220-1201 Hardware and Network Troubleshooting Practice Question
A technician is replacing a failed hard drive in a desktop PC. The user wants the fastest possible storage for the operating system and frequently used applications. The motherboard has available M.2 slots and SATA ports. Which of the following should the technician install?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is selecting a SATA SSD because it is an SSD, without recognizing that NVMe over M.2 delivers substantially higher performance.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
An M.2 NVMe SSD
The user requires the fastest storage for the OS and applications. An M.2 NVMe SSD uses the PCIe interface, providing far greater speed than SATA SSDs or mechanical drives. Since the motherboard has M.2 slots, this is the correct choice to meet the performance need.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A 5400 RPM SATA hard drive
Why it's wrong here
A 5400 RPM SATA hard drive is even slower than a 7200 RPM model due to lower rotational speed. It is suitable for bulk storage but not for an OS drive where speed is critical. This option would result in sluggish boot times and slow application launches, failing the user's requirement for fastest possible storage.
- ✓
An M.2 NVMe SSD
Why this is correct
An M.2 NVMe SSD connects directly to the PCIe bus, delivering much higher throughput and lower latency than SATA SSDs or hard drives. This makes it the fastest option for booting the OS and launching applications. The motherboard has available M.2 slots, so this is the optimal choice for the user's performance requirement.
- ✗
A 7200 RPM SATA hard drive
Why it's wrong here
A 7200 RPM SATA hard drive is a mechanical drive with spinning platters, offering much slower read/write speeds than SSDs. While it provides large capacity at low cost, it does not meet the requirement for fastest possible storage for the OS and applications. It would be a poor choice for performance-focused boot and application loading.
- ✗
A SATA SSD
Why it's wrong here
A SATA SSD is faster than a mechanical hard drive but is limited by the SATA interface to around 550 MB/s. It is a good upgrade over HDDs, but an M.2 NVMe SSD offers significantly higher performance. Since the motherboard has M.2 slots available and the user wants the fastest storage, SATA SSD is not the best choice.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 220-1201 question is part of Courseiva's 871-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.