Green VS Black

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techboie

Member
Jan 12, 2009
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I asked my dealer for a 32mb 640GB WD but he gave a Green one. How much slower is Green from Black in terms of gaming and installing apps/OSes and data transfer?
 
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Lightning983

Member
Jun 27, 2008
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As far as i know the Black is a lot faster in benches... in real world i wouldn't know. Green spins @5400rpm, while the Black spins @ 7200rpm...

I'm sure someone will give a more detailed explanation :)
 
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Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
Originally posted by: techboie
I asked my dealer for a 32mb 640GB WD but he gave a Green one. How much slower is Green from Black in terms of gaming and installing apps/OSes and data transfer?
Click to expand...
If he gave you a WD "Green", return it.
You asked for a 32MB cache 640GB WD and he gave you a 16MB version.
He sold you something that you didn't want! :roll:
 
BlueAcolyte

BlueAcolyte

Platinum Member
Nov 19, 2007
2,793
2
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Much slower. Greens are TERRIBLE for main drives since they will randomly spin up and down.
 
taltamir

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
green are cheaper and much slower. As a result they are sold as "environmentally friendly"... this is like this one time I was packing cell phones and we lost a package of manuals, I suggested we just package a bunch of phones without manuals and call them "environmentally friendly", allowing people to buy less for the same price.

although the green DO have some REAL power saving features, power saving features that cost performance.
 
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LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
8,771
58
91
5400 vs 7200 rpm doesn't even save you that much power. the GREEN name is stupid IMO. the power saved is nothing compared to the performance lost when comparing to a 7200rpm drive..
 
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Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
Originally posted by: Blain
Originally posted by: techboie
I asked my dealer for a 32mb 640GB WD but he gave a Green one. How much slower is Green from Black in terms of gaming and installing apps/OSes and data transfer?
Click to expand...
If he gave you a WD "Green", return it.
You asked for a 32MB cache 640GB WD and he gave you a 16MB version.
He sold you something that you didn't want! :roll:
Click to expand...
I agree with Blain 100%... TAKE IT BACK!
 
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VaultDweller

Member
Nov 8, 2004
69
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0
I prefer Greens to Blacks.

WD Greens are some of the quietest hard drives on the market (though some of the Blue drives and Samsung F1s are impressive, too). Blacks are some of the loudest desktop drives.

I can immediately and clearly differentiate between the two drives by noise level - I can't tell them apart based on performance without running benchmarks. I'll choose the quiet one.
 
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F1shF4t

Golden Member
Oct 18, 2005
1,583
1
71
If you want an os drive go for the Black version, otherwise the Greens would be fine for storage. They are really good for external storage as they don't heat up as much, I got 2 of em just for that purpose.

BTW: anything is quite compared to a pair of seeking 74gig raptors in raid 0 :p
 
nerp

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Definatley return it for the black.

The green drives are excellent for storage purposes, such as in a file server or in a Media Center Machine.

They do use significantly less power. But for a main OS/app drive, you really want the Black instead.
 
yh125d

yh125d

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2006
6,886
0
76
People, Green = 5400rpm at idle/low transfer speeds, but ramps up when needed. It's speedstep for your HD
 
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Pneumothorax

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2002
1,181
23
81
Originally posted by: yh125d
People, Green = 5400rpm at idle/low transfer speeds, but ramps up when needed. It's speedstep for your HD
Click to expand...

Au contraire, this has been disproved as false WD marketing speak. The drive is basically a pure 5400 rpm and does not "speedstep" Just to add to the discussion I have both Green/Black 1TB drives in my machine and would take the black every time for a main drive. It is noticeable in real world performance between the two. BTW, the "EADS" green is a little faster than the year older version, but the black is still quicker.
 
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VaultDweller

Member
Nov 8, 2004
69
0
0
Originally posted by: Blain
I'm a "Black" owner, mine is very quiet.
Maybe you received a defective drive... WD has a good RMA program.
Click to expand...

I do not have a Black drive of my own, but I have installed and heard them. I see no reason to suspect the drives to be defective - SPCR found the drives to vibrate significantly more than WD's other recent offerings, with relatively loud seeks unless AAM is enabled.

I think you and I simply have different thresholds for what constitutes acceptable noise levels from a hard drive. I can hear a seeking Black drive (and my hated Seagates) over ambient background noise and low-rpm Scythe fans. That is unacceptable to me. My Seagate F1's and my new 640 GB WD Blue, on the other hand, are inaudible unless the case is open and I put my head close to the drive bays.

{Edit}
Oh, and I do agree on WD's excellent RMA program. I've had good luck with their advance replacement option in the past. Seagate's not too bad in this regard either, though I believe I had to pay a fee to get advance replacements from them. Haven't had to deal with a Samsung F1 RMA yet, knock on wood.
 
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Pneumothorax

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2002
1,181
23
81
It all comes down to priorities, if you need cool n' quiet (although in a GOOD INSULATED case with rubber mounts, the black isn't much louder than my green EADS drive) get the green. If you want all out performance for a 7200 rpm 1TB drive get the Black.
 
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VaultDweller

Member
Nov 8, 2004
69
0
0
Originally posted by: Pneumothorax
It all comes down to priorities, if you need cool n' quiet (although in a GOOD INSULATED case with rubber mounts, the black isn't much louder than my green EADS drive) get the green. If you want all out performance for a 7200 rpm 1TB drive get the Black.
Click to expand...

Soft rubber mounts - a lot of cases include rubber mounts to help sales to sound-sensitive buyers, but the cheap hard rubber they use doesn't help anything. Antec is a manufacturer that does them well.
 
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Pneumothorax

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2002
1,181
23
81
Good point, I've had my share of hard drive grommets that might as well be made of porcelain lol!
 
taltamir

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
the green are the cheapest per GB on the market. Which makes them very attractive if you are building a Redunant Array of INEXPENSIVE Drives.
 
nerp

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Originally posted by: yh125d
People, Green = 5400rpm at idle/low transfer speeds, but ramps up when needed. It's speedstep for your HD
Click to expand...

Not really. The "variable" rpms refers to the fact that most are 5400 rpm but some end up being 7200 rpm and you have no real way of knowing and shouldn't care, either, since the performance isn't really that much different.
 
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