Review: SATA 2.5″ to 3.5″ Hard Drive Adapter

Ever tried to find a 3.5″ SSD to install in your desktop computer? I’m sure they are out there but the bulk of the market share is occupied by 2.5″ SSD products. That’s because solid state hard drives (aka SSD drives) don’t need a lot of space, and they work really well in laptops. And laptops have 2.5″ hard drive bays. The solution: a 2.5″ to 3.5″ hard drive adapter. Here are some pictures of the now-converted 3.5″ SSD I installed in my Early 2009 Mac Pro:

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Installation of this particular 2.5″ to 3.5″ hard drive adapter is simple and straightforward – you just plug the laptop-sized hard drive or solid state drive into the adapter, tighten the screws, and insert the adapted assembly into your desktop computer. In my case, I was looking for a 2.5″ to 3.5″ hard drive adapter that would fit specifically in an Early 2009 Mac Pro desktop tower. I had read that some of the adapters on the market didn’t work for one reason or another. After a little bit of research, I found this unit on Amazon and it works great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UN550AC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&psc=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=al0cf3-20&linkId=bdedded193882099e42aa78f8cc0bc30

I’m always a little disappointed when I order inexpensive adapter things online – they never quite fit perfectly. But the 2.5″ to 3.5″ hard drive adapter listed above fit perfectly from the SSD/hard drive to the adapter, and, just as importantly, from the adapter to the computer. The whole assembly feels solid and it looks to be laser-cut so the tolerances are pretty much perfect. If you do order this, and happen to get one where the drive-to-adapter clearance isn’t quite right, there are two screws on the circuit board /socket that the hard drive mounts to that look like they could be loosened and adjusted slightly to make a more perfect fit.

But as I mentioned previously, the one 2.5″ to 3.5″ hard drive adapter I ordered fit absolutely perfectly.