Hard drives come in a variety of sizes to meet different storage needs. The most common hard drive sizes currently available are 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 14TB, 16TB, 18TB, and 20TB.
Common Hard Drive Sizes
Here is an overview of some of the most popular hard drive sizes:
1TB
1TB (terabyte) hard drives are a basic storage size good for basic computing needs. A 1TB hard drive can hold approximately:
- 250,000 photos
- 230 hours of HD video
- 1,000 hours of standard video
- 250,000 MP3 songs
1TB hard drives are the minimum size recommended for gaming computers. They provide enough room for a decent game library without taking up too much space or costing too much money.
2TB
2TB hard drives are a popular mid-range storage capacity. A 2TB hard drive can hold about:
- 500,000 photos
- 460 hours of HD video
- 2,000 hours of standard video
- 500,000 MP3 songs
2TB hard drives are a good choice for regular computer users looking for extra storage space. They provide ample room for documents, music, picture and video collections.
4TB
4TB hard drives are a common choice for businesses and creative professionals. A 4TB hard drive can hold approximately:
- 1,000,000 photos
- 920 hours of HD video
- 4,000 hours of standard video
- 1,000,000 MP3 songs
4TB hard drives provide significant storage space for large projects. They can store hundreds of creative files like photos, videos and multimedia projects.
6TB
6TB hard drives offer robust storage for at-home and small business servers. A 6TB hard drive can hold around:
- 1,500,000 photos
- 1,380 hours of HD video
- 6,000 hours of standard video
- 1,500,000 MP3 songs
6TB hard drives provide ample space for backing up multiple devices and for running servers and networked storage devices.
8TB
8TB hard drives are a common choice for sophisticated home media servers. An 8TB hard drive can hold approximately:
- 2,000,000 photos
- 1,840 hours of HD video
- 8,000 hours of standard video
- 2,000,000 MP3 songs
8TB hard drives have the storage for enormous media libraries. They allow home users to store all their movies, music, photos, and media files in one place.
Larger Hard Drive Sizes
In addition to the common hard drive sizes listed above, larger capacity drives are available for those who need massive storage:
10TB
10TB hard drives provide extremely large storage for big servers and NAS devices. A 10TB drive can store approximately:
- 2,500,000 photos
- 2,300 hours of HD video
- 10,000 hours of standard video
- 2,500,000 MP3 songs
10TB lets businesses and power users store huge libraries of data for work and personal use.
12TB
12TB hard drives are some of the largest on the consumer market. A 12TB drive can hold around:
- 3,000,000 photos
- 2,760 hours of HD video
- 12,000 hours of standard video
- 3,000,000 MP3 songs
12TB hard drives provide massive space for backing up multiple computers and large servers.
14TB
14TB hard drives are ideal for enormous enterprise storage needs. A 14TB drive can store approximately:
- 3,500,000 photos
- 3,220 hours of HD video
- 14,000 hours of standard video
- 3,500,000 MP3 songs
14TB hard drives excel at holding the very large databases, virtual servers, and file libraries used by IT departments and web companies.
16TB
16TB hard drives are created for companies needing serious data storage. A 16TB hard drive can hold around:
- 4,000,000 photos
- 3,680 hours of HD video
- 16,000 hours of standard video
- 4,000,000 MP3 songs
16TB hard drives provide immense capacity for enterprise applications requiring tremendous amounts of data storage.
18TB
18TB hard drives represent the extreme high end of storage for massive business and scientific data needs. An 18TB drive can store approximately:
- 4,500,000 photos
- 4,140 hours of HD video
- 18,000 hours of standard video
- 4,500,000 MP3 songs
18TB hard drives are ideal for companies dealing in big data, advanced simulations, high-resolution imagery, and other memory-intensive functions.
20TB
20TB hard drives push data storage to its physical limits today. A 20TB hard drive can hold around:
- 5,000,000 photos
- 4,600 hours of HD video
- 20,000 hours of standard video
- 5,000,000 MP3 songs
20TB hard drives represent the cutting edge of storage capacity. They satisfy the extreme data demands of giant corporations and research institutions.
Choosing the Right Hard Drive Size
With so many hard drive sizes available, how do you choose the right one? Here are some tips:
- Entry-level general use: 1-2TB
- Mainstream home computing: 2-4TB
- Creative work and gaming: 4-6TB
- Home servers and NAS: 6-10TB
- Small business storage: 6-12TB
- Backups and archives: 10-14TB
- Enterprise and data centers: 14TB+
Consider how much storage you currently use, how your needs might grow, and what you will use the drive for. This will help you pick the right capacity.
Hard Drive Size Comparison Table
Here is a table summarizing some key details about common hard drive sizes:
| Hard Drive Size | Photo Storage | HD Video Hours | Standard Video Hours | MP3 Songs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1TB | 250,000 | 230 | 1,000 | 250,000 |
| 2TB | 500,000 | 460 | 2,000 | 500,000 |
| 4TB | 1,000,000 | 920 | 4,000 | 1,000,000 |
| 6TB | 1,500,000 | 1,380 | 6,000 | 1,500,000 |
| 8TB | 2,000,000 | 1,840 | 8,000 | 2,000,000 |
| 10TB | 2,500,000 | 2,300 | 10,000 | 2,500,000 |
| 12TB | 3,000,000 | 2,760 | 12,000 | 3,000,000 |
| 14TB | 3,500,000 | 3,220 | 14,000 | 3,500,000 |
| 16TB | 4,000,000 | 3,680 | 16,000 | 4,000,000 |
| 18TB | 4,500,000 | 4,140 | 18,000 | 4,500,000 |
| 20TB | 5,000,000 | 4,600 | 20,000 | 5,000,000 |
Conclusion
Hard drives are available in a wide range of sizes to suit different storage needs. The most common sizes for consumer use are 1-8TB. But drives go all the way up to 20TB for massive enterprise data needs. Consider how you will use your computer and hard drive when choosing the right capacity.