![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Laptop hard drive stagnation
- Thread starter ZodaEX
- Start date
Zedicus
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,337
seagate makes 4 and 5 tb 2.5" drives. thats a lot of data to have in a laptop though...
I guess everyone has different use cases. I can't fathom a single reason to need more than the 512GB NVMe i have in my laptop, let alone go back to a hard drive.
Come to think of it, that's likely a related reason. The industry just wants fast SSD's for laptops to a large degree, no real market for continually increasing the size of 2.5" hard drives for a dying market.
Come to think of it, that's likely a related reason. The industry just wants fast SSD's for laptops to a large degree, no real market for continually increasing the size of 2.5" hard drives for a dying market.
Do those fit in a laptop?
5TB seems to be the biggest 2.5" but it's also 10mm thick and (of course) SMR.
Zedicus
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,337
10mm still has a fairly large 'compatible with desktop replacement laptops' support. that is pretty much the absolute limit though.
Dreamerbydesign
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2008
- Messages
- 6,206
With so much goi by on with cloud computing, laptops being slimmer than ever, and nvme storage being adequate for almost all needs besides bulk storage, I can see why spinning rust manufacturers are not putting r&d into releasing larger capacity 2.5” drives. I’m afraid there will be extremely slow progress in this.
sinisterDei
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
- Messages
- 1,591
Laptop hard drives *have* stagnated. There is essentially no reason for them to continue to exist. Laptops have an ultra focus on size and electrical efficiency, and M.2 SSDs absolutely spank spinning disks in both areas, with 2.5" SSDs also winning to a lesser degree over their spinning predecessors. 2.5" spinninng drives may not be dead in the enterprise, but in *laptops* they are 100% dead.
Last edited:
I've made do with a 64GB SSD in my work laptop for years. I do not keep any real data on it and its mainly used for diagnostics and configuration. I also never understand those folks that feel they have to carry every single bit of data they posses with them.
Data is a liability and a anchor on your life.
Maybe not everybody has internet that's as fast as yours is? Something to think about.
So you still feel you have to carry your 4TB anime torrent collection around with you? My internet is pretty average.
Digital pack rats.
My internet is below adverage. Perhaps that's why you feel that a small SSD is enough space for you? My use-case could be different than yours. Just something for you to think about.
Martin the Kiteboy
Weaksauce
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2020
- Messages
- 111
You are aware that you can get 4TB and 8TB 2.5” SSDs, yes? You seem to need internal SATA storage since the 10mm HDDs don’t work and obviously external media is not ok.
If you want cheap, high capacity 2.5” then you can buy that around the corner along with an MSRP RTX 3080.
If you want cheap, high capacity 2.5” then you can buy that around the corner along with an MSRP RTX 3080.
drescherjm
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 14,941
For me as a programmer on my laptop I have a 256GB NVMe SSD as the boot and a 512GB NVMe SSD as the programming drive. Both are over 90% full. I also have a 2TB spinner but it's too slow and annoying to use.
I work on several projects where the build tree for the project and all of it's dependencies is over 100GB.
auntjemima
[H]ard DCOTM x2
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
- Messages
- 12,141
Right? Every item they have ever downloaded they keep and the next time they need it they always go right for the download and forget they have it.
I used to be that person.
sinisterDei
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
- Messages
- 1,591
Look, I'm a digital pack rat as soon a good as anyone else:
But that's at home on my storage server, not carrying around on a laptop.
If you need bulk storage on a laptop, at this point SSDs are your only/best bet. 4TB 2.5" SATA type models are ~$400, 8TB SATA models are ~$800-900.
Also worthy of consideration would be a M.2 type drive in an external enclosure, since they can be pretty physically small. External USB may not be your preferred idea of storage, but with a lack of moving parts, metal enclosures, high performance of SSD and USB, and the small physical size of the M.2 format they can pack quite the little punch. And of course M.2 sticks are available at up to 8TB, so that's a ton of storage to fit in your pocket.
I know the dream would probably be that commodity ~8TB mechanical drives would be available by now for $100 or something, but it just hasn't happened and it isn't going to happen.
But that's at home on my storage server, not carrying around on a laptop.
If you need bulk storage on a laptop, at this point SSDs are your only/best bet. 4TB 2.5" SATA type models are ~$400, 8TB SATA models are ~$800-900.
Also worthy of consideration would be a M.2 type drive in an external enclosure, since they can be pretty physically small. External USB may not be your preferred idea of storage, but with a lack of moving parts, metal enclosures, high performance of SSD and USB, and the small physical size of the M.2 format they can pack quite the little punch. And of course M.2 sticks are available at up to 8TB, so that's a ton of storage to fit in your pocket.
I know the dream would probably be that commodity ~8TB mechanical drives would be available by now for $100 or something, but it just hasn't happened and it isn't going to happen.
My internet is 16kbps/second. Do you really think i'm going to spend days downloading a file that I already have on my laptop locally? Come on Jemima use your head here, that's not logical.
Im not sure that’s a good argument for the increased production of high capacity hard drives for laptops. Unless you live in a third world county, that is WELL below the average internet speed for most modernized countries.
I wasn't arguing about increasing the production of high capacity hard drives. Re-read the thread please.
The thread was opened so I could ask a question. Not argue with you about why production should be ramped up. Learn to read please.
In that case the answer is yes.
Dreamerbydesign
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2008
- Messages
- 6,206
What’s the issue with a 16tb external usb drive? If your only reasoning is slow internet, then spend the money and be done with it. They are not very expensive anymore.
I use to be that person. I burned so many disc back in the day to save stuff. I recently was doing some spring cleaning and redoing my up with a new desk and stuff. I tossed all those discs I never used afterwards. With the internet speeds I go these days I can redownload anything at higher quality of I ever get the desire to watch it again.
You shouldn't have thrown them away! I might have wanted to buy the data.
They should do a throwback to Quantum and have a BigFoot revival. Make it for laptops which still have internal optical drive bays. Then you could have massive platters and store tons of data. But let's not forget the 3600/4000rpm charm, gotta be slow to be a throwback lol.
Zepher
[H]ipster Replacement
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2001
- Messages
- 20,924
get a new laptop with 2 nvme M.2 slots and toss in a couple of 8TB nvme drives.