The first decision to make when choosing a hard drive is what type of drive is needed. For disk access intensive applications, spend the extra money and get SCSI drives. Other fixed media products have come along, such as removable storage devices that operate at new hard-drive speeds but allow you to insert new drives, much as you would insert a floppy diskette. These cost a few hundred dollars and provide 1GB storage capabilities. The cost of hard drives and other fixed media storage products have dropped dramatically in the last year or so.
Many factors can affect PC performance.
When specifying a PC, the first step is to determine the machine's key role. Once the role of the machine is defined, find out how each of the machines you are considering stack up in the above categories. PC technology is evolving rapidly. Vendors are constantly introducing new approaches and new terminology to pull ahead in this very competitive market. If you evaluate these thoroughly, you will be well on your way to specifying and acquiring the right PC for the job.