← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 7–8

Choosing storage type and size together

Choosing storage by balancing speed (fast SSD or cheap HDD) and size (GB or TB) against the files you keep and your budget. Video projects need lots of space.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 7–8 — Hardware and Performance — Module 24

Understanding Choosing storage type and size together in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 7–8

What it does: Video files are huge, so a large SSD gives both the capacity and the speed that editing needs, though it costs more. An SSD is much faster at loading programs, so even a small one works well for the system and apps. Pay only for the space you need. A huge SSD would waste money when you have few files. 1 TB is about 1000 GB, so it holds twice as much as 500 GB. A good choice balances speed and capacity against what you store and what you can afford. A small SSD gives speed for programs while keeping the cost down, which fits the 'small fast SSD for programs' idea.

Common mistakes: Programs and games should load quickly, so a fast SSD is the right type. An HDD is slower, so it suits bulk files better. It should be kind = "SSD". To convert GB to TB you divide by 1000, not multiply. 2000 GB is 2 TB. It should be total_tb = total_gb / 1000.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 13–40) and word search (Modules 13–68).

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Learning
Duo
Which storage is best for holding your operating system and programs so they open quickly?
A large, slow HDDA small, fast SSD
Matches
Best choice for 4K video editing: 128 GB HDD
↓
128 GB is far too small for video projects, and an HDD is slow for editing. It needs a larger drive, ideally an SSD with 1 TB or more.
Applying
Meanings
Term
storage trade-off
Meaning
Choosing storage by balancing speed (fast SSD or cheap HDD) and size (GB or TB) against the files you keep and your budget. Video projects need lots of space.
Practice
IF user keeps video projects THEN
Testing
Gaps
type ← ""
Check Answer
Spots
2size_gb = 512
3kind = "HDD"

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Quick Questions

1. Which storage is best for holding your operating system and programs so they open quickly?
A. A large, slow HDD
B. A small, fast SSD ✓
An SSD is much faster at loading programs, so even a small one works well for the system and apps.
2. Which storage is the cheapest way to store lots of photos, music and old files?
A. A large HDD ✓
B. A large SSD
HDDs cost less per GB than SSDs, so they are a good choice for bulk files that do not need top speed.
3. A student edits long 4K video projects. What size of storage matters most?
A. Lots of space, such as 1 TB or more ✓
B. Just 64 GB, because video files are small
Video files are very large, so video projects need plenty of capacity.
4. True or false: A faster drive always means you can store more files.
A. False: speed and size are separate things ✓
B. True: faster drives always hold more
Speed (SSD or HDD) and capacity (GB or TB) are different. A drive can be fast but small, or slow but huge.
5. Your budget is small and you only keep a few school documents. Which choice makes the most sense?
A. A 4 TB SSD
B. A small, low-cost drive ✓
Pay only for the space you need. A huge SSD would waste money when you have few files.

Match the Pairs

256 GB SSD → A small but fast drive, good for the operating system and programs that need to open quickly
2 TB HDD → A large, cheap drive, good for storing lots of bulk files like photos and old videos
A video editor with big projects needs lots of space as well as speed, so choose a large drive → Storage: 1 TB SSD for video projects
A budget student laptop that balances speed and size uses a small SSD for programs plus a large HDD for files → Storage: 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Best choice for 4K video editing: 128 GB HDD → 128 GB is far too small for video projects, and an HDD is slow for editing. It needs a larger drive, ideally an SSD with 1 TB or more.
Cheapest way to store 3 TB of photos: 3 TB SSD → A large SSD costs much more than an HDD. For bulk files that do not need speed, a 3 TB HDD is the cheaper choice.

Key Term

storage trade-off
Choosing storage by balancing speed (fast SSD or cheap HDD) and size (GB or TB) against the files you keep and your budget. Video projects need lots of space.

Fill in the Blanks

1. IF use = "programs" THEN type ← "SSD" END IF
Hint: Type the fast storage type that suits programs which need to load quickly.
2. IF use = "bulk files" THEN type ← "HDD" END IF
Hint: Type the cheaper storage type that suits large amounts of bulk files.
3. IF use = "video projects" THEN size ← "2 TB" END IF
Hint: Type the large size unit that gives video projects lots of space.
4. IF speed = "high" AND budget = "high" THEN type ← "SSD" END IF
Hint: Type the logical operator that needs both conditions to be true.
5. type ← "SSD" size ← "512 GB" OUTPUT type + " " + size
Hint: Type the pseudocode keyword that displays the chosen storage type and size.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A use = "game programs"
B size_gb = 512
C kind = "HDD"
D print(kind, size_gb)
Line C — Programs and games should load quickly, so a fast SSD is the right type. An HDD is slower, so it suits bulk files better. It should be kind = "SSD".
Question 2
A videos = 40
B gb_each = 50
C total_gb = videos * gb_each
D total_tb = total_gb * 1000
E print(total_tb, "TB needed")
Line D — To convert GB to TB you divide by 1000, not multiply. 2000 GB is 2 TB. It should be total_tb = total_gb / 1000.
Question 3
A budget = 80
B hdd_price = 70
C ssd_price = 120
D if ssd_price >= budget:
E print("Buy the SSD")
Line D — The SSD should only be bought when its price is within the budget. >= would buy it when it costs too much. It should be if ssd_price <= budget:.
Question 4
A # HDD: costly, small, faster
B kind = "HDD"
C size_tb = 4
D print(kind, size_tb, "TB")
Line A — An HDD is cheap per GB and comes in large sizes, but it is slower than an SSD. The comment should say cheap, big, slower.
Question 5
A def pick(need_gb, budget)
B if need_gb > 1000:
C return "HDD"
D return "SSD"
Line A — A function definition must end with a colon. It should be def pick(need_gb, budget):.

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