Opinions regarding HD

[ufcrusher]

So I am in the process of resurrecting one of my systems that died. (Because I am down to -1 systems. I kid not.)

I was lucky enough to have a spare old tower laying around that needs a new sata drive. I am debating between the WD 1 TB Green and Black. Any opinions on these drives? Its been 6 years since I built my last system and this is the first SATA drive I am having to buy, so opinions are welcome.

Just an FYI -this is not going to be a gaming rig, rather it is simply a workhorse machine.

[ufcrusher]

Come on people..seriously, no responses?!? This is a first.

So I just ordered the WD Black from NewEgg because from what I could find out it was much faster and more reliable...for $5 more than the WD green. Of course, immediately after my transaction, I discover that Leon has listed the 1 TB green drive for $69 AR from ZipZoomFly, which is a nice savings from the $90 I paid for the WD Black.

This brings up 2 questions:
1) Opinion on whether I should get the Green version vs. the Black version. (I am not talking color here, just WDs designation.)
2) I have never bought from ZipZoomFly, how are they on rebates? (DF....you should be able to answer me on this part)

Thanks.

[ray]

zipzoomfly is reliable. i've ordered from them on numerous occasions and had good experiences. I've never processed a rebate with them before, so i can't comment on that.

I purchase WD Green drives and Samsung ECO drives now because i want my computers to run on less juice. Both drives are basically developed to be more eco-friendly and all the benefits that come with that.

As far as performance is concerned, I honestly haven't seen much difference between my old black drives, and these new eco drives. For maintaining my music and movie library, copying from external drives to the computer, and just general computer use they are fantastic and haven't failed me yet.

[ufcrusher]

Is there really that big a power consumption difference? I read something that said the difference was minimal unless it went down to a lower RPM. Both the green and black claim to be 7200 rpm, although my first research had the green as 5400 rpm.

[ray]

Tom's Hardware had a good review of the WD Caviar Green:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wd-caviar-gp,1703.html

[zippyjuan]

IT is my understanding that the green drive adjusts its speed according to demand (my processor/ motherboard has a similar feature) to try to conserve energy. This does mean it opprates at a lower speed than a black drive. The question is are the gains in speed or savings in energy really anything you will notice in real world operations?

[InfiniteNothing]

If the OS is going to live on the drive then black otherwise green

[ufcrusher]

I went with the black drive since it is the main system drive for this system, which was the reason for my decision.