I’m looking for non-shingled spinning 2.5" SATA drives

  • due to data storage policies, it must NOT be a SSD but a spinning drive
  • due to the use of ZFS, it can’t be a SMR
  • 1Tb or more (2Tb would be nice)
  • ideally 9.5 mm or thinner (7mm would be preferred for a better airflow, 15 mm would require a 3d-printed cover)
  • ideally new (new-old stock and used drives would require a few days of testing to validate the SMART info and the absence of bad sectors)

I’ve heard the WD Blue 2.5" and the Seagate Exos might be valid options:

If you know about other options, could you please list them?

  • HTWingNutBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    They don’t exist. SSD pricing at 2TB and smaller are basically on par with 2.5" hard drives now. 4TB drives are also dropping in price considerably.

    While it should technically be possible to make 2.5" 4TB 9.5mm thick or 2TB 7mm thick CMR HDD’s, there’s no point in investing in the equipment to make them.

    Consdering the three remaining HDD manufacturers (WD, Seagate, Toshiba) also make SSD’s, I would expect SATA SSD’s to completely phase out 2.5" HDD’s probably within the next year or two.

    • csdvrxOPBEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      SSD pricing at 2TB and smaller are basically on par with 2.5" hard drives now. 4TB drives are also dropping in price considerably

      Price is not a concern as long as the costs per drive do not require a special authorization process (>$500 per drive)

      They don’t exist.

      What about old drives like the Spinpoint M9T ST2000LM003 from Seagate? I have a few leftovers, but I don’t know if they are CMR or SMR.

      I would expect SATA SSD’s to completely phase out 2.5" HDD’s probably within the next year or two.

      The current plan is to keep things as-is for the next 2 to 3 years, so I will have to purchase a few spares this year.