Secondary Storage

Secondary Storage

1. Optical storage

   • Advantages
     • It is more portable than magnetic as it can be used in many more devices.
     • It is more cost effective than solid state as you can get more GB's for your money. This means that, if you pay £15 for optical storage, you'll get more than you would if you payed £15 solid state
   • Disadvantages
     • It is less durable compared to solid state meaning that it can be scratched or damaged easier.
     • It has a lower storage capacity than magnetic meaning that it can't store as much data. This is why it is only good for storing a video.
   • Examples
     • Blu-Ray
     • DVD

2. It is non-volatile storage. It is needed in a computer system to store your programs, operating system and files

   • Non-volatile means that the data is not deleted when the computer system has no power connected to it.

3. Magnetic storage

   • Advantages
     • Higher storage capacity than optical and solid state storage. This allows it to store more files.
     • It is more cost effective than solid state because it is cheaper per GB by 30p. This means that you get more GBs for what you pay
   • Disadvantages
     • It has a slower read/write speed than solid state meaning that it can't load the programs as quickly.
     • It is less durable than solid state as it has some moving parts. This means that there is more chance of it breaking
   • Examples
     • Floppy disk
     • Magnetic tape

4. Solid state (flash) storage

   • Examples
     • SD card used in a phone
     • USB stick
   • Advantages
     • Faster read/write speed than magnetic storage. This means that it can load programs faster.
     • It has better durability than magnetic and optical as it has no moving parts and a hard outer case. This means that there is less chance of breaking.
   • Disadvantages
     • It has a lower storage capacity than magnetic storage. Therefore it can't store as many files.
     • It is not very cost effective compared to magnetic. This is because it costs more per GB. You get less for what you pay.