# Problems with using WD Caviar Green drives in a RAID?



## Static~Charge (Mar 22, 2009)

Does anyone know if the Western Digital Caviar Green hard drives work well in RAID setups (level 1, 5, 10, 0+1)? I'm wondering if there are any issues with the variable spindle speed of the Green drives (5400 to 7200 RPM, depending on the load). Could there be performance problems if the RAID's drives speed up or slow down out-of-sync?


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## Athlon2K15 (Mar 22, 2009)

there not to bad,but i also used the wdidle hack..it seemed to speed up the access time for the drives...


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## renozi (Mar 22, 2009)

i heard the green drives are locked at 5400rpm even the 1TB ones. 
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article786-page1.html
I'm planning on getting 2 500GB for raid 0 storage because my 750gb aaks are noticeable even over the fans, which are louder, but the drives are noticeable.


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## Hayder_Master (Mar 22, 2009)

i know the green version is only come with low cash but 7200 RPM , i don't think there is new drives come with 5400 it is too slow


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## DanishDevil (Mar 22, 2009)

Nope, the WD Greenpower series runs "5400-7200RPM" and each drive apparantly has been tuned to its own unique RPM to minimize noise and vibrations.  That is bollocks, and they're all basically 5400RPM drives.

Greenpower is supposed to be very low energy consuming, very quiet, and very cool running, and they do that well.  Perfect for file storage.

If you want the best of both worlds (silence, low temps, and performance) get a Caviar Blue, which are 7200RPM.  WD Caviar Blacks are performance drives at 7200RPM, and then you have the Raptors and Velociraptors which are enthusiast at 10kRPM.

As far as the OP's question, I've got no idea.


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## REVHEAD (Mar 22, 2009)

I run 2 Samsung 1tb green power drives in raid 0 on my Hometheater setup without a drama, I am sure the same could be said for the WD drives, but not 100%


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## Hayder_Master (Mar 23, 2009)

DanishDevil said:


> Nope, the WD Greenpower series runs "5400-7200RPM" and each drive apparantly has been tuned to its own unique RPM to minimize noise and vibrations.  That is bollocks, and they're all basically 5400RPM drives.
> 
> Greenpower is supposed to be very low energy consuming, very quiet, and very cool running, and they do that well.  Perfect for file storage.
> 
> ...




mmmmmmm, interesting so the green one good for offices pc's


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## Static~Charge (Mar 23, 2009)

Tech ARP's review of the 2TB Caviar Green drive cleared up a few details. First, the spindle speed isn't variable; WD locks it somewhere between 5400 and 7200 RPM (more likely on the lower end of the scale) and won't tell you what it is. If each drive has a different rotation speed, I don't think I'd want to use them in a RAID environment.

Second, the Caviar Green line trades throughput for less noise, heat, and power consumption. I guess something had to give to make it a "green" drive. I think I'll wait for standard versions of the 2TB drives to hit the market.


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