Learn About PC Storage

PC storage quick guide

What is it?

It is the non-volatile memory that comes with your PC. Non-volatile memory means it will not lose stored data when power is turned off. It allows you to store your applications, photos, videos and any other type of data on your PC. There are mainly 2 types of PC storage, hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD). SSDs have now become the standard type of storage for storing your computers data, replacing the much slower, spinning HDDs. It's main role is to store all your data on your computer even when power is off. SSDs are much faster than HDDs, but much slower than RAM, so they can cause a huge bottleneck if they were used to serve the CPU directly instead of RAM. Think of it like your file cabinet. It is much easier and faster to have all the files from your file cabinet (SSD) placed in-front of you on your desk surface (RAM) as opposed to going back and forth every time you need to work on something. PC storage mainly comes in the following shapes:

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How does it work?

PC storage works by doing the following (over simplified) steps:

  1. Receive data from CPU
  2. Write data in storage cells
  3. Send requested data to CPU

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