Is WD Green good enough to pair up with SSD?

[pcwin]

I have never use an SSD before.

I am going to change to a SSD for my main system Windows 7, and use a WD green for files/data (e.g. MS word files, movies, music, Excel files, paint)

I understand that WD Green is 5400rpm, I am wondering would it slow down everything?
I am also wondering is a WD Green good enough or should I need WD Black.
I mean lets say I download a file to WD Green, or open a powerpoint/Excel/Word, photoshop.... The programs are installed on SSD, but the programs are accessing the files stored inside WD Green would it be slow, is it noticeable, should I buy a better disk like WD Black.

Thanks

 

[Boozad]

WD Greens are excellent for storage, I use one myself. I only use Blacks for games, VMs and such where performance is needed. Greens also tend to run a fair bit cooler than Blacks.

You'll be fine with a Green.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I personally prefer WD Blacks for storage in my desktop machine (but, then again, I run it 24/7) and use the Greens only for backups. The Blacks do run a tad warmer than the Greens but it only takes a little air flow over them to keep them reasonably cool. The Blacks are noticeably snappier than the Greens but the main reason I prefer the Blacks is the five year warranty instead of the two year warranty the Greens have.

 

[pcwin]

I am not just storing the files, I mean I will access the excel, txt, music, paint... files everyday in the WD Green, is WD Green still suitable for me? Is it slower to open/access the files than a 7200rpm hard disk?

 

[pcwin]

I heard there is a 8 seconds head parking or something in WD Green, accessing/opening a file after idling for 8 seconds, would require a few seconds for the WD Green to "wake up". Is that true?

And head parking causes more wear and tear?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I heard there is a 8 seconds head parking or something in WD Green, accessing/opening a file after idling for 8 seconds, would require a few seconds for the WD Green to "wake up". Is that true?

Yes, that is part of the noticeable reduction in snappiness between the Blacks and the Greens. I'm not saying you can't use a Green but you may be a bit disappointed with its performance and, if you access the drive frequently, it could reduce its life.

If budget is an issue and you don't need more than 1TB, a WD Blue is a good alternative to the Greens.

One that hasn't been discussed... Do you plan on backing up your new drive and, if so, how?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I have a year old 3 TB green that has not exhibited any head parking issues and I do monitor it. There is a WD application that can supposedly cure the head parking issue if it ever appears.

The greens with 1 TB platters are faster than the typical "fast 7200 rpm" drives of say 2011 or 2012 vintage.

If you need more than 1 TB total capacity and did not intend to put an OS on it, I'd go with greens or maybe reds.

If you do NOT need more than 1 TB total capacity, I'd go with blues.

If money is not a big deal, I'd look at the Hitachi line if I wanted more than 1 TB total capacity. More expensive, but anecdotally more reliable.

Not sure why I'd ever use a black in this day and age when SSDs are the best idea for an OS and apps regardless. If you have to put an OS on a spinner for whatever reason, then yeah, maybe a black.

Warranty terms can differ a bit, so pay attention to that if you would ever even consider returning a bad drive to the manufacturer or vendor. I would not, so I don't care about warranties--at least for data drives.

 

[mjf]

I heard there is a 8 seconds head parking or something in WD Green, accessing/opening a file after idling for 8 seconds, would require a few seconds for the WD Green to "wake up". Is that true?

And head parking causes more wear and tear?

I think that is a valid point. You can install a batch program that keeps the Green awake but I use them (3 2TB Greens for backup using a docking station). I'd go for the WD Black or Blue for installed drives. In terms of reliability you might want to consider Hitachi. The drives that get the most reliability criticism are Seagates yet I have quite a number of them still going strong.

 

[pcwin]

One that hasn't been discussed... Do you plan on backing up your new drive and, if so, how?

Yes I plan to back the new drive (SSD (Windows and programs) + HDD (data) ), I was using Acronis True Image Home 11 when I am using (HDD (Windows and programs) + HDD), if my Acronis version cannot backup SSD, I will consider buying Macrium Reflect.

Macrium Reflect is still the better than Acronis now?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Most would point you to Macrium, with maybe Aomei in second place.

No need to use Macrium for data drives though.

Unlikely you'd need the paid version of Macrium either.

Be sure to test your Macrium recovery disk.

 

[pcwin]

I have a year old 3 TB green that has not exhibited any head parking issues and I do monitor it. There is a WD application that can supposedly cure the head parking issue if it ever appears.

Not sure why I'd ever use a black in this day and age when SSDs are the best idea for an OS and apps regardless. If you have to put an OS on a spinner for whatever reason, then yeah, maybe a black.

I thought WD green has a 8 seconds head parking by default to save energy? Not sure why you do not have encounter it. Google: WD Green 8 seconds head, and you will see lots of articles of it.

I thought of using WD Black (to store data) because the the WD Green has the 8 seconds parking that people mention it will shorten the lifespan and slow down when accessing WD Green after it has idle for 8 seconds. I am not sure if I access a file (e.g. MS word/excel) I would need to wait 3 to 5 seconds for WD Green to wake up or not before the file is opened.

 

[pcwin]

People using WD Green, when WD Green is idle, how long do you need to wait for it wake up before it open a file? For example it has idle for 30 seconds, now you access a MS Excel file, what is the delay (how many seconds) before the file is opened?

Comparing with WD Black what is the difference of delay (seconds) of opening a file?

Thanks

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I have a year old 3 TB green that has not exhibited any head parking issues and I do monitor it. There is a WD application that can supposedly cure the head parking issue if it ever appears.

Not sure why I'd ever use a black in this day and age when SSDs are the best idea for an OS and apps regardless. If you have to put an OS on a spinner for whatever reason, then yeah, maybe a black.

I thought WD green has a 8 seconds head parking by default to save energy? Not sure why you do not have encounter it. Google: WD Green 8 seconds head, and you will see lots of articles of it.

I thought of using WD Black (to store data) because the the WD Green has the 8 seconds parking that people mention it will shorten the lifespan and slow down when accessing WD Green after it has idle for 8 seconds. I am not sure if I access a file (e.g. MS word/excel) I would need to wait 3 to 5 seconds for WD to wake up or not before the file is opened.

I'm well aware of the issue. My green has never had the issue. When I bought the drive a year ago, I pounded Google on the subject. All the complaining seemed to be about earlier generations.

I do not repeat not see any lag at all. I don't use any sleep or hibernate modes on my drives.

You can monitor head parking via SMART. The attribute is "Load/Unload Cycle Count" aka LLC.

I think the drives are rated for 300,000 LLC.

I checked as I write this: my current LLC is 7156---a little over one per hour. That's in 6240 hours of operation since I bought the drive almost 14 months ago.

Roughly 17 park cycles per day. It's consistently been around 17 since I bought it.

Some earlier WD drives would suddenly reach 100,000 or more in weeks after having very few for months, with the solution being to run a WD utility called wdidle3 to change the default value of 8 seconds for head parking. You create a boot disk with the app and only the WD connected (at least ideally). It’s a DOS utility and you use the s/300 switch to set the head parking to once every 300 seconds, which eliminates the runaway high numbers.

I can only report my experience. Obviously, if you are worried don't buy a green.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I have a year old 3 TB green that has not exhibited any head parking issues and I do monitor it. There is a WD application that can supposedly cure the head parking issue if it ever appears.

The greens with 1 TB platters are faster than the typical "fast 7200 rpm" drives of say 2011 or 2012 vintage.

If you need more than 1 TB total capacity and did not intend to put an OS on it, I'd go with greens or maybe reds.

If you do NOT need more than 1 TB total capacity, I'd go with blues.

If money is not a big deal, I'd look at the Hitachi line if I wanted more than 1 TB total capacity. More expensive, but anecdotally more reliable.

Not sure why I'd ever use a black in this day and age when SSDs are the best idea for an OS and apps regardless. If you have to put an OS on a spinner for whatever reason, then yeah, maybe a black.

Warranty terms can differ a bit, so pay attention to that if you would ever even consider returning a bad drive to the manufacturer or vendor. I would not, so I don't care about warranties--at least for data drives.

The Greens should never be used for an OS drive but that's a moot point because the OP stated he was going to use an SSD for the OS.

 

[pcwin]

When WD Green parked its head, does it mean there is totally no moving parts inside the disk and safe to unplug the sata/power wire? (not sure if anything is still spinning or not when the head is parked)

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

When WD Green parked its head, does it mean there is totally no moving parts inside the disk and safe to unplug the sata/power wire? (not sure if anything is still spinning or not when the head is parked)

No, it merely slows down from full speed. WD doesn't publish the actual speeds of the Greens so one guess is as good as another. Most people consider it to be a 5400 rpm drive although some believe it may spin up to as much as 5900 rpm.

I checked the SMART attributes on one my Greens and it showed 336 start cycles and only a 338 load/unload cycle count. Keep in mind I start using a backup program as soon after I insert the drive into the hot swap and the drive finishes indexing, then remove the drive after the program finishes and the heads have time to park. The drive is hot (connected to SATA data and SATA power) when I unplug it. I let it set a few second more to let it slow down some before pulling it out and gently moving it to the drawer it is stored in.

To be able to plug in and disconnect a drive hot that is connected directly to a SATA port, you have to make sure the SATA port the dock or swap bay (or the drive itself if it is mounted internally) is connected to has been set in the BIOS or UEFI to AHCI and Hot Swap.

 

[pcwin]

When accessing a file in WD Green vs WD Black, can you guys notice the difference/lag between these 2 drives? Do you actually feel the difference that much that you know you are accessing a file in a WD Green or WD Black.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

When accessing a file in WD Green vs WD Black, can you guys notice the difference/lag between these 2 drives? Do you actually feel the difference that much that you know you are accessing a file in a WD Green or WD Black.

Yes, the Black is noticeably snappier.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

When accessing a file in WD Green vs WD Black, can you guys notice the difference/lag between these 2 drives? Do you actually feel the difference that much that you know you are accessing a file in a WD Green or WD Black.

I do not notice any difference when opening random files.

It might make some difference if you were comparing them as boot drives and were measuring boot speed. Or maybe you wouldn't even notice that. Greens got a bad rap as "slow" and so you see the same stuff just copied and pasted from web pages of years back. Everyone says "don't use them as boot drives", but when did you last see a comparison of green versus black on a boot drive for recent versions of the two? Anyone with $70 has long gone to SSDs and could care less about the boot speed comparison.

But you don't intend to use them as boot drives regardless, so it's a moot point.

 

[pcwin]

If I download a file and save it to a WD Green vs WD Black, is there a difference of time it will take to download finish?

Lets say downloading a 1GB file takes 1 hour to save to WD Black, does it take a longer time (maybe 1 hour 30mins) to save into WD Green?