Looking on crucial.com at SSD's and noted that all the recommended
ones -this after they scanned the system- seemed to be 2.5 inches. The
drives in my laptop are more like 2.75".
They said that would not be a problem but I have to wonder.
Anybody got an opinion?
A laptop uses 2.5" drives.
I gather from reading the dimensional information in this article,
that the "platter" is 2.5 inches, and the exterior packaging has
some other dimension. You could well be right, when you tell us
you see a 2.75" thing. I haven't spent too much time using
my measuring tape on them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive
Drive sizes are 1.8", 2.5", 3.5", 5.25" (we'll ignore the
bigger ones I've played with in the past, such as 8", and
the machine with the removable disk packs). A 1.8" drive
would slosh around inside the laptop bay. The 2.5" should be
a good fit. Desktops can have two sizes of bays, and you can
either fit a 3.5" in a 3.5" bay, or using a "rail kit", fit
it in a 5.25" bay. Optical drives for desktops, are 5.25".
The 5.25" bays also use slides, which come with the computer
case parts kit.
*******
A critical dimension for a laptop owner, is thickness. The 2.5"
drives might come in 9.5mm or 12.5mm thick. Sometimes, a user
will come in here, and report they got a 12.5 by accident and
it doesn't fit their 9.5mm deep bay. (In some cases, you can
grind some excess structural plastic out of the bay, to make
room, but I digress.) SSDs can be even thinner than that, such
as 7mm. If you buy a 7mm, and if it has screw holes on the side,
it might still fasten to the metal tray they use in the laptop.
With a little forethought and research, the mechanical details
of your purchase, won't be quite as much of a shock.
*******
The tiny 1.8" form factor, uses a microSATA connector.
When it comes to SATA drives, the sizes bigger than that,
all use the same standard. Whereas, at 1.8", there is a
smaller connector. An adapter cable is required, and
some buyers discover they have to buy the adapter cable
from a different company than their drive. So if you
see any "bargain" 1.8" drives, don't forget to include
the cost of cable and shipping, in your budget. The drive
ends up not being quite as cheap as a result. (And if you sit
it in your laptop, it might need a small adapter kit to hold
it in place in the tray. I haven't researched that part.)
Mounting SSDs in a desktop is easy. Just use a nylon tie,
to fasten the drive to any available "post" in the case
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_tie
Paul
