What does a higher RPM indicate about a hard drive?

A higher RPM (revolutions per minute) indicates that a hard drive can spin its platters faster. This increased speed allows the read/write heads to access data on the disk more quickly, resulting in faster data retrieval times. Generally, hard drives with higher RPMs, such as 7200 RPM or 10,000 RPM, will outperform those with lower RPMs, like 5400 RPM, in terms of response time and overall performance. This is particularly important for applications that require quick access to large amounts of data, such as gaming and high-performance computing.

The other choices relate to different aspects of hard drive performance or characteristics rather than the direct correlation of RPM to speed. For instance, slower data retrieval would be characteristic of lower RPM drives, while storage capacity is not inherently tied to RPM but instead relates to the physical size of the drives and technologies used. Additionally, energy consumption can vary but higher RPM drives generally consume more power due to increased mechanical movement, not as a direct consequence of the RPM figure itself.