3,5" or 2,5" HDD

[louisdegel]

Whats the Key diffrence betwen an 1tb 3.5" HDD and an 1th 2,5" HDD?

[AlwaysFSX]

..size..

[Jlryan]

And speed

[bpw87]

..size..

If they asking that question I think a little more detail is needed.

 

@louisdegel

 

The major difference is the actually physical size of the drives. One has a 2.5 inch disk and the other has a 3.5 inch disk.

 

Speed isn't really correct either. While yes the fastest of the two overall is the bigger 3.5" HDD, there is still many different speeds and cache between both types which can heavily change the performance characteristics making some 3.5" slower than a 2.5".

[AlwaysFSX]

If they asking that question I think a little more detail is needed.

 

The major difference is the actually physical size of the drives. One has a 2.5 inch disk and the other has a 3.5 inch disk.

 

Speed isn't really correct either. While yes the fastest of the two overall is the bigger 3.5" HDD, there is still many different speeds and cache between both types which can heavily change the performance characteristics making some 3.5" slower than a 2.5".

The biggest and only concerning difference between the two form factors is size because similar drives perform similarly. There's nothing to add to that. Difference? Size. If you get a 5400 rpm drive of course it'll be slower than a 7200 rpm counterpart.

[Captain_WD]

Whats the Key diffrence betwen an 1tb 3.5" HDD and an 1th 2,5" HDD?

 

Hey louisdegel,

 

the 3.5" and the 2.5" are the form factors of the drives (the actual size of the platter and the overall size of the drive). 3.5" drives are the larger ones that go in regular desktops. 2.5" drives are smaller and thinner and are used for laptops (SSDs are also in 2.5" form factors). 

The performance of the drive does not necessarily correspond to the form factor as you can find 2.5" drives that are faster than some 3.5" drives and vice versa. Usually they are inter-exchangeable meaning if the drives use the same connection (PATA, SATA, IDE, etc.) they should work at the same place.

 

When used externally, 2.5" drives do not require an additional power source while 3.5" do. This is why portable drives have 2.5" drive inside them while external desktop drives use 3.5" drive for larger capacity and have additional power cord.

 

Captain_WD.

[bpw87]

The biggest and only concerning difference between the two form factors is size because similar drives perform similarly. There's nothing to add to that. Difference? Size. If you get a 5400 rpm drive of course it'll be slower than a 7200 rpm counterpart.

I agree with what you are saying. My example would be if the 7200rpm drive had a smaller cache and possibly sata II connection compared to a drive that is 5400rpm with a much larger cache and sata III, things wouldn't be as black and white as to which is faster in real world use.

[TheMcSame]

You guys are missing one key difference, the cost...

 

2.5" cost a bit more than 3.5". In the US a cheap 2TB 2.5" drive will set you back about $95, for that you could get a 3TB 3.5" drive and some spare change. If your system supports 3.5" drives (which it should unless it's a laptop or something) then always go for 3.5" when shopping for HDDs.

[louisdegel]

If your system supports 3.5" drives (which it should unless it's a laptop or something) then always go for 3.5" when shopping for HDDs.

 

Thats the Point, i have an Corsair Carbide Air 540 which only have 2 (!) 3,5" HDD mounts, but it have 4 (2 in use) 2,5" HDD/SSD mounts.

[bpw87]

Thats the Point, i have an Corsair Carbide Air 540 which only have 2 (!) 3,5" HDD mounts, but it have 4 (2 in use) 2,5" HDD/SSD mounts.

I have one of them cases. The two 3.5" sleds in the main section on the floor and the two in the rear section that are another two sleds for the 2.5" drives. You can use either SSDs or HDDs in the 2.5" sleds. All up you can have 4 drives in this case at once but in saying you can always add more with the right mods.

[louisdegel]

What i can't have only 4 drives? I can have 4 2,5" and 3 (including the 5,25" adapter) 3,5" drives.

[bpw87]

Yeah sorry man my mistake was going off memory. But you are right you can have 6 drives at once, plus any 5.25" adapters. There is only a few reason you should use all four off the 2.5" drives.

 

I use a 250GB SSD and have two HDD one 1TB for junk and downloading things to and and then a 4TB for mass storage and extra games. The only thing I would consider getting is a small SSD for a scratch disk