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Capacity of second hard drive for small form factor Precision 3420 tower
Just did a online chat with Dell support and it left me confused. I currently have a 256GB SSD and want to add a second drive. I already made a mistake by ordering a 3.5" drive that I had to return, so I want to be sure of my next step. The spec sheet says you can have (2) 2.5” SATA drives, but underneath that it say:
2.5” SATA 7200 RPM
Up to (2) 1TB 7200 RPM
which implies each 7200 RPM drive is limited to 1TB capacity. Dell sort of confirmed that but said it was for "optimum performance" and that pretty much any drive that fit in the slot would work subject to driver and OS limitations. Hence my confusion.
I was planning to add a 2TB 5400 RPM drive. Also, I am assuming I need a 9.5mm height drive. Would that work? Not work? Work but have issues? Please clarify.
Thank you.
speedstep
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January 30th, 2017 04:00
There is no such limitation on any model. 2TB is a GPT vs MBR limitation. And since they make 2TB SSD's the limitation is how much money do you have in your wallet. The Seagate ST2000LM007 is a 2TB 2.5 inch drive and its 7MM.
https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Laptop-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000LM007/dp/B01C4W2P18
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX300-Internal-Solid-State/dp/B01KKZLX46/
Video123
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January 29th, 2017 18:00
Come on people - can't someone tell me whether the drive is limited to 1TB?
Video123
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January 30th, 2017 05:00
Thank you for responding. I am only considering mechanical drives for this. So you're saying I could put in a 2TB 5400 RPM drive.
Now one last clarification - your first link is to a 7mm drive. I thought I need a 9.5mm one. Not sure where I read that (the spec sheet and manual for the computer doesn't seem to reference this anywhere).
speedstep
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January 30th, 2017 06:00
The drive thickness is a maximum because drives can be 5,7,9 and even 12mm.12mm are very old drives and not likely to physically fit.
Video123
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January 30th, 2017 12:00
Back again. Happened to speak with someone who thought the "Up to (2) 1TB 7200 RPM " spec was due to Dell being concerned about heat generation in the small form factor computer. If that's the case, does a 2TB 5400 RPM generate less, equal or more heat than a 1TB 7200 RPM? Just curious.
speedstep
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January 31st, 2017 07:00
10,000RPM and 7200RPM drives are hotter than 5400RPM drives.
10W vs 8W vs 6W is "different" but not significant.
SSD's USE 2.5W
This is the Dell support forum not the everybody and joes left brother hard drive specification forum.
If it was an issue there would be reports of drives not working.
ejn63
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January 31st, 2017 07:00
You'd have to check the power specifications on the specific drive to determine - while the slower spin speed should mean cooler operation, it's countered by the fact that a 2T drive will have twice (minimum) the platters of a 1T drive, meaning the motor has to work harder to spin the platters.
speedstep
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January 31st, 2017 08:00
Respectfully I have to totally disagree about 2TB VS 1TB as far as power and HEAT. The RPM of the spindle is exponentially more significant than 2 platters vs 1.
10,000 RPM and 7200 RPM are Hotter and use more power because the motor spins faster which is analogous to CPU MHZ being higher using more power.
Between 2TB and 1TB per the spec is .1w write and .05w Idle which is insigificant.
These Earlier Design 7200 RPM drive power spec is over 2 W and the max size is 500 Gigs. Nothing whatsoever to do with 1TB or 2TB and these are Drives you can still buy.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148374
Video123
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February 1st, 2017 05:00
I had emailed Dell support about this and their response is that 2.5" drives > 1TB can be used, as SpeedStep had indicated.