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DEAD: WD Caviar Green 1TB $89.99 shipped @ Newegg

I am really debating whether to grab this or another monitor... At least the Shell Shocker isn't $10 off like its been for awhile.
 
I guess these drives are quiet and have low power consumption. When I first read about them I thought they varied their spin speed based on load. This is not true. Each drive has a set spin speed which is supposedly a bit over 5400 RPM, but definitely under 7200. Apparently the spin speeds between models varies...i.e. the 750GB is faster than the 1TB, which is faster than the 2TB.

 
Thanks OP. I grabbed one to RAID 1 with my existing WD Green.

FYI - I find it to be plenty fast for a data drive - I put a pair of the 1 TB blacks in a system not too long ago and was sorry that I spent the extra cash as the difference was not perceivable by the user.
 
Originally posted by: sgrinavi
I put a pair of the 1 TB blacks in a system not too long ago and was sorry that I spent the extra cash as the difference was not perceivable by the user.
Click to expand...

Interesting observation. What types of data were you working with?

Not trying to be pedantic about this but hard disk performance depends upon many things but assuming two drives are identical in configuration (same platters which assumes same areal density, actuator, etc.), a 7200RPM drive should be noticeably faster. To put it quite simply, the data can be moved under the head 33% faster than a 5400RPM drive. There is generally a a lot of marketing hype upon differnt interface specs (SATA 150 or 300) and buffer/cache size but generally these have very little impact on true disk performance. The differences may be minimized some in certain raid environements.
 
Originally posted by: Mac
Originally posted by: sgrinavi
I put a pair of the 1 TB blacks in a system not too long ago and was sorry that I spent the extra cash as the difference was not perceivable by the user.
Click to expand...

Interesting observation. What types of data were you working with?

Not trying to be pedantic about this but hard disk performance depends upon many things but assuming two drives are identical in configuration (same platters which assumes same areal density, actuator, etc.), a 7200RPM drive should be noticeably faster. To put it quite simply, the data can be moved under the head 33% faster than a 5400RPM drive. There is generally a a lot of marketing hype upon differnt interface specs (SATA 150 or 300) and buffer/cache size but generally these have very little impact on true disk performance. The differences may be minimized some in certain raid environements.
Click to expand...

This is why velociraptors are fast. They are 10,000 rpm, even if only 300 gb.
 
Found some info on IntelliPower on anandtech site:
http://www.anandtech.com/stora...howdoc.aspx?i=3161&p=2

The Western Digital drive's IntelliPower algorithm, which varies the rotational speed between 5400RPM and 7200RPM, dictates the Western Digital's rotational speed. Despite this variable rotational speed, Western Digital specifies the same average seek time as Seagate.
Click to expand...

Edit: Well not sure about the above info I quoted from anandtech..

Different drive but check here:
http://www.storagereview.com/1000.sr?page=0%2C1

Cliff notes -- looks like IntelliPower spins close to 5400 rpm

The manufacturer is careful in not directly citing spindle speed, instead nominally positioning the Caviar GP as a "7200 RPM-class" drive. Under its "IntelliPower" moniker, WD claims a "A fine-tuned balance of spin speed, transfer rate and cache size designed to deliver both significant power savings and solid performance." Some folks have misinterpreted some admittedly vague specs on WD's website. Under "Rotational Speed," the manufacturer cites "IntelliPower (5400 to 7200 RPM)." This does not mean the drive dynamically changes its spindle speed during operation... indeed, such a feature would entail considerable mechanical engineering and would in many ways defeat the point -- rapidly accelerating and decelerating the spindle's speed would increase rather than decrease net power draw. Rather, the IntelliPower term indicates that the GP family as a whole does not have a set spindle speed (nor a set buffer size, for that matter). Different capacity points may feature differing spin speeds and buffer sizes. For those that must know, WD admits "sub-6000 RPM operation" for the 1-TB Caviar GP (more on this on the following page).

The next page:

We have to take a different approach when assessing the Caviar GP's seek time since WD does not explicitly give users the drive's spindle speed. The GP turns in a measured access time of 15.0 ms, a score that lags the 7200-RPM WD7500AAKS by a significant margin. The WD7500AAKS's measured seek time when accounting for 4.2 ms of 7200 RPM latency is 9.5 ms (missing the firm's claim by over half a millisecond). Assuming the GP also shares such a seek time, that leaves us with 15 ms [measured access time] minus 9.5 ms [assumed seek time] which equals 5.5 ms, almost exactly the rotational latency associated with a 5400 RPM spindle speed.
 
Yes, they are 5400RPM, but as far as benchmarks go, they are modern drives, and bloody fast for a 5400RPM'er. Excellent drives overall, and great for storage.

Check out the combo deals with Vista Ultimate OEM. Not too shabby.
 
I really want the 1.5 TB green caviar drives for a big 4x sata raid box I got last month. Stupid WD, I thought you'd have them out by now!!
 
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