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

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 2010/04/21 20:13 UTC
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Filed under:

hard-drive

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storage

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Technology

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sectors

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compatibility

I've noticed that some Western Digital hard drives are now sporting 4K sectors, that is, the sectors are larger: 4096 bytes vs. the long-standing 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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