Unit 1: Page 6: Storage Devices Flashcards
Describe Hard Disk Drives.
They are magnetic storage devices commonly used as the primary internal storage device but can be external.
Give three advantages of HDD.
- Large storage capacity
- Low cost on a per byte basis
- Very reliable
Give two limitations of HDD.
- Slower than SDDs at loading data.
- External HDD’s are not as portable as other options.
Describe Solid State Drives.
Flash memory devices commonly used as the primary storage in portable computing devices like tablets and laptops.
Give three advantages of SSD.
- Very fast data read/write speeds.
- Low power consumption
- Extremely reliable as they have no moving parts which can be damaged
Give three limitations of SSDs.
- Higher cost than HDDs on a per byte basis
- Usually have a lower storage capacity
- Only have a finite number of writes.
Describe SD cards.
Small flash memory cards that are commonly used for storage in digital cameras and some smartphones.
Give two advantages of SD cards.
- Very small and portable.
- Easy to transfer between devices with SD card readers.
Give two limitations of SD cards.
- Very small storage capacity, generally around 64gb - greater capacity is costly.
- Various ‘enhancements’ to the standards, resulting in potential compatibility problems.
Describe USB Memory Sticks.
Small flash memory devices that connect through a USB port.
Give two advantages of USB memory sticks.
- Extremely portable devices.
- Compatible with most computer systems via USB ports.
Give three limitations of USB memory sticks.
- Storage capacity is low when compared to SSDs and HDDs
- Only have a finite number of writes before they break.
- Because they are small, they can be lost easily.
Describe Optical disks.
CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray disks are used for software, music and movies.
Give two advantages of optical disks.
- Small and portable
- A lot of devices have built in capability to read optical discs, with external devices being inexpensive if needed.
Give two limitations of Optical disks.
- Archival stability of writable media can be questionable.
- Fragile and easy to damage.
Describe Magnetic tape.
Used for large data backups.
Give two advantages of magnetic tape.
- Very large storage capacity.
- Very cheap on a per byte basis.
Give two limitations of magnetic tape.
- Data is accessed serially which is slow.
- Requires specialist equipment for recording and reading data.
