the difference between WD's HDDs

[tomi832]

From what I've, Western Digital has a couple of HDDs for each capacity  -for example Caviar Blue, or Red.

So I wanted to ask what's the difference? I wanna buy a 2 TB version, and the price in my country for the Caviar Blue is 90 USD while the purple is 100 USD and the Red is 110 USD.

So what's the deal? is it really worth it to spend more?

Also, from what I've knew the real difference was the RPM of the discs inside the HDD, for example 7200 RPM is faster the 5400 in performance, but also has a higher temp and noisier. But now I've seen that the Purple and Red versions are "IntelliPower" instead of RPM...so what's IntelliPower? and maybe the shop just messed up and its not like RPM?

thanks to anyone who helps!

[sazrocks]

The sticky will answer most of your questions.

 

[Anghammarad]

Green = "slow" low power usage

Blue = Consumer models

Black = performance models

Red = NAS models

Purple = Surveillance models

 

And I think some have different warranty times. but for that you'll need to use google  

[Senzelian]

There is a good article:
https://www.techporn.ph/understanding-the-differences-between-wd-hdd-colors/

But in short: If you just want a drive that can hold as much porn as possible - get the cheapest one available. I'd go for a 7200RPM model tho.

[AmpMC]

Quick google search came up with THIS.

[Rinsworth]

The differences in the Brands are fairly small, but dependent on the usage.

Caviar Blues are the "all rounder" of the types.

Blacks are the performance, but they can be louder and get hotter

Reds are NAS optimized, and are memory optimized

Purples are for A/V surveillance

 

Purples and Reds are built for 24/7 usages as well. 

[tomi832]

3 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

Green = "slow" low power usage

Blue = Consumer models

Black = performance models

Red = NAS models

Purple = Surveillance models

 

And I think some have different warranty times. but for that you'll need to use google  

 

3 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

There is a good article:
https://www.techporn.ph/understanding-the-differences-between-wd-hdd-colors/

But in short: If you just want a drive that can hold as much porn as possible - get the cheapest one available. I'd go for a 7200RPM model tho.

 

4 minutes ago, sazrocks said:

The sticky will answer most of your questions.

 

 

3 minutes ago, AmpMC said:

Quick google search came up with THIS.

 

2 minutes ago, Rinsworth said:

The differences in the Brands are fairly small, but dependent on the usage.

Caviar Blues are the "all rounder" of the types.

Blacks are the performance, but they can be louder and get hotter

Reds are NAS optimized, and are memory optimized

Purples are for A/V surveillance

 

Purples and Reds are built for 24/7 usages as well. 

 

OK thank you all!

its probably not for me, but I'm asking out of curiosity  - what's NAS?

so basically - the only ones for me are the Green which is power efficient, Caviar Blue the "balanced class" and black which is about performance but he's a bit loud and hot? and the Black version cant get to a dangerous temperature right? it's just hot, not something that should concern someone with an R9 390 no?

[iRileyx]

3 minutes ago, tomi832 said:

 

its probably not for me, but I'm asking out of curiosity  - what's NAS?

so basically - the only ones for me are the Green which is power efficient, Caviar Blue the "balanced class" and black which is about performance but he's a bit loud and hot? and the Black version cant get to a dangerous temperature right? it's just hot, not something that should concern someone with an R9 390 no?

Network-attached storage.

 

Basically a mini PC that'll have a few, or alot, of hard drives in, connected to your home network(i guess youre asking for a home situation and not a company/business).

If you want more in-depth info on what they are/do - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage

[Rinsworth]

NAS is network attached storage. It lets you store files or whatever you want onto a server, and it lets you access it from multiple devices. It's nice for people who have many devices, or for businesses, as it lets many people access files and edit them. 

[sazrocks]

1 minute ago, tomi832 said:

 

 

 

 

 

OK thank you all!

its probably not for me, but I'm asking out of curiosity  - what's NAS?

so basically - the only ones for me are the Green which is power efficient, Caviar Blue the "balanced class" and black which is about performance but he's a bit loud and hot? and the Black version cant get to a dangerous temperature right? it's just hot, not something that should concern someone with an R9 390 no?

Well if you aren't using it in a NAS (Network attached storage) situation, then a WD blue would probably be fine for you. You don't need a black.

[Senzelian]

2 minutes ago, tomi832 said:

OK thank you all!

its probably not for me, but I'm asking out of curiosity  - what's NAS?

so basically - the only ones for me are the Green which is power efficient, Caviar Blue the "balanced class" and black which is about performance but he's a bit loud and hot? and the Black version cant get to a dangerous temperature right? it's just hot, not something that should concern someone with an R9 390 no?

NAS = Network Attached Storage

Basically a computer with lots and lots of storage that you connect to your local home network so you can share files within that network or even over the internet.

[tomi832]

ok so now I got it.

thanks for all of the very fast help

[Anghammarad]

NAS = Network Attached Storage like Qnap, Synology, Thecus etc. (to name some bigger brands) 

 

In short a little computer that only is hosting discs that can then be connected to from over the network.

 

Makes sense when you have several machines in the house and you want to use for example a media share for all to access. There is only a special NAS operating system on those devices.

[tomi832]

17 minutes ago, sazrocks said:

The sticky will answer most of your questions.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

Green = "slow" low power usage

Blue = Consumer models

Black = performance models

Red = NAS models

Purple = Surveillance models

 

And I think some have different warranty times. but for that you'll need to use google  

 

16 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

There is a good article:
https://www.techporn.ph/understanding-the-differences-between-wd-hdd-colors/

But in short: If you just want a drive that can hold as much porn as possible - get the cheapest one available. I'd go for a 7200RPM model tho.

 

16 minutes ago, AmpMC said:

Quick google search came up with THIS.

 

15 minutes ago, Rinsworth said:

The differences in the Brands are fairly small, but dependent on the usage.

Caviar Blues are the "all rounder" of the types.

Blacks are the performance, but they can be louder and get hotter

Reds are NAS optimized, and are memory optimized

Purples are for A/V surveillance

 

Purples and Reds are built for 24/7 usages as well. 

 

sorry that I'm asking it now, I just forgot to ask it...

when I'll buy the new HDD, would I need to enter the Formatting page to add the disk? or would it add the whole disk automatically? and can I create the partitions without the formatting page? (IDK how to call it in English...I mean the page where you can manage the Disks when you install an OS)

thanks again  

[Anghammarad]

after connecting it you need to configure it in the disk management console. 

[AmpMC]

10 minutes ago, tomi832 said:

ok so now I got it.

thanks for all of the very fast help

I find this forum is really amazing at that.

 

I personally run 3x4TB WD Blacks in my Media Server. Temp wise they are well within spec. I guess it's courteous to say though that I have a Noctua NF-F12 blowing right on them pretty much. (Fractal Node 605 Case)

[Rinsworth]

Most likely you need to go to storage devices, or disk management, and format it yourself. In some cases you don't need to, but in any case it would always be beneficial to reformat the drive.

[tomi832]

Just now, Anghammarad said:

after connecting it you need to configure it in the disk management console. 

 

Just now, Rinsworth said:

Most likely you need to go to storage devices and format it yourself. In some cases you don't need to, but in any case it would always be beneficial to reformat the drive.

 

ok, so I'll need a disc/USB drive with windows right?

[Anghammarad]

when you have already a windows installation running, you can add this drive to the computer and boot your windows and do it there.

 

If you make a fresh install onto the new drive, the setup routine will get you through that.

[tomi832]

6 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

when you have already a windows installation running, you can add this drive to the computer and boot your windows and do it there.

 

If you make a fresh install onto the new drive, the setup routine will get you through that.

 

sorry but I didn't understand you.

so you mean that I can also do it from the BIOS?

or I need the Windows disc and from there format the Drive to the system?

[Anghammarad]

ok question, do you already have a working computer where you want to add this drive for storage space reasons? 

Or are you building a system from scratch and wanting to use the big disc for the computer as only drive?

 

When you just add it to your existing system, put it in, boot up windows, and inside windows open the drive management console, there you will see the old drive as well as the new one. The new will be there marked as not initialized. right click on that and chose initialized drive (the new one). After initialization is finished you can create partitions and format those.

 

When you don't already have a running windows, and need to install fresh, then plug the drive in and use a usb/dvd with the current windows installation media. 

[tomi832]

2 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

ok question, do you already have a working computer where you want to add this drive for storage space reasons? 

Or are you building a system from scratch and wanting to use the big disc for the computer as only drive?

 

When you just add it to your existing system, put it in, boot up windows, and inside windows open the drive management console, there you will see the old drive as well as the new one. The new will be there marked as not initialized. right click on that and chose initialized drive (the new one). After initialization is finished you can create partitions and format those.

 

When you don't already have a running windows, and need to install fresh, then plug the drive in and use a usb/dvd with the current windows installation media. 

ok now I understood

and how do I open the Drive management console?

[Anghammarad]

Google says lookie here =) 

 

Sorry I'm lazy and won't type the steps