4K sectors: Why are hard drives moving to 4096 byte sectors, vs. 512 byte sectors? Are 4K sectors a

Posted by Chris W. Rea on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Chris W. Rea
Published on 2010-04-20T00:07:49Z Indexed on 2010/04/20 0:43 UTC
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hard-drive

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storage

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Technology

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sectors

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4k-sectors

I've noticed that some Western Digital hard drives are now sporting 4K sectors, that is, the sectors are larger: 4096 bytes vs. the actual de facto standard of 512 bytes. So:

What's the big deal with 4K sectors? Is it marketing hype, or a real advantage?
Why should somebody building a new PC care, or not, about 4K sectors?
Why is this transition taking place now? Why didn't it happen sooner?
Are there things to look out for when buying a 4K sector hard drive? e.g. incompatibility?
Anything else we should know about 4K sectors?

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