Secondary Storage

Secondary Storage

1. Stores data permanently, it's a non-volatile storage needed in a computer system to store your programs, operating system and files.

2. Solid State Storage

   • Advantages
     • More durable compared to magnetic storage as it has no moving parts.
     • Better data transfer speed compared to magnetic storage, therefore it will load programs and files much faster.
   • Disadvantages
     • Less cost effective compared to magnetic storage as it has a much smaller capacity.
   • Example
     • An example of a solid state storage is a SanDisk, It's data transfer speed (read) is 550 MB/s and (write) is 500MB/s, it's cost per GB is £0.32.

3. Magnetic Storage

   • Advantages
     • Cost effective due to having a larger capacity compared to solid state.
   • Disadvantages
     • Not as durable due to moving parts and it's data transfer speed is slower in comparison to solid state.
   • Example
     • An example of magnetic storage is FloppyDisks, It's data transfer speed is 1.4 MB/s.

4. Optical Storage

   • Advantages
     • Cost effective compared to Solid state storage.
   • Disadvantages
     • Has a limited capacity compared to magnetic storage
   • Example
     • An example of Optical Storage is a DVD, It's capacity is 4.7 GB/s, and costs about £0.22p.