how do I know what size HD to get, 2.5" OR 3.5"???

womble · Post by **womble** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:18 am

I need to know what affects the choice of getting a 2.5" or a 3.5" hard drive? is it your case? please help

Emyr · Post by **Emyr** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:59 am

2.5" drives:
More expensive per GB
Easier to suspend due to smaller size and lower weight
May have louder seek noise
Draw fewer watts.

Both are mountable in normal desktop cases. You'd usually need to sacrifice a 5.25" bay (CD drive size) to suspend a 3.5" drive, but you can suspend a 2.5" drive in a 3.5" bay.

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 4:08 am

Hi,
I don't have much experience with cases but I don't think many cases have room for 2.5'' drives. Usually, they have 3.5'' bays (for HDs) and 5.25'' bays for optical drives.
You can still get a 2.5'' HDs but you'll need an adaptor to fit it in a 3.5'' bay.

A few differences between the two sizes of drives :
- Large capacity drives are usually 3.5'' while 2.5'' drives are usually smaller in capacity;
- usually, 3.5'' drives are usually faster than 2.5'' drives ;
- 2.5'' drives are usually a little bit more expensive than 3.5'' drives for the same capacity;
- 2.5'' drives are usually quietter and produce less heat.

Basically it depends what you want to do with your drive...

Read this for SPCR recommended list of hard drives : http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page1.html

[EDIT : Emyr posted faster than me... darn

]

Emyr · Post by **Emyr** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 4:13 am

frenchie wrote:I don't think many cases have room for 2.5'' drives.

That only applies if you're hard-mounting them, which isn't really the done thing round here, eh?

Also, I have an MO drive in one 3.5" bay, and a ZIP drive in a 5.25" bay... heheh

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 4:28 am

hahaha agreed

I have a 2.5'' drive in a Scythe quiet drive that is suspended in a 3.5'' bay and an old regular 3.5'' drive suspended in a 3.5'' bay too. Thank you Antec for the suspension system for HDs in the Solo

womble · Post by **womble** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:34 am

if im getting an antec sonata III will I need a 2.5 or 3.5?

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 6:53 am

Are you going to use 3 optical drives ?
If yes, you can't get a 3.5'' drive and enclose it for very quiet operation because the sonata III only has three 5.25'' bays

Otherwise, your decision will just depend on how much storage you need versus how much money you're willing to pay.

womble · Post by **womble** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 6:54 am

I only need one HD. I was thinking of geting a 150 GB Velociraptor, will I need the 3.5" or 2.5" or is it up to me. If it is up to me, which one is faster/better?

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:35 am

performance and cost => get a 3.5''

womble · Post by **womble** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:01 am

cheers guys, prblem solved