Yes, internal hard drives are very common in desktop computers and laptops. An internal hard drive is a data storage device that is installed inside the computer case, as opposed to an external hard drive which connects outside of the computer through a USB port or other connection.
What is an Internal Hard Drive?
An internal hard drive is composed of one or more rigid platters coated with a ferromagnetic material like iron, nickel or cobalt alloy. These platters spin rapidly while a read/write head floats just above the platter surface to access data. The platters are mounted inside a protective enclosure called the hard disk drive (HDD) chassis.
Data is written to the platter in the form of magnetic patterns representing bits 1s and 0s. The presence or absence of a magnetic charge in a spot represents a 1 or 0. The read/write head contains a tiny electromagnetic coil that can detect these magnetic patterns as the platters spin. In this way, data can be written to the drive and read back later.
Common Internal Hard Drive Types
There are two common types of internal hard drives in use today:
- HDD (hard disk drive) – The traditional hard drive design with spinning magnetic platters. HDDs are more affordable but slower than SSDs.
- SSD (solid state drive) – An SSD has no moving parts. Instead of magnetic platters, data is stored on interconnected flash memory chips. SSDs are much faster than HDDs for most workloads.
Common Internal Hard Drive Sizes
Internal hard drives come in a range of storage capacities. Some common sizes are:
- 500GB
- 1TB
- 2TB
- 4TB
1 terabyte (TB) is equal to about 1,000 gigabytes (GB). For most home and office PCs, a 500GB to 2TB internal hard drive is typical, depending on budget and needs.
Advantages of an Internal Hard Drive
There are several benefits to using an internal hard drive in a desktop or laptop computer:
Performance
Internal hard drives connect directly to the motherboard via SATA cables. This interface offers much higher data transfer speeds compared to external USB hard drives. Internal drives can read and write data much faster than external drives resulting in better performance.
Reliability
Since internal drives do not rely on external power cables or USB connections that can work loose over time, they tend to be more reliable than external drives. The direct SATA connection minimizes points of failure.
Space Efficiency
Internal drives allow for a compact, space efficient design. An external drive requires a separate enclosure that takes up additional space on or near your desk.
Data Security
Data stored only on an internal drive is generally more secure than data stored on a shared external drive that can be removed. While not completely immune to theft or hardware failure, internal drives help keep sensitive information like financial records more secure.
Disadvantages of an Internal Hard Drive
The main drawbacks of using an internal hard drive include:
Difficult to Upgrade or Replace
Replacing or swapping an internal hard drive involves opening up the computer case and disconnecting cables which is more involved than simply unplugging an external drive. Many laptop designs make it particularly challenging to replace the internal hard drive.
Vulnerable to Physical Damage
Since the hard drive is fixed inside the computer case, a drop or jolt to the system can damage the internal drive. By contrast, an external drive can be safely removed and stored separately from the computer when not in use.
Not Portable
Internal drives stay inside the computer and are not designed for portability between systems. External drives are made to be more easily transported and connected to different computers.
Are External Hard Drives Better?
External hard drives offer some advantages over internal drives:
- Easy to install – External drives just plug into a USB port.
- Portable – External drives can move between computers easily.
- Extra capacity – External drives provide additional storage space.
However, external drives connected over USB generally have slower transfer speeds. Internals drives offer higher performance, especially for demanding tasks like gaming, video editing and programming.
For most users, having both an internal hard drive for performance plus an external drive for additional capacity and portability is a good combination.
Typical Computer Hard Drive Setups
Here are some typical internal hard drive configurations for desktop and laptop PCs:
Desktop PC
- 1TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD – For primary OS and programs storage.
- 2TB 5400 RPM SATA HDD – For data and file storage.
Gaming Desktop
- 500GB Solid State SSD – For OS, programs and games.
- 2TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD – For data storage.
Laptop
- 256GB-512GB Solid State SSD – For OS, programs and files.
Having a fast SSD as the primary drive improves speed and responsiveness while a larger secondary HDD provides abundant storage capacity.
Installing an Internal Hard Drive
Installing an internal hard drive involves several steps:
- Choose the correct hard drive form factor – Generally 2.5″ for laptops and 3.5″ for desktops.
- Select the appropriate drive interface – Most modern computers use SATA drives.
- Open the computer case and locate SATA data and power connectors.
- Mount the hard drive into an open drive bay (desktop) or drive enclosure (laptop).
- Connect the SATA data and power cables to the hard drive.
- Turn on the computer and configure the drive by partitioning, formatting and assigning a drive letter in Disk Management.
With the right cables and drive bays, installing an internal hard drive is a straightforward process. The manufacturer’s service manual can provide helpful specifics for each computer model.
Conclusion
Internal hard disk drives continue to offer unique advantages in desktop and laptop PCs. Their combination of large capacity storage, performance, reliability and security makes internal drives ideal for holding a computer’s operating system, programs and primary files.
While external drives provide useful portability, capacity and ease of use, internal drives will remain an essential component of computer systems into the future. Knowing their pros and cons allows users to get the most benefit from both internal and external storage options.
| Internal Hard Drives | External Hard Drives |
|---|---|
| Faster transfer speeds | Slower USB transfer speeds |
| Fixed inside computer case | Easily disconnected and portable |
| Ideal for operating system and programs | Good for file backups and additional storage |