FC0-U71 Tech Concepts and Terminology Practice Question
A technician is comparing two internal storage devices for a workstation that must boot quickly and survive being dropped during transport. One candidate uses flash memory with no moving parts, while the other uses spinning magnetic platters. Which statement correctly describes the trade-off the technician should consider?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that continuously spinning platters reduce latency, when mechanical seek and rotational delays actually make magnetic drives slower than flash storage.
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
✓
The flash-based device has faster access times and better shock resistance but generally costs more per gigabyte
Flash-based solid-state drives deliver faster access times and greater resistance to shock because they have no moving parts, while magnetic hard disk drives rely on spinning platters and a moving actuator arm. The trade-off is cost per gigabyte, since flash storage generally remains more expensive, so the technician must balance performance and durability against budget.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The flash-based device stores data magnetically and requires periodic defragmentation to maintain speed
Why it's wrong here
Flash memory stores data in electrical charge within memory cells, not through magnetic orientation, so the premise of the statement is incorrect. Defragmentation is a maintenance procedure for mechanical drives, where rearranging files reduces head movement. Applying it to flash storage is unnecessary and adds write cycles without performance benefit, making this description inaccurate for the device in question.
- ✗
The magnetic device provides lower latency than the flash-based device because platters spin continuously
Why it's wrong here
Continuous spinning does not eliminate latency; the drive must still wait for the correct sector to rotate under the head and for the actuator to position it, which adds rotational and seek delays measured in milliseconds. Flash storage accesses data electronically in microseconds. The magnetic drive therefore has higher latency, and the statement inverts the actual performance relationship between the two technologies.
- ✗
The magnetic device has no moving parts and therefore uses less power under load
Why it's wrong here
Magnetic hard disk drives contain spinning platters and an actuator arm that moves read-write heads across the surface, so they are inherently mechanical. Because of those moving parts, they consume power to keep the platters spinning and are far more vulnerable to physical shock. The statement reverses the actual characteristics of the two technologies, so it cannot guide the selection correctly.
- ✓
The flash-based device has faster access times and better shock resistance but generally costs more per gigabyte
Why this is correct
Solid-state drives store data in flash memory, so they have no moving parts to seek or spin up, giving near-instant access times, faster boots, and much greater tolerance for drops and vibration. The trade-off is that flash memory historically costs more per gigabyte than magnetic media, so the technician must weigh speed and durability against budget when selecting the workstation drive.
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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
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