Notebook hard drives versus 3.5

I looked into this some years ago (for an automotive application), and indeed the 2.5" drives were more rugged (in terms of shock and vibration, power both on and off) than standard PC-type drives. This is kinda logical when you consider that a laptop suffers more abuse than a desktop PC.

However, more recently I checked the datasheets for some standard 3.5" drives - and the specs had again improved considerably (250G shock rating with power off from one example I found). I suggest you check the datasheets - times have changed.

Steve

1. Smaller and hence more rigid platters
2. Shorter and hence more rigid head arms
3. Mechanics and firmware designed specifically for mobile operation (autoparking, safe zones, etc)

However, be *very* careful about MTBF calculations. Notebook hard drives are not designed for 100% duty cycle operation. It's very hard to calculate the right combination of power modes, mounting options, etc. to maximize the drive's life, but you'll find that the lifespan is not as long as 3.5" drives.

There are some 2.5" drives designed specifically for server operations, I recommend you look to those rather than general-purpose notebook drives.

more

DO you know if the server designed 2.5" drives have similar ruggedizatio features as the notebook designed hard drives?

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