Non-SSD Hard Drive, Horizontal Mount May Make Drives Last Longer

Question

Hi. With today's hard drive technology, it should be negligible if the mount is vertical or horizontal. There's no choice with the iMac i7 unless that is user-replaced with an SSD one. But I think if you want to make a non-SSD hard drive last more (assuming it's cool enough in both position and is not upside down), it should be positioned horizontal when you could. If it's not SSD, it still uses the platter and spindle original design which was designed to be used horizontally. Time Capsule is designed more to be mounted horizontally. It's the same with Xserve and the hard drive in the Mac Pro (it may not be just for the space or cooling, since a vertical does save space and in most cases makes the hard drive cooler). I guess most engineers who build critical products instinctively know that horizontal mount would be the safest mount although they haven't made any scientific tests which mount makes a drive last longer. Most mission critical datacenters have theirs horizontally mounted too. With this observation, I've position my back-up external hard drive to the horizontal.
It's strange by there might be truth in these observations. Horizontal makes more sense as the default natural position for mechanics, for things created. If you look at movements and design in nature that resembles a platter, most are in the horizontal or close to that position position. The revolution and rotation of planets, you naturally throw a disc horizotally, fluids in your body default to the horizontal, your brain follows this horizontal position or you get dizzy or get knocked out much like in a Pacquiao fight, if that fluid that's used for balance is not in the horizontal:). That's why you sleep when those fluids are in the vertical when you lay down. If that's a hard drive in vertical, then it sleeps to or does not perform as well minutely. Also if the platter design is from an old design, that of the phonograph (assuming it was based from this design), then no matter what technology is used to better it, intrinsically built-in, in that original design that it's better to have it in the horizontal.
Thanks for looking.
Gbu.
Message was edited by: Alvin777

Answer 1

Hi Alvin777,
before I entered the Mac-world some 4 years ago I always had my HDs mounted horizontal.
With my first iMac (early 2006) that 'view' was slightly shattered.
It was even more shattered when I bought my Mac Pro in Late 2006 and discovered that while the HDs are mounted horizontal they were upside down !!
Nonetheless in all the 4 years of using either my iMacs (on my second one) or my Mac Pro I never had any troubles with the HDs.
And two of the four HDs in my Mac Pro date back from 2006 (320GB Seagates).
So while I would have completely concurred with you 4 years ago, right now I am completely at ease with any way of orientation for HDs.
Happy computing
Stefan
Message was edited by: Fortuny