Red or Green?

[ronbo613]

Need more hard drives(never seems to be enough). Newegg has 2TB WD Greens on sale for $90. I have a couple 1TB Greens in my Synology 212J running in JBOD, I was thinking of swapping them out for the 2TB models.
Of course, I would rather go with 2TB WD Reds, but the cheapest I can get them for is $122 each, so there's quite a price difference there.
What do you think?

 

[Turbonium]

I'm also curious to know the better answer here.

Greens use less power, but the Reds are "designed" to be running 24/7. That somehow implies that Greens are inferior at 24/7 operation (lower longevity/MTBF), which makes no sense to me. Almost like Reds and their intended operation is more marketing than anything. Someone please shed some light on the situation.

 

[tweakboy]

If the green is 5400RPM , I suggest you spend more money and get 7200RPM. It will be worth it in bulk transfers.

No matter how much power green saves, sometimes its not worth it. In your particular case you need fast bulk transfer,, the speed will pay for the money within few months. gl

 

[RaiderJ]

Personally I'd get the Green drives. Cost difference is quite a bit, and I doubt you'd notice any practical difference between the two performance wise. Your speed bottleneck might be the NAS itself versus the drives.

 

[C1]

What I have found is that what is important is how you intend to use the drive. If it is for archival backup (yes even for/with large files) that involves infrequent use then green is fine. Even if from time to time you do a project wherein it is convenient to keep the drive active, then just use softjock's "My Disk is Spinning" : http://softjock.com/mdis.htm

Otherwise, for high volume/frequent use (eg, server application or even RAID/NAS?) use red.

 

[ronbo613]

If the green is 5400RPM , I suggest you spend more money and get 7200RPM. It will be worth it in bulk transfers.

No matter how much power green saves, sometimes its not worth it. In your particular case you need fast bulk transfer,, the speed will pay for the money within few months.

I know the value of 7200rpm and enterprise drives, I have WD RE4 drives in my computer. But for bulk storage and in an NAS or external enclosure I think much of the speed will be lost because of the interface. The durability and warranty of an enterprise drive? Love it, but at twice the price of a Green? Not so sure.

Otherwise, for high volume/frequent use (eg, server application or even RAID/NAS?) use red.

That's the dilemma. Even though the drives will be in a NAS, I don't run it 24/7 all the time.

I'm leaning towards the green and hope for the best. I always have backups for my backups, it's product value that's the question.

 

[C1]

I know the value of 7200rpm and enterprise drives, I have WD RE4 drives in my computer. But for bulk storage and in an NAS or external enclosure I think much of the speed will be lost because of the interface. The durability and warranty of an enterprise drive? Love it, but at twice the price of a Green? Not so sure.

That's the dilemma. Even though the drives will be in a NAS, I don't run it 24/7 all the time.

I'm leaning towards the green and hope for the best. I always have backups for my backups, it's product value that's the question.

You are being elusive.

Enterprise drives (such as Hitachi which Im familiar with) have:
- Higher tolerances
- Hence lower error rate (order of magnitude)
- Undergo more rigorous/demanding factory acceptance testing
- Have longer warranties
- Are designed and intended for continuous use

So as a piece of hardware, you are getting more product (value), but you are paying for it

But is this the level of the product that your application demands?
If in doubt (ie, your not sure what or how the drive is to be used) , then buy the Cadillac.

Hey, for a home project, I could choose to do it with a $20 hammer or $200 hammer.
http://toolmonger.com/2007/10/09/de...ne-solid-titanium-straight-handle-hammer-199/