Can We Achieve Over 200GB in 2.5 Mobile Hard Drives?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the capacity limitations of 2.5" mobile hard drives, specifically questioning when and how these drives might exceed 200GB in storage. Participants explore the implications of form factor, manufacturing decisions, and market demand, as well as comparing mobile drives to desktop configurations.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions why 2.5" mobile hard drives are limited to around 100GB, suggesting that increasing the platter diameter could allow for greater capacity while maintaining a flat design.
  • Another participant explains that the smaller form factor of 2.5" drives results in fewer platters compared to 3.5" drives, leading to lower capacity.
  • A participant raises a question about the design of laptops, asking why they typically do not accommodate multiple hard drives like desktops do.
  • Another response reiterates that laptops prioritize portability and that the demand for larger drives does not justify the design changes needed for additional slots.
  • One participant shares an anecdote about a neighbor's desktop with multiple hard drives, expressing interest in a similar setup for their future work.
  • A participant notes that basic to midrange servers can support many drives, contrasting with the limitations of mobile devices.
  • Discussion includes mention of Seagate's perpendicular recording technology, which is believed to enhance platter density and potentially increase the capacity of notebook drives beyond current limits.
  • A later reply humorously questions the phrasing of a participant's comment regarding their neighbor's job, indicating a potential misunderstanding.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the limitations of 2.5" drives due to their form factor and market demand, but there is no consensus on future developments or the necessity of multiple drive slots in laptops.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects varying perspectives on the design and functionality of mobile versus desktop hard drives, as well as the implications of technological advancements in storage capacity. There are assumptions about market demand and user needs that remain unexamined.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in computer hardware design, storage technology, and the evolution of mobile computing may find this discussion relevant.

Sprinter
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2.5" Mobile Hard Drives

Why its capacity is still at about maximum 100 GB, seldom has 120GB.
When can we increase it to >200GB ?
Can we increase the platter diameter to 3.5" but the drive remain flat so that it can fit nicely into the notebook? This will increase its capacity.:biggrin:
 
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You answered your first question with your second: the form factor means that you get smaller and fewer platters in a 2.5" drive than a 3.5" drive and therefore less capacity.

The answer to the second question is if you are a drive/pc manufacturer, you can do pretty much whatever you want - but I don't think there is that much demand for much larger laptop hard drives. Certainly not enough to justify the expense of creating a proprietary form factor.
 
Why most notebooks/laptops are not designed to have 2 spaces for 2 HDDs ? Like Desktop, we can install upto 4 HDDs.:confused:
 
That's basically what Russ just told you. Laptops are made to be small, light, and portable. A slot for a second hard drive would of course make them bigger, and since there is not enough demand for this feature as Russ has said, PC manufacturers aren't making them.
 
Sprinter said:
we can install upto 4 HDDs.:confused:
my neighbor's desktop has up to 6 hard disks! and each disk, she installs differernt kinds of software, and games. Another computer has only 3 disks mainly for middleware, her job is going down on different levels of hardware/software, a job like that is what I want in the near future.
 
Basic to midrange servers are not fundamentally different from PCs and they can have dozens or even hundreds of drives, stuck together into disk arrays or disk packs.
 
Seagate's new perpendicular recording technology stores data in dipoles pointed normal to the surface in order to increase platter density. I believe they currently sell a 160gb notebook drive using this, and expect to increase that significantly in the future. They believe it will allow < 1" drives to exceed 80gb capacity without too much fuss.
 
her job is going down on different levels of hardware/software

She goes down on different levels of hardware/software?? what does that mean I wonder :rolleyes:
 

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