Premium Quality 2.5" Hard Drives for Optimal Server Performance
2.5-inch (SFF) SAS hard drives are the standard drive for small-form-factor bays in Dell PowerEdge and HPE ProLiant servers: 10K RPM drives reach 2.4TB and 15K RPM drives 900GB, at 6Gb/s and 12Gb/s. The same bays also take 2.5-inch SATA and 7.2K NL-SAS drives, which stop at 2TB in this size. Our lab tests each 2.5-inch drive when it comes in and again before it goes out, and the warranty term is shown per listing.
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HP 652566-001 300GB 6G SAS 10K SFF DP ENT SC Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock - HP 652599-003 300GB 6G SAS 15K SFF Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 507129-018 900GB SAS 10K SFF 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 507129-003 300GB SAS 10K SFF SC ENT 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 781581-008 900GB SAS 10K SFF SC ENT 12Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 518022-002 146GB 15K SAS 2.5" 6Gbps Hard Drive | Fujitsu MBE2147RCAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 507129-004 300GB SAS 10K SFF ENT 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 652566-004 900GB SAS 10K SFF 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 619286-004 900GB SAS 10K SFF DP ENT 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 518216-002 146GB 15K SAS SFF 2.5" 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 627114-002 300GB SAS 15K SFF 6Gbps Hard Drive W/O TrayAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- HP 759221-003 450GB SAS 15K SFF SC 12Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: HPE Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
2.5-inch SAS drives by spindle speed
A 2.5-inch SAS drive belongs to one of three spindle classes, or is solid state, and the class sets both its capacity ceiling and its job:
| Class | Average latency (Seagate data sheets) | Largest 2.5-inch capacity | Typical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15K RPM SAS | 2.0 ms | 900GB | OLTP, databases and other transaction-based work |
| 10K RPM SAS | 2.9 ms | 2.4TB | Mission-critical servers and external storage arrays |
| 7.2K RPM NL-SAS | 4.16 ms | 2TB | Capacity where only 2.5-inch bays exist |
| SAS SSD | No spinning platters | 30.72TB (KIOXIA 24G SAS) | Random-I/O workloads on the same SAS bays |
Shop each class on 15K RPM SAS hard drives, 10K RPM SAS hard drives, NL-SAS hard drives and SAS SSDs, or every SAS hard drive. Dell's drive table for the 16th-generation R760 lists 2.5-inch SAS hard drives at 10K only, where its R740 and R750 tables also carry 15K.
Which PowerEdge servers take 2.5-inch drives
Dell documents 2.5-inch chassis in each of these PowerEdge generations, with these bay layouts:
| PowerEdge generation | 2.5-inch front bays | Extra 2.5-inch bays |
|---|---|---|
| 12th | 16 on the standard 2U chassis, 24 on the xd chassis | 2 at the rear of the xd chassis |
| 14th | 8 or 10 in 1U; 8, 16 or 24 in 2U | 4 at the rear; 2.5-inch drives in hybrid carriers in the xd mid-bay |
| 15th | 8, 16 or 24 in 2U | 2 or 4 at the rear |
| 16th | 8, 16 or 24 in 2U | 2 or 4 at the rear |
Seagate builds its 2.5-inch 10K and 15K drives 15 mm high, with dimensions that conform to the SFF-8201 small form factor standard.
Carriers and 3.5-inch bays
Dell supplies drives in hot-swappable carriers that fit its drive slots, so order the carrier made for your server along with the drive; carriers are sold under hard drive caddies and trays. A SATA drive also runs behind a SAS controller, but a SAS drive needs one, so check the server's RAID controller first. For bigger capacities per bay, see 3.5-inch hard drives, or compare every size under server hard drives.
2.5-inch SAS drive questions
- Will a 2.5-inch drive fit a 3.5-inch bay?
- Yes, with an adapter or a hybrid carrier. Dell's PowerEdge R740 manual shows a 2.5-inch drive installed in a 3.5-inch drive adapter that then mounts in the 3.5-inch carrier, and Dell's R740xd guide lists a 3.5-inch mid-bay option that also takes 2.5-inch drives in a hybrid carrier. The drive keeps its own interface, so it still needs the matching SAS or SATA controller.
- Are 2.5-inch SAS drives hot-swappable?
- In a hot-swap bay, yes. Dell supplies PowerEdge drives in hot-swappable carriers, and its PERC 11 guide lists two conditions for swapping a disk while the controller runs: the backplane or enclosure must support hot swapping, and the replacement must use the same protocol and technology, such as SAS hard drive for SAS hard drive. Dell also advises checking the storage controller configuration before removing a drive.
