| When choosing a hard drive for your computer, whether it's internal or external, for a PC or a notebook, there are really only two things to consider: capacity and speed. The amount of storage space that a hard drive has is measured in gigabytes. The more GB, the larger the capacity of the hard drive.
Slow hard drives will affect all of your tasks on the computer, especially for gaming applications. Get the fastest drive you can afford. Faster rotational speeds tend to produce more noise and heat, however, and these create wear and tear on the drives. If you can't deal with the noise, you might consider a slower drive or a case that filters noise.
Also, heat might not mean much to you unless you live in a warm climate. However, it can impact the lifespan of your system. If your computer case doesn't have enough ventilation around it, your hard drive can fail prematurely.
If you will be installing a hard drive on your computer, there are three interfaces to know about: SCSI, IDE and Serial ATA. SCSI is used mainly for server systems and is not often found in home computers. The IDE interface is most common in home computers. Serial ATA drives relatively new and are easier to install because they have fewer cables and less configuration required.
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