Is it the End for 500gb (Mechnical) Hard drives? [April 2025]

The Decline of 500GB Mechanical Hard Drives: Why They’re No Longer Being Made

Will you Still be able to Repair your Freesat Box?

For years, mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs) have been the go-to storage solution for computers, offering affordability and ample capacity. However, the once-common 500GB 2.5-inch HDD has all but disappeared from the market. If you’ve recently tried to purchase one, you may have noticed that new models are scarce. But why have manufacturers stopped making them? Here’s a look at the factors driving the decline of 500GB HDDs.

1. The Shift to Solid-State Drives (SSDs)

The most significant factor behind the disappearance of 500GB HDDs is the rapid advancement of solid-state drives (SSDs). SSDs offer much faster read and write speeds, lower power consumption, and improved durability compared to mechanical hard drives. As manufacturing costs for SSDs have dropped, they’ve become the preferred choice for laptops and desktops, making smaller-capacity HDDs redundant.

We sell Compatible SSD for Freesat

2. Market Demand for Higher Storage Capacities

Modern computing demands far greater storage than what a 500GB HDD can offer. With 4K video, high-resolution games, and large software applications becoming the norm, consumers and businesses alike require more storage space. As a result, HDD manufacturers have shifted their focus to producing larger capacities, such as 1TB, 2TB, and beyond, to meet these demands. 2 TB is the largest you can install in a FREESAT Box

3. Cost-Effectiveness of Larger HDDs

Manufacturing costs play a major role in determining which products remain in production. Over time, the cost of producing a 500GB HDD has remained relatively stable, but the cost per gigabyte of larger drives has decreased significantly. This means that for a similar price, consumers can purchase a 1TB or 2TB HDD instead. Because of this, manufacturers have little incentive to continue making lower-capacity models.

4. Laptop Manufacturers Moving Away from HDDs

Most modern laptops have abandoned mechanical hard drives entirely in favor of SSDs. In the past, 500GB HDDs were commonly used in budget laptops, but today, even entry-level laptops are shipping with SSDs. This shift has further reduced the demand for small-capacity HDDs, making them unprofitable for manufacturers to continue producing. This can cause issues with recordable freesat and youview, as not all drives will be compatible, the ones we sell are.

So What's next, what should you do?

The 500GB mechanical hard drive is becoming a relic of the past, replaced by SSDs and larger-capacity HDDs. With changing consumer needs, cost-effective manufacturing, and the growing reliance on cloud storage, it’s no surprise that 500GB HDDs are no longer being produced in significant numbers. If you still need one, your best bet may be buying refurbished or used models—but even then, it might be worth considering an SSD upgrade instead or why not take the cheaper route of a refurbished or re-certified drive, we sell them 

Doing good for our customers

At the moment we can still get 500gb hard drives for the freesat boxes and we have a few good sources to continue to supply our customers, but 1tb drives are still available and have dropped in price so maybe take the upgrade to the larger size.

Find your Freesat Hard Drive Here