Storage Solutions Which is more reliable a 2.5 inch external drive or a 3.5 inch one

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smoky004

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My external HDD failed so was looking for a replacement. The two ones i have shortlisted are http://www.amazon.in/dp/B008GS8LT0/...lid=2DYTWYI9580UJ&coliid=I3Q8LG8FHYTFQG&psc=1 and http://www.amazon.in/WD-External-Dr...TF8&qid=1469194226&sr=8-5&keywords=wd+my+book

Now the 2.5 inch drive doesn't require an external power supply but is slower than the 3.5 inch one.Honestly speed is not a priority here. The drive would be permanently connected to my PC which will be switched on for 7-8 hours a day. So which one is more reliable of the two?If the difference is not big eoungh would like to go for Wd elements rather than my book
 
they both are equal. since they involve moving parts they can last a lifetime or even conk the next day. cant predict it, just like life. better get a ssd for more reliability.
 
Hi smoky004,
Mainly 3.5 inch drives are larger&heavier.
There's not much difference in reliability. Nevertheless I strongly recommend handling all HDD's very carefully rather than relying upon their shock resistance.
 
smoky004 said:
My external HDD failed so was looking for a replacement. The two ones i have shortlisted are http://www.amazon.in/dp/B008GS8LT0/...lid=2DYTWYI9580UJ&coliid=I3Q8LG8FHYTFQG&psc=1 and http://www.amazon.in/WD-External-Dr...TF8&qid=1469194226&sr=8-5&keywords=wd+my+book

Now the 2.5 inch drive doesn't require an external power supply but is slower than the 3.5 inch one.Honestly speed is not a priority here. The drive would be permanently connected to my PC which will be switched on for 7-8 hours a day. So which one is more reliable of the two?If the difference is not big eoungh would like to go for Wd elements rather than my book
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Hello!

From my experience, I can confirm what Raka has already said. I have been using both sizes as back-up drives and I have found them to be equallly reliable, but if you are looking for an absolute answer, then I would lean ever so slightly in favour of the larger drives.

I have had a smaller drive fail on me once, after 5 years of use, while I have had an Iomega external back-up for over 8 years now and it is still going on well. Other than that, with the advances in technology, I do not think you should go wrong with either.

Also, I would definitely recommond a drive bay (if you are using a PC) which makes it much easier to swap in drives without occupying space. I use two of these: https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Mounting-Bracket-Adapter-CD-ROM/dp/B005LBR4O8.

There is also an open version that is avaialbe on Amazon India.
 
So purchased WD elements 1Tb drive. Just a question - Is there a need to use the safely remove option every time before you shut down the PC ???
 
by design both 2.5 and 3.5 is reliable.

but the problem is the indian power supply. If your location sees frequent power outage and fluctuating power supply, wrong voltage then you can be sure that 3.5 inch external powered hard disk will fail.

Then in that case 2.5 inch hard disk is better because it will draw power from USB port which is stable.
 
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smoky004 said:
So purchased WD elements 1Tb drive. Just a question - Is there a need to use the safely remove option every time before you shut down the PC ???
Click to expand...
Like they say Smoky, life is too short. I have never, removed it safely. I do not think it would matter. Unless of course, you get into the habit of yanking it off while copying files. ;)
 
smoky004 said:
So purchased WD elements 1Tb drive. Just a question - Is there a need to use the safely remove option every time before you shut down the PC ???
Click to expand...

Hi smoky004,
Congrats for the new drive, I'd just like to suggest that there is a reason why we use that safely remove option while removing the drive. Doing this will improve performance, but if the cache is still full when you remove the drive, your data might be at risk. Clicking the Eject button causes the cache to be emptied and any remaining data to be written to the drive.That’s the reason why there’s often a delay of several seconds between ejecting the drive and being notified that it’s safe to remove it. Excitedly, and roughly, disconnecting the drive might damage the USB connectors also.
Hope it helps.
 
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Working in data recovery, I see failed drives on a daily basis. I definitely see more of the WD My Passports and My Elements come in for recovery than I do the My Books. I don't think this correlation really relates to their reliability, though. I suspect the fact that the 2.5 drives are more portable and easier to use on the go is the real culprit. The 3.5" ones tend to stay on a desk, while the smaller ones are moved around more.

Having said that, the model which we see the absolute least of compared with all the others is the Toshiba Canvios. We easily see 200-300 WD drives fail for every single Toshiba that comes in for recovery. Granted, WD is more popular but not enough more to see the sort of numbers we see.
 
^ not just the portability causing more failures, IMO more people buy 2.5" externals than 3.5" so you would of course see more of them. There is no way of calculating the failure rate of 2.5 and 3.5s without first knowing the number of each sold.
 
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