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Any 4TB+ 2.5" HDDs that are 9.5mm or less?

thewelshbrummie
By thewelshbrummie
in Storage Devices
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Posted

The TLDR version of this post - basically as the title says, any suggestions welcome.

 

Background - I prefer building a gaming rig that also contains my bulk storage, simply as I don't want to run a separate NAS. My new build is in a Thermaltake Core V21 and has 3x 3.5" bays but also has 3x 2.5" bays that I'd like to use for extra bulk storage. Unfortunately I've only recently disovered that the 2.5" bays are limited to 9.5mm drives - my spare 5TB drive, at 15mm, simply doesn't fit.

 

I plan on loading the 3.5" bays down the road but I'm also intending on filling out the 2.5" bays for extra storage in another RAID pool storage space (which has proven itself on my old build).

 

Are there any 2.5" HDDs that are 4TB or more while being 9.5mm or less available? I've yet to find one and I doubt one will be available for some time if at all - but please let me know if you've found one.

 

Alternatively, I can accept the expensive option and go with SSDs instead. I already have a 4TB 25" SSD and hadn't planned on getting more but I wondering if (subject to money) it would be better to buy another 2 and run them in RAID 5. I'm not after performance but I'm open to that option if that is the safer way to go. Thoughts/opinions welcome.

US Gaming Rig (April 2021): Win 11Pro/10 Pro, Thermaltake Core V21, Intel Core i7 10700K with XMP2/MCE enabled, 4x8GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4 @3,600MHz, Asus Z490-G (Wi-Fi), SK Hynix nvme SSDs (1x 2TB P41, 1x 500GB P31) SSDs, 1x WD 4TB SATA SSD, 1x16TB Seagate HDD, Asus Dual RTX 3060 V2 OC, Seasonic Focus PX-750, LG 27GN800-B monitor. Logitech Z533 speakers, Xbox Stereo & Wireless headsets, Logitech G213 keyboard, G703 mouse with Powerplay

 

UK HTPC #2 (April 2022) Win 11 Pro, Silverstone ML08, (with SST-FPS01 front panel adapter), Intel Core i5 10400, 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @3,600MHz, Asus B560-I, SK Hynix P31 (500GB) nvme boot SSD, 1x 5TB Seagate 2.5" HDD, Drobo S with 5x4TB HDDs, Hauppauge WinTV-quadHD TV Tuner, Silverstone SST-SX500-LG v2.1 SFX PSU, LG 42LW550T TV. Philips HTL5120 soundbar, Logitech K400.

 

US HTPC (planning 2024): Win 11 Pro, Streacom DB4, Intel Core i5 13600T, RAM TBC (32GB), AsRock Z690-itx/ax, SK Hynix P41 Platinum 1TB, Streacom ZF240 PSU, LG TV, Logitech K400.

 

US NAS (planning): tbc

 

UK Gaming Rig #2 (May 2013, offline 2020): Win 10 Pro/Win 8.1 Pro with MCE, Antec 1200 v3, Intel Core i5 4670K @4.2GHz, 4x4GB Corsair DDR3 @1,600MHz, Asus Z87-DELUXE/Dual, Samsung 840 Evo 1TB boot SSD, 1TB & 500GB sata m.2 SSDs (and 6 HDDs for 28TB total in a Storage Space), no dGPU, Seasonic SS-660XP2, Dell U2410 monitor. Dell AY511 soundbar, Sennheiser HD205, Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, Roccat Kone XTD mouse.

 

UK Gaming Rig #1 (Feb 2008, last rebuilt 2013, offline 2020): Win 7 Ultimate (64bit)/Win Vista Ultimate (32bit)/Win XP Pro (32bit), Coolermaster Elite 335U, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @3.6GHz, 4x2GB Corsair DDR3 @1,600MHz, Asus P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-Ap@n, 2x 1TB & 2x 500GB 2.5" HDDs (1 for each OS & 1 for Win7 data), NVidia GTX 750, CoolerMaster Real Power M620 PSU, shared I/O with gaming rig #2 via KVM.

 

UK HTPC #1 (June 2010, rebuilt 2012/13, offline 2022) Win 7 Home Premium, Antec Fusion Black, Intel Core i3 3220T, 4x2GB OCZ DDR3 @1,600MHz, Gigabyte H77M-D3H, OCZ Agility3 120GB boot SSD, 1x1TB 2.5" HDD, Blackgold 3620 TV Tuner, Seasonic SS-400FL2 Fanless PSU, Logitech MX Air, Origen RC197.

 

Laptop: 2015 HP Spectre x360, i7 6500U, 8GB Ram, 512GB m.2 Sata SSD.

Tablet: Surface Go 128GB/8GB.

Mini PC: Intel Compute Stick (m3)

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Nope, no drive that fit that need.

 

SSDs meed these needs

 

Or get a external hdd or nas for storing games.

 

ALso basically all 2.5in hdds now are smr, and will have very bad performance in raid.

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My games already get installed to an SSD.

 

I'm talking storage of videos/pictures/documents where I don't need the storage speed and would obviously prefer to spend significantly less money if possible. The issue is drive thickness- I'm not against going with SSDs but at 4TB they're 3-4x the cost of an HDD which is not necessary for the type of files the drives will be storing.

 

2TB HDDs that fit are easy to find but they lack in capacity for my needs. Ideally I want bigger capacity drives that will physically fit, but all 4TB+ 2.5" HDDs I can find are 12 or 15mm thick which means they won't fit the drive caddys that my case has.

US Gaming Rig (April 2021): Win 11Pro/10 Pro, Thermaltake Core V21, Intel Core i7 10700K with XMP2/MCE enabled, 4x8GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4 @3,600MHz, Asus Z490-G (Wi-Fi), SK Hynix nvme SSDs (1x 2TB P41, 1x 500GB P31) SSDs, 1x WD 4TB SATA SSD, 1x16TB Seagate HDD, Asus Dual RTX 3060 V2 OC, Seasonic Focus PX-750, LG 27GN800-B monitor. Logitech Z533 speakers, Xbox Stereo & Wireless headsets, Logitech G213 keyboard, G703 mouse with Powerplay

 

UK HTPC #2 (April 2022) Win 11 Pro, Silverstone ML08, (with SST-FPS01 front panel adapter), Intel Core i5 10400, 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @3,600MHz, Asus B560-I, SK Hynix P31 (500GB) nvme boot SSD, 1x 5TB Seagate 2.5" HDD, Drobo S with 5x4TB HDDs, Hauppauge WinTV-quadHD TV Tuner, Silverstone SST-SX500-LG v2.1 SFX PSU, LG 42LW550T TV. Philips HTL5120 soundbar, Logitech K400.

 

US HTPC (planning 2024): Win 11 Pro, Streacom DB4, Intel Core i5 13600T, RAM TBC (32GB), AsRock Z690-itx/ax, SK Hynix P41 Platinum 1TB, Streacom ZF240 PSU, LG TV, Logitech K400.

 

US NAS (planning): tbc

 

UK Gaming Rig #2 (May 2013, offline 2020): Win 10 Pro/Win 8.1 Pro with MCE, Antec 1200 v3, Intel Core i5 4670K @4.2GHz, 4x4GB Corsair DDR3 @1,600MHz, Asus Z87-DELUXE/Dual, Samsung 840 Evo 1TB boot SSD, 1TB & 500GB sata m.2 SSDs (and 6 HDDs for 28TB total in a Storage Space), no dGPU, Seasonic SS-660XP2, Dell U2410 monitor. Dell AY511 soundbar, Sennheiser HD205, Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, Roccat Kone XTD mouse.

 

UK Gaming Rig #1 (Feb 2008, last rebuilt 2013, offline 2020): Win 7 Ultimate (64bit)/Win Vista Ultimate (32bit)/Win XP Pro (32bit), Coolermaster Elite 335U, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @3.6GHz, 4x2GB Corsair DDR3 @1,600MHz, Asus P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-Ap@n, 2x 1TB & 2x 500GB 2.5" HDDs (1 for each OS & 1 for Win7 data), NVidia GTX 750, CoolerMaster Real Power M620 PSU, shared I/O with gaming rig #2 via KVM.

 

UK HTPC #1 (June 2010, rebuilt 2012/13, offline 2022) Win 7 Home Premium, Antec Fusion Black, Intel Core i3 3220T, 4x2GB OCZ DDR3 @1,600MHz, Gigabyte H77M-D3H, OCZ Agility3 120GB boot SSD, 1x1TB 2.5" HDD, Blackgold 3620 TV Tuner, Seasonic SS-400FL2 Fanless PSU, Logitech MX Air, Origen RC197.

 

Laptop: 2015 HP Spectre x360, i7 6500U, 8GB Ram, 512GB m.2 Sata SSD.

Tablet: Surface Go 128GB/8GB.

Mini PC: Intel Compute Stick (m3)

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9 minutes ago, thewelshbrummie said:

My games already get installed to an SSD.

 

I'm talking storage of videos/pictures/documents where I don't need the storage speed and would obviously prefer to spend significantly less money if possible. The issue is drive thickness- I'm not against going with SSDs but at 4TB they're 3-4x the cost of an HDD which is not necessary for the type of files the drives will be storing.

 

2TB HDDs that fit are easy to find but they lack in capacity for my needs. Ideally I want bigger capacity drives that will physically fit, but all 4TB+ 2.5" HDDs I can find are 12 or 15mm thick which means they won't fit the drive caddys that my case has.

Yea there isn't really a solution for you here. Id just get external hdds here. What is in the 3.5in bays now? Id just fill it with 18tb drives and that should give you enough space here.

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As far as I know, there are no 4TB 2.5 inch HDD with 9mm height. And, I don't recommend 1TB or 2TB at 9mm height because they are too prone to data corruption and drive destruction. I got many 2.5 inch 1TB 7mm and 9mm drive and they keep on failing.

 

If you need 4TB with 9mm height and below, your only hope now is SSD. There are a few manufacturer sells 4TB 2.5inch SATA SSD.

I have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum

 

I apologies if my comments or post offends you in any way, or if my rage got a little too far. I'll try my best to make my post as non-offensive as much as possible.

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