2.5" drive vs 3.5"

benparker · 1 Mar 2017 at 08:37

I am thinking of getting a 1TB 2.5" drive for data storage, few isos and home videos. I want to go with HGST, both 7200rpm and they're similarly priced but other than the size does one have clear advantage over the other?

Armageus · 1 Mar 2017 at 08:39

Unless they are NAS spec drives then 2.5" drives generally aren't specced to quite the same reliability level (I.e. reduced MTBF, and not necessarily rated for 24/7 operation).

benparker · 1 Mar 2017 at 09:06

Is hgst better than western digital blue?

darael · 1 Mar 2017 at 11:18

In Augsut 2011, I bought a Hitachi Z7K320 250GB drive. It's been powered on nearly 24/7 since I've bought it and it's never given me the slightest hint of any issues.

To be honest, I bought the drive more to see how a 2.5" would fair under 24/7 conditions, compared to 3.5". It's only used for storage, such as documents, so it's not getting the same hammering that a drive containing the operating system might.

I wouldn't hesitate buying another 2.5" drive for the same purpose, providing the price was reasonable.

Big.Wayne · 7 Mar 2017 at 19:33

benparker said:
I am thinking of getting a 1TB 2.5" drive for data storage, few isos and home videos. I want to go with HGST, both 7200rpm and they're similarly priced but other than the size does one have clear advantage over the other?

Hi Ben,

It used to be that 2.5" laptop drives were slower and more expensive than a 3.5" desktop drive but having just spent 10 minutes looking through the drives for sale today I have to say the 1TB laptop drives are much cheaper than I remember but specs and performance still seem to be better on the desktop equivalent.

The laptop drive uses less power if that's important to you, the smaller drive can also be housed in a USB3.0 caddy for those occasions when you want to whip out 1TB of storage from your pocket!

I currently use a Desktop 3.5" 1TB WD Blue for all my data but I'm currently saving for a 500GB-1TB SATA SSD to replace it. I also use a Desktop 3TB WD Green for backup files only. Once you start talking about larger capacity drives the prices start to favor the desktop 3.5" drives again.

If you could see a use for portable storage then maybe the laptop drive is the way to go but if you want the best possible performance for a good price and the drive is going to be permanently hooked up via SATA then a desktop 3.5" drive would be the better option? . . . maybe even splurge and get more than 1TB