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Secondly, hard drives come in differing rotational speeds. For desktop hard drives, the most common speeds available are 5400, 7200, and 10000 RPM. A hard drive with faster-rotating platters will be able to read and write data more quickly than one with slower platters. However, it is also important to consider that a higher-RPM hard drive will also generate more noise and heat, which may be undesirable in an environment where the noise would become bothersome to the user. Generally, 7200 RPM drives are an effective compromise; they can deliver data rapidly while still operating in near-silence. Cache memory is the final item to consider when purchasing hard drives. During operation, hard drives will intelligently attempt to predict which data the user will need to use next, and load that data from the rotating platters into the cache. Cache memory is extremely fast, and if the drive is able to correctly predict which data the user will need next, the cache memory can deliver that data to the computer's processor almost instantly. Cache size is less important in determining a hard drive's speed than areal density and rotational speed, but all else being equal, cache is an important item to consider. A hard drive upgrade does not to be an overwhelming experience. Simply examine the capacity, the rotational speed, and cache size when making a purchase. A faster hard drive will lead to a faster overall computing experience.

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