Hard Drives come in two popular sizes, one is 3.5” and the other is 2.5”. The 3.5” hard drives were the standard sizes used inside desktop computers that weren’t expected to move too often. Meanwhile, the 2.5” hard drives were primarily supplied inside laptop computers.
How popular are 3.5” hard drives currently?
With the rise in small form factor computers and more widespread laptop usage, the 3.5” hard drives aren’t as popular. However, they are still heavily used for desktop computers, servers, Network-Attached Storages (NAS), etc.
Benefits of the 2.5” hard drives?
The 2.5” hard drives are smaller in overall dimension and also thickness. They are small enough to fit inside laptop computers and desktops. Newer desktop tower cases offer special brackets to hold these smaller drives due to their popularity.
2.5” hard drive sizing is heavily used for Solid State Drives (SSD). These are the new generation of storage technology that offer faster read/write speeds compared to their Hard Disc Drive (HDD) counterparts.
Does it matter if I go with 2.5” hard drive or 3.5” hard drive?
There is no real reason to go with the 3.5” hard drive unless you are only looking to use Hard Disc Drives (HDD) for strictly data storage. With the advancement in SSD technology, it almost makes no real sense to use an HDD as a primary drive.
Differences in connectors between the 2.5” and 3.5” hard drives?
Luckily, the two form factors both use the same SATA connectors to transmit data between the motherboard and hard drive. This is a win for the end user as this allows both sized drives to be swappable no matter the computer. However, we’d advise people not to force a 3.5” hard drive into a computer or laptop that obviously can’t support the bigger and thicker size.