​SPACE

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Manufacturers release larger hard drives every year. Upgrading an older hard drive will provide you with more space for more software, games, videos, photos, songs and documents. Depending on the size of your old hard drive, you might need a new and larger drive to meet system requirements for running a new operating system or upgrading other software.

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SPEED​

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Just as hard drives increase in size when new models come out, drives have also become faster over time. The speed boost you receive from upgrading a hard drive won't be as noticeable as the amount of new storage space a new drive offers, but a faster drive will increase computer performance. Software and large files should load faster.

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RELIABILITY

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Hard drives become less reliable as they grow older. Waiting for your current drive to fail before upgrading to a new one puts your data at risk. If the old drive fails, you could lose your files.

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ENERGY

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Hard drive manufacturers compete to produce the biggest and fastest hard drives. They also compete to produce the most energy-efficient drives. Hard drives are available that consume as much as 40 percent less energy than old models.