Why are 3.5" SSD so rare?

[IlliterateDino]

I'm digging through Newegg and TigerDirect and I see only a handful of 3.5" SSDs. There are tons of 2.5 though. Is there a reason for this, or am I just looking for them at a bad time?

 

[Angelus359]

They're rare because they're unneccessary

They're literally just 2.5 inch SSDs put in a 3.5 inch piece of plastic.

You can buy enclosures and brackets to make a 2.5inch SSD fit in a 3.5 inch slot.

The manufacturers see no point in wasting their time on them.

 

[razel]

There is no difference in the SATA data and power cables so it becomes a waste of space and eliminates it's usage in a laptop. 2.5" SSDs often come with a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter and more importantly orientation is not an issue. You can just tape it or use picture mounting putty. Lots of people duct tape it... seriously.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Why would you want 3½"?

 

[zardthebuilder]

i don't know the answer, but my intel 330 came with an adapter. four screws to hold the SSD in place on the adapter, and four other screws to hold the adapter to the case. very easy. adapters are also sold separately.

 

[Blain]

5 1/4" spinning platter HDs are even more rare.

 

[IlliterateDino]

Why would you want 3½"?

I was told by the chat support at Tigerdirect that a 2.5" wouldn't work in my desktop. I suspected there would be enclosures that would help it, but I couldn't find any. He never told me they had them.

 

[Smoblikat]

5 1/4" spinning platter HDs are even more rare.

Imagine the amount of space though.............

 

[Smoblikat]

I was told by the chat support at Tigerdirect that a 2.5" wouldn't work in my desktop. I suspected there would be enclosures that would help it, but I couldn't find any. He never told me they had them.

Well then that guy is a poon. Tell him he knows nothing about computers and should be downgraded to geek squad. Either get an adapter or some tape, both work the same.

 

[MontyAC]

I was told by the chat support at Tigerdirect that a 2.5" wouldn't work in my desktop. I suspected there would be enclosures that would help it, but I couldn't find any. He never told me they had them.

He's an idiot, report him to his supervisor for giving false info to costumers.

 

[IlliterateDino]

Anyway, thanks for confirming my suspicions, guys. Now I have more freedom when I shop for my SSD.

 

[aigomorla]

5 1/4" spinning platter HDs are even more rare.

The quanitum Big Foot!
It was the Tim Allen Drive... *grunt grunt*

Imagine the amount of space though.............

LOL... actually, it wasnt by much.
I believe its harder and requires a much different motor to spin a drive that big, which is why it had so many freaken failure rates.
It was litterally called the Range Rover of Hard drives.. as in like a range rover from that era... its always BROKEN.

 

[Jeff7]

It simplifies manufacturing, lowers costs, and makes the product usable in both the desktop and mobile markets.
You now have one form factor for both these markets, and the adapter that fits between them is a piece of stamped and formed (and dirt cheap) sheet steel.

He's an idiot, report him to his supervisor for giving false info to costumers.

And for hurting sales.

 

[jhansman]

I was told by the chat support at Tigerdirect that a 2.5" wouldn't work in my desktop.

Which is why you wisely came here for the answer; there is far more knowledge and experience (and opinions) here than you'll ever find with "tech support" from an outfit like TD. Anyhoo, as noted, there are many adapter for your case that will easily let you drop an SSD into your system. I got this one http://www.amazon.com/SILVERSTONE-SD...ds=ssd+adapter for my case and it's worked out very well. Plastic ones are also available and cheaper.

 

[jacktesterson]

Because there is no point of them. Quite simple really.

 

[Concillian]

I was told by the chat support at Tigerdirect that a 2.5" wouldn't work in my desktop. I suspected there would be enclosures that would help it, but I couldn't find any. He never told me they had them.

All the enclosure you need is a piece of 2 sided foam tape from your local drugstore.

Or a couple strips of stickyback velcro.

These things don't vibrate or anything and are quite light. You can "mount" them in any number of ways. You don't need to buy a tray if you have something lying around the house that might work.

 

[JohnnyChuttz]

All the enclosure you need is a piece of 2 sided foam tape from your local drugstore.

Or a couple strips of stickyback velcro.

These things don't vibrate or anything and are quite light. You can "mount" them in any number of ways. You don't need to buy a tray if you have something lying around the house that might work.

Truth. I mounted mine to the unused side of my CM 212+.

 

[Dahak]

The quanitum Big Foot!
It was the Tim Allen Drive... *grunt grunt*

Ahhhhh.. the noise.... the noise....... i hated working on machines with those, even the 3 1/2 drives where noisy too
sorry for not being more constructive to the post

 

[bryanW1995]

There is no difference in the SATA data and power cables so it becomes a waste of space and eliminates it's usage in a laptop. 2.5" SSDs often come with a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter and more importantly orientation is not an issue. You can just tape it or use picture mounting putty. Lots of people duct tape it... seriously.

I just dumped mine in the bottom of my case. Unfortunately, one of them got skewed a bit b/c of a stiff cable, so I had to rebuild my RAID array a few months ago. Did that convince me to more securely attach them to the enclosure? Of course not

edit: help desk reps are idiots. Come here if you have other questions. If the help desk reps were smart, THEY would come here for answers as well...

 

[Anteaus]

We might actually start seeing 3.5" SSDs in the future. I've read that using the 2.5" is good right now but it's becoming a limiting factor as capacities increase and more physical chips are required to keep IO up. Maybe someone can shine more light on it.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

The quanitum Big Foot!
It was the Tim Allen Drive... *grunt grunt*



LOL... actually, it wasnt by much.
I believe its harder and requires a much different motor to spin a drive that big, which is why it had so many freaken failure rates.
It was litterally called the Range Rover of Hard drives.. as in like a range rover from that era... its always BROKEN.

Damn, beat me to it. Those drives were ridiculous. So loud too.

 

[ElFenix]

one time i ran across a drive that took up a full height bay (for all of 5 MB of storage, probably). those bigfoot drives used a half height bay.

 

[BurnItDwn]

The quanitum Big Foot!
It was the Tim Allen Drive... *grunt grunt*



LOL... actually, it wasnt by much.
I believe its harder and requires a much different motor to spin a drive that big, which is why it had so many freaken failure rates.
It was litterally called the Range Rover of Hard drives.. as in like a range rover from that era... its always BROKEN.

Ohh man ...
The first PC I built was using a 4.3gb bigfoot in 1996.

That drive was loud, but NOTHING compared to a pair of old scsi2 seagate "elite" series full height 5.25inch drives ... those things were huge!

 

[Concillian]

one time i ran across a drive that took up a full height bay (for all of 5 MB of storage, probably). those bigfoot drives used a half height bay.

I have a 40 MB full height 5.25" hard drive in my closet. I keep it around for posterity, but it also makes a good doorstop (for solid steel doors), small stepstool, or short range projectile weapon.

 

[StarTech]

I'm digging through Newegg and TigerDirect and I see only a handful of 3.5" SSDs. There are tons of 2.5 though. Is there a reason for this, or am I just looking for them at a bad time?

Here they are

But I would not buy any of them.