps, as well as a rather low power supply, which is why drives with this type of connection often require additional power. In light of all this, and the advent of the more advanced USB 3.2 standard (see below), USB 2.0 is considered obsolete today and is extremely rare, mainly in inexpensive and early models of drives. However, a drive with this interface can also be connected to a newer USB port — the main thing is that the connectors match.

— USB 3.2 gen1(previously USB 3.1 gen1 and USB 3.0). The standard for connecting external HDDs, whic...h replaced the USB 2.0 described above. Uses a traditional full-size USB connector, delivers data transfer speeds up to 4.8 Gbps (600 Mbps) and higher power ratings, making these drives easier to handle without external power. However, for the same reason, you need to be careful when connecting USB 3.2 gen1 drives to older USB 2.0 connectors — such a connector may not have enough power to power a newer drive.

— USB 3.2 gen2. Further development of the USB 3.2 standard (formerly known as USB 3.1 gen2 and USB 3.1). The maximum data transfer rate in this version has been increased to 10 Gbps, and the power supply can reach 100 W (supporting USB Power Delivery technology). At the same time, drives with this type of connection can also work with earlier versions of full-size USB connectors — the main thing is that there is enough power.

— USB-C 3.2 gen1(formerly USB-C 3.1 gen1 and USB-C 3.0). USB Type-C connection compliant with USB 3.2 gen1 capabilities. These features are described in more detail above, the difference from the “regular” USB 3.2 gen1 in this case lies only in the type of connector: this is a relatively small (slightly larger than microUSB) socket, which also has a double-sided design. Due to its compact size, USB-C is found both in full-sized PCs and laptops, and in compact gadgets like smartphones and tablets; some drives with this connection are initially capable of "mobile" use.

— USB-C 3.2 gen2(formerly USB-C 3.1 gen2 and USB-C 3.1). Updating and improving the USB-C 3.2 gen1 described above — the same USB-C connector and increased data transfer rate to 10 Gbps (as in the "regular" USB 3.2 gen2).

— IEEE 1394. Also commonly known as "FireWire". A universal connector, similar in capabilities to USB 2.0 (see above), but used much less often, and nowadays is practically obsolete.

— Thunderbolt. High-speed interface for connecting external peripherals. It is used mainly in Apple computers and laptops, although it is also found in equipment from other manufacturers. Note that in modern HDDs there are mainly two versions of Thunderbolt, which differ not only in speed, but also in connector: Thunderbolt v2(up to 20 Gbps) uses a miniDisplayPort plug, and Thunderbolt v3(up to 40 Gbps) — USB type C plug (see above). Thus, in some hard drives, USB-C and Thunderbolt connections are implemented through a single hardware connector, which automatically detects which computer input the device is connected to.

— S.A.S. Modification of the SCSI interface, provides data transfer rates up to 6 Gbps (750 Mb / s). It is used mainly in servers, in desktop PCs and laptops it is practically not used.

— Fibre Channel. Professional high-speed interface primarily used in server drives ("Purpose"); similar in many ways to SAS. Allows "hot" replacement of drives; the actual data transfer rate over Fibre Channel, depending on the version, can reach 12.8 Gbps.

The amount of internal hard drive memory. This memory is an intermediate link between the high-speed computer RAM and the relatively slow mechanics responsible for reading and writing information on disk platters. In particular, the buffer is used to store the most frequently requested data from the disk — thus, the access time to them is reduced.
Technically, the size of the buffer affects the speed of the hard drive — the larger the buffer, the faster the drive. However, this influence is rather insignificant, and at the level of human perception, a significant difference in performance is noticeable only when the buffer size of the two drives differs many times — for example, 8 MB and 64 MB.

— CMR(Conventional Magnetic Recording) is a classic method of magnetic recording, characterized by high data access speed. CMR hard drives are used in systems where it is important to provide high (as far as possible) data read/write speed. These are user computers, security video surveillance systems, etc. The main disadvantage of CMR hard drives is the high complexity of creating volume drives, which is reflected in their price. Additionally, HDDs with CMR technology are quite “gluttonous” in terms of power supply.

— SMR(Shingled Magnetic Recording) — a promising technology for magnetic recording, which is called "tiled". SMR allows to achieve high data density, which in turn increases the capacity of memory drives and lowers their market value. SMR hard drives have slow rewriting speed, which makes such memory drives poorly suited for use in client computer systems. But they have proven themselves well when working as part of data processing centers, archives and similar systems for which low write / rewrite speed is not critical. However, some companies still produce SMR solutions for personal and even mobile systems. These HDDs use an optimized write/rewrite technology called Drive-Managed SMR (DM-SMR).

For drives used in a PC (see "Intended use"), 5400 rpm(normal) and 7200 rpm(high) are considered standard speeds. There are also more specific options, including models with the ability to adjust the speed depending on the load. In server HDDs, in turn, higher speeds can be used — 10,000 rpm and even 15,000 rpm.

The speed of data transfer between the disk and client devices is determined by the type of drive, spindle speed, memory buffer size and connection connectors. The last parameter is the most important, since it is impossible to exceed the bandwidth of a particular interface.

The number of platters provided in the design of the hard drive.

Physically, a hard disk consists of one or more platters, on which information is recorded. Several plates can be provided in order to achieve the desired volume without increasing the form factor. At the same time, it is also necessary to install an appropriate number of reading heads in such a drive, which complicates the design, reduces its reliability, and increases the cost. Therefore, manufacturers choose the number of plates based on a reasonable compromise between these points, and for selection, this parameter is more of a reference than practically significant.

The time it takes for the hard disk mechanics to find random requested data to read. For each specific case, the search time is different, as it depends on the location of the data on the surface of the disk and the position of the read head, therefore, the average value is indicated in the characteristics of hard drives. The lower the average seek time, the faster the disk works, all other things being equal.

The amount of power consumed by the disk when reading and writing information. In fact, this is the peak power consumption, it is in these modes that the drive consumes the most energy.

HDD power consumption data is needed primarily to calculate the overall system power consumption and power supply requirements for the system. In addition, for laptops that are planned to be used often "in isolation from outlets", it is advisable to choose more economical drives.