Western Digital today announced an addition to its popular and environmentally friendly GreenPower family of WD desktop hard drive products with its WD Caviar GP 500GB model. Consuming only 3.3 watts in idle mode and 6 watts during seek mode, WD Caviar GP 500GB 3.5-inch SATA hard drives support quieter, cooler-running desktop PCs and external storage devices, with power usage 30 percent lower than any other announced 500GB hard drive in the industry."Cooler and quieter operation are key benefits of the WD Caviar GP line of hard drives, which has created a strong following among desktop and external HDD customers," said Don Bennett, vice president and general manager of WD's desktop business unit. "When a hard drive requires 30 percent less power to operate, heat generation is significantly reduced, enabling greater long-term reliability in all applications."

Built on Success
The WD Caviar GP 500GB is built using the same fundamental technologies as the WD Caviar GP 1 TB. Consistently ranked well in overall performance, with exceptional quietness, Storagereview.com1 said, "it is easily the quietest ever at idle, eerily silent even outside of a case." When ranked by ExtremeTech2, the WD Caviar GP drive received 9 out of 10 points, ranking higher than competitive drives.

Enabling Eco-friendly PC's
WD Caviar GP 500GB drives yield average drive power savings of 4-5 watts over competitors' drives making it possible for our energy-conscious customers to build systems with higher capacities and the right balance of system performance, assured reliability, and energy conservation. This power savings equates to reducing CO2 emission by up to 13.8 kilograms per drive per year - the equivalent of taking a car off the road for 3 days each year3. By equipping environmentally-conscious PCs with WD Caviar GP drives, large organizations with many desktop computers can minimize their carbon footprint and save real money on electricity costs.

Coolest, Quietest Hard Drives
The following technologies enable WD's Caviar GP hard drives:

• IntelliPower - A fine-tuned balance of spin speed, transfer rate and caching algorithms designed to deliver both significant power savings and solid performance. Additionally, GreenPower drives consume less current during startup allowing lower peak loads on systems as they are booted.
• IntelliSeek - Calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise, and vibration.
• IntelliPark - Delivers lower power consumption by automatically unloading recording heads during idle to reduce aerodynamic drag, and by disabling read/write channel electronics.

Availability and Pricing

WD Caviar GP 500GB hard drives (model WD5000AACS) may be ordered through select distributors and resellers. Estimated pricing for the WD Caviar GP 500GB is $149.99 USD. More information about WD Caviar GP desktop drives may be found on the company's Web site here.