Green Harddrives

Bill2 · 12 May 2010

Very handy comparisons including temps at the site below.

Benchmark Results: Temperature And Sound Level : 1.5 TB Low-Power HDDs: Green Gets Big

These beauties deem to run pretty cool, all of them.

sergiogarcia9 · 12 May 2010

I've heard that these "green drive" have some kind of hibernation program when they are not used, can someone confirm if thats true? Kinda being the reason i haven't even considered a green drive lol

pparks1 · 12 May 2010

I believe some drives spin at 7,200 when used, but slow down to 5,400 when not in use.

Jonathan_King · 12 May 2010

Yes, the green drives spin down sooner when not in use, to save power. Unfortunately, that also puts additional wear and tear on the drive.

pparks1 · 12 May 2010

Jonathan_King said:

Yes, the green drives spin down sooner when not in use, to save power. Unfortunately, that also puts additional wear and tear on the drive.

Of course, so does using the drive, formatting the drive, defragmenting the drive, etc.

Jonathan_King · 12 May 2010

pparks1 said:

Jonathan_King said:

Yes, the green drives spin down sooner when not in use, to save power. Unfortunately, that also puts additional wear and tear on the drive.

Of course, so does using the drive, formatting the drive, defragmenting the drive, etc.

Yes, I agree, but what is your point?

seekermeister · 12 May 2010

After pondering the points in this article, I think that I'm going to go black, instead of green:

http://hothardware.com/Articles/WDs-...Pay-Attention/

Looking at the temps in Bill2's screenshot, it doesn't appear that they are running any cooler than my current drives. Of course, I have no way of knowing the environment, or the method of the tests.

sergiogarcia9 · 12 May 2010

pparks1 said:

Jonathan_King said:

Yes, the green drives spin down sooner when not in use, to save power. Unfortunately, that also puts additional wear and tear on the drive.

Of course, so does using the drive, formatting the drive, defragmenting the drive, etc.

While that might be the case, Green drives would, die faster, because they slow down in speed when they are not in use. That makes sence to me

pparks1 · 12 May 2010

Jonathan_King said:

Yes, I agree, but what is your point?

My point is that I don't think worrying about this excess wear and tear is really worth it. My reservation about getting a "green" drive, would strictly be based on reduced performance.