What does the abbreviation 'rpm' stand for in the context of hard drives?

In the context of hard drives, 'rpm' stands for "revolutions per minute." This measurement indicates the number of times the hard drive's platters rotate in one minute. Higher rpm values generally indicate better performance for traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), as a drive that spins faster can read and write data more quickly. This is especially relevant when comparing drives, as an HDD with a higher rpm (e.g., 7200 rpm) will typically provide better data access times than a drive with a lower rpm (e.g., 5400 rpm). Understanding this metric is crucial when evaluating the performance and speed of hard drives, especially for tasks that involve heavy data usage.