▷ Differences between 2.5 vs 3.5 inch mechanical hard drives

In this tutorial we show you the main Differences between 2.5 vs 3.5 inch mechanical hard drives. As many of you know, mechanical hard drives have lost ground compared to solid state drives, there are still situations where we need these drives.

If you go to a store now with the intention of purchasing one of these components, you will find two great options: 2.5-inch hard drives and 3.5-inch hard drives. They will both be hard drives and they both work the same way, so what sets them apart? Today we want to answer that question by talking about the differences between different size mechanical hard drives.

Index of contents

The operation of hard drives

The mechanical hard disks (HDD) do not have that name the bucket, they are made up of various mobile mechanical parts and a control circuit. The mobile section is mainly made up of one or more magnetic rigid disks and a writing head. These discs are in charge of storing the information, while the head is in charge of reading and writing the information about them; During this process, these parts move, giving the device its characteristic sound and name.

Knowing this is interesting to compare both formats because both 2.5 '' and 3.5 '' HDDs have the same parts and work on the same principle, and this has some implications.

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3.5 '' mechanical hard drives

This format has been the traditional one for this device since the 1990s, populating desktop computers even today. Due to its size, it is easier to manufacture large 3.5 '' hard drives than its smaller variant, as well as to reach larger sizes.

While 2.5-inch hard drives are around 2TB in capacity, it's easy to find 3.5 '' variants in excess of 8TB, thanks to the greater physical space to accommodate large-capacity magnetic platters. In addition, they are also the two formats with the highest maximum reading speed that can be fully mechanical, with about 130 MB / s.

2.5 '' mechanical hard drives

This format has prevailed in sectors of interest for the traditional mechanical hard disk, such as servers or laptops (the latter and less relevant), due to its smaller size and greater durability. 2.5 '' HDDs have less physical space to locate the mechanical parts that power these devices, but they also involve less movement of the inner plates and other moving parts.

Thanks to this, they tend to be more durable than their 3.5 '' siblings. Also, because the write head must move less and the platter is smaller, they typically achieve more stable sequential speeds than the larger format. They also require less power to operate and are firmer than 3.5 '' HDDs, which has earned them a place as the quintessential external hard drives.

A few final words

Although the last word on which is the perfect hard drive is the end user, these paragraphs should have given you a slight idea about what are the differences between mechanical hard drives, especially if you want to get one of these devices. 3.5 '' hard drives will give you more space and more affordability, but they are surpassed by their 2.5 '' brothers in practically all aspects.

Be that as it may, if you are thinking of purchasing a new hard drive, or simply want to expand the space on your computer, we recommend that you take a look at our hardware guides on the subject.