Swapping a 2.5" HDD for a 3.5"

This is more of a general hardware compatibility question, apologies if this is the wrong place.

I've got an Optiplex micro that currently has a 2.5" SSD. I'd like to swap out the 2.5" drive for a bigger 3.5" HDD; maybe a 4TB WD Red Plus.

The case is unfortunately too small to do a straight swap, but does anyone know if it would work if I used a SATA extension to plug in the 3.5" drive? I ran into some unanswered questions about power requirements on the internet, but if that functions it's probably my preferred option.

If that doesn't work, as far as I can tell my options are:

• sacrifice disk space and my wallet and buy a SSD
• use an external HDD (are there even NAS rated external HDD's? I will have to do some more research on this)

Any thoughts? Have I missed anything?

Thanks,

csomv

Yeah, I'd definitely like to avoid USB.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out anything about my motherboard other than its model number (Dell, 3KWTV).

Rough power estimates:

The power supply is 65W, the processor should be 35W max, and the fan is rated for 5V,1A = 5W, so that leaves roughly 25W for the rest of the system. If I'm reading the the spec right, the HDD should average 6W, with a 12V 2A peak. Assuming that the peak current is the startup current (at which time, in theory, the processor shouldn't be pulling 35W), and that nothing else is pulling significant power, I *think* it might work.

Unfortunately I can't figure out a way to test it without just buying a drive, and even if that works out, that 1% edge case might get me.

Maybe I'm making up too much stuff and I should just pivot to a 2.5" SSD like the WD Red SA500.

It's been a while since I bought anything; I'd definitely expected them to have come down more.

Anyways, thank you for the help.

Well I bit the bullet and ordered a WD Red SA500. I don't have a ton of media (yet, right?), so maybe by the time that fills up they'll be cheaper.

On the other hand, by that time I might also want a more expandable NAS, and the problem will go away.