Although the market trend is that berries 3.5 single units are disappearing and PC cases are incorporating less and less, hard drives in this format are still needed as mass storage and it doesn’t look like they are going away in the medium term, so it may be important to know how these drives are climbs or, at least, what types of anchoring systems we are going to find.
Install the hard drive directly into the enclosure
It has been difficult for many years to find this method of mounting hard drives in the PC case, but in the past it was the most common: you just find a space of 3.5 with metal plates of the two sides that allow us screw hard drives directly to the box. It is a complicated system (you had to hold the hard drive and align it freehand to screw it in) and it also has many drawbacks, such as for example that the hard drive will absorb the shocks and vibrations that are in the case. and vice versa.
Fortunately, this method ceased to be used many years ago, and as we have said, it is difficult to find in modern boxes; In any case, you should know that some models integrate rubber washers
Likewise, in some shoddy or old boxes we found anchors called de mariposa, which consisted of a plastic part with a rotating element that was inserted with plastic protrusions into the hard drive mounting holes, and then with the butterfly it was anchored to the metal plate of the case (you can see the example in Le imagen up). This method was not only dangerous by only anchoring it on one side, but it also did not prevent vibration or noise.
Alternatively, and it is also seen in some modern enclosures but usually in those with a small form factor, one can find anchor points for 3.5 inch hard drives directly on the body of the enclosure itself, which can be both above the power supply bezel. as well as behind the motherboard.
To install a hard drive in this way, we will usually find holes on the opposite side that will allow us to insert the screws, having to screw the hard drive manually. This method presents a lot of drawbacks, such as the discomfort of the assembly or the fact that it generally “eats” them. case vibrations and transmits them to him, thus increasing the sound level; the downside is that it saves a lot of space and aesthetically it can be quite beautiful as you can see from the image we have placed above these lines.
The different disc platters
The most common and popular method of mounting hard drives in the PC case has long been the use of racks with removable trays. To mount the hard drive, you must remove the tray and then anchor the unit to it; we usually find different racks which normally have space for three disk drives each and give the box some modularity
However, you should also know that there are different types of trays, mainly two:
- Tray with screws and rubber washers: This method is similar to the one we explained first in this article, and involves screwing the hard drive to the platter through the rubber washers, leaving the unit hanging to prevent vibration. In lower quality boxes, the manufacturer has a tray with simple holes to pass the screws and does without rubber washers.
- Tool-less installation tray: this type of tray is usually made of soft plastic and has a protrusion that coincides with the hard drives anchoring holes, so that if we insert one side of the disc first and then bend the tray slightly, we can fit the anchors On the other side. It is a very comfortable method and usually combined with rubber washers to prevent vibrations.
As an alternative, we also have a method of mounting hard drives with pins
And what about 2.5 inch hard drives?
So far we have talked about the methods to install a 3.5 hard drive, but we do not forget about the 2.5 drives which today are even more common as they are the format used by the vast majority. SATA 3 SSDs. In this case, to install this size of disk directly in the case you need adapters, although as there are 3.5 ″ anchoring points directly in the case (as behind the motherboard by example) it is also common to find space for 2.5 inch drives, and the installation process is the same.
Likewise, in the tray methods, almost all of them have holes for screwing a 2.5 inch drive into them, although in this case, as a rule, there are no installation methods without tools but they must be screwed yes or yes (In the case of SSDs, nothing happens because they do not vibrate).
In some cases, usually large and / or high end, one can even find full 2.5 drive racks, for example in the Corsair Crystal 680X.
This is not common, however, and in fact the most common method of installing a 2.5 inch hard drive or SSD in modern PC cases is to either use the 3.5 inch platters themselves through to the additional perforations that integrate them, or to install them in specific locations. Anchor points behind the metal plate for the base plate or above the power supply trim that many modern boxes already incorporate.