220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is configuring a new workstation for…

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

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  2.5-inch SATA SSD

  Why it's wrong here

  A 2.5-inch SATA SSD utilizes the SATA III interface, which has a theoretical maximum throughput of 6 Gbps, translating to approximately 600 MB/s sequential read/write speeds. While significantly faster than traditional HDDs, this bandwidth is often insufficient for demanding video editing tasks involving high-resolution footage (e.g., 4K/8K) or multiple concurrent video streams, leading to potential bottlenecks during scrubbing, rendering, and large file transfers.

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  NVMe M.2 SSD

  Why this is correct

  An NVMe M.2 SSD is the optimal choice due to its utilization of the PCI Express (PCIe) bus, which offers significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency compared to SATA. Modern NVMe drives can achieve sequential read/write speeds upwards of 3,500 MB/s to 7,000 MB/s, depending on the PCIe generation. This extreme performance is crucial for rapidly loading large video files, handling multiple high-bitrate streams simultaneously, and accelerating rendering times in professional video editing workflows.

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  10,000 RPM HDD

  Why it's wrong here

  A 10,000 RPM HDD, despite its higher rotational speed compared to standard HDDs, is still fundamentally limited by its mechanical nature. It relies on spinning platters and read/write heads, resulting in high latency, slow seek times, and sequential transfer speeds typically ranging from 150-250 MB/s. These performance characteristics are drastically insufficient for the sustained, high-throughput data access required by modern video editing applications, causing severe bottlenecks and a frustrating user experience.

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  Hybrid drive (SSHD)

  Why it's wrong here

  A hybrid drive (SSHD) combines a small NAND flash cache (typically 8GB to 32GB) with a larger, slower HDD. While the SSD cache can accelerate frequently accessed small files and boot times, it is quickly overwhelmed by the large, sustained data transfers inherent in video editing. Once the cache is exhausted, the system reverts to the mechanical HDD's performance, which is inadequate for the high-bandwidth demands of editing high-resolution video files, failing to provide consistent high speeds.

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