Been finding some good deals on 2.5 disks lately, but have never bought one before. Have a couple of 3.5 disks on the other hand in my Unraid server. Wondering how much it matters wether I get a 2.5 or not? What form factor do you prefer/usually go for?

  • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    6 months ago

    Smaller stuff has smaller mass and therefore can be more reliable.

    There were portable mp3 players with mechanical hard drives that were reliable despite extreme abuse.

    • Addv4@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      6 months ago

      Smaller stuff has to be more complex to get to the lower mass, which is usually what causes the biggest issues. The hdds in those ipods had some extra stuff to make them more reliable, but even then, move them too quickly and they show it.

      • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.worldEnglish
        31·
        6 months ago

        Smaller doesn’t need to be more complex. 3.5" drives weren’t more complex than 5.25" drives.

        A smaller head means a smaller drive actuator. Less mass and smaller size means it can compensate much quicker in response to vibration detection.

        Back when full height 5.25" drives were the norm, you couldn’t pick up your PC while running without causing an error. Those tiny CF card sized drives failed but took extreme abuse compared to big drives.

    • OminousOrange@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      6 months ago

      Oh man, I remember a Philips mp3 player I had for the longest time as a kid. You could hear the little clicks of the hard drive. Lost it on a hike, unfortunately.