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Recently my desktop HDD failed and I am considering replacing it with two laptop HDDs, 7200rpm, 16mb buffer in RAID 1.
I am not able to find anything relevant in regard to MTBF or performance for Laptop vs Desktop HDDs.
Any suggestion on this, would it be a good idea?
Why are desktop HDDs larger than laptop ones? Is it also performance wise (besides the obvious portability issue)?

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Laptop HDD are designed to be lightweight, small, and power savy. Performance comes as secondary constraint.

Note that some of the fastest desktop HDD (velocity raptor) are 2.5" size. But they require as much power as 3.5" HDD. They should not be considered as normal 2.5"HDD.

MTBF is the same according to https://serverfault.com/questions/244629/is-there-a-reliability-difference-between-2-5-and-3-5-hdds

Most desktop can fit several 3.5"HDD. It would be cheaper to use 2 of these.

Edit : Using 2.5"HDD in desktop case could be good choice for :

  • saving power if the computer is 24/7 the power saving will pay for the price difference within 1 year or two
  • silent computer : most 2.5" HDD are more silent than 3.5"
  • heat issue : as they consume less power 2.5" HDD generate less heat
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  • I'm tired of 3.5" ones. 2.5" would be easier to cool down, especially when the case is getting really hot from the GPU.
    – w00t
    Commented Aug 31, 2012 at 12:15
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    If the case is really getting that hot, you should invest in proper cooling first. There's no reason that 3.5 vs 2.5 HDD should make the case that much hotter.
    – BBlake
    Commented Aug 31, 2012 at 12:29
  • It's not the HDDs which make the case hotter, it's the HDDs which get hot. And I have proper cooling, that is not the issue.
    – w00t
    Commented Aug 31, 2012 at 14:18
  • A good desktop case has air flow though the entire case. This also cools the drives. If your drives get almost no cooling via air then I suggest changing the placement of your fans. Also check that in which direction they push the air (e.g. front fans to suck air in, past drive, MB, plugin cards etc and rear fans to blow the air out of the case. Other configurations also work, but make sure all parts get cooled).
    – Hennes
    Commented Aug 31, 2012 at 15:01
  • How much speed difference are we talking about? Please add those information too if you find any.
    – Cyber Avater
    Commented Sep 8, 2023 at 7:29
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In most instances desktop HDD is faster. Of course if speed are a issue you should use the SSD. :). Laptop HDD are optimised for power usage and resilience to shock. IMHO you should use Desktop HDD unless power usage are very important (for instance this machine do not need more performance but work at all time).

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  • This adds nothing to the existing answer.
    – Chenmunka
    Commented Sep 29, 2016 at 11:29
  • You are right. My error.
    – Tomasz Szczypel
    Commented Sep 29, 2016 at 11:58

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