Western Digital 500 GB Caviar GP Hard Drive Review

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Lacus

Well, I'm gonna get another new hdd to replace my dying (keeps on tuck tuck) HDD any time from now.If I'm not mistaken, this hdd is that one supposely uses less power compare to the normal WD HDD right? Actually does this actually works or just some marketing tactics? Meh, this hdd also cost slightly more than the normal WD HDD. So far i have always been using Seagate HDD Never once use b4 a WD HDD. Anyway another good review from Techarp again

Yeah, from the specs alone, these Caviar GP drives do use less power than similar 3.5" HDDs. Of course, they do not really run at 7200 RPM... but they are still fast and best of all, come with a really low price tag!

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Lacus

Well,not really for me.Seems to be the bang for money now..It's cheaper now for a 500gb hdd..Like 299 for 500gb o_O

Yeah, there is always a sweet spot for price-capacity. Right now, 500GB should be the sweet spot for HDDs.

[Zenphic]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Nope. Variable spin rates were never used for HDDs as far as I know, only older-generation CD-ROMs.

The WD Caviar GP drives have a fixed spindle speed somewhere between 7200 RPM and 5400 RPM. The actual spindle speed varies according to the model (500GB, 750GB, 1TB). WD did this to achieve a balance between performance and power consumption.

As such, I suspect the 500GB drive will probably have the highest spindle speed while the 1TB drive will have the slowest spindle speed with the 750GB drive in the middle.

Sounds about right. Might be a reason why the drive is more expensive since each drive's rpm is optimized.

I did a quick search for some infos on the HDD and SilentPCReview mentioned this in their review of the 750 GB:

Our 750 GB sample is 5,400 RPM. Storage Review's 1 TB sample was 5,400 RPM. WD's literature lists the possible speed range as 5,400~7,200 RPM, but we have yet to hear reports of any models above 5,400 RPM.

No idea how they figured that out

[Chai]

WD5000AAKS costs only RM270 now!!! BAIBAIBAI!

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Zenphic

Sounds about right. Might be a reason why the drive is more expensive since each drive's rpm is optimized.

I did a quick search for some infos on the HDD and SilentPCReview mentioned this in their review of the 750 GB:


No idea how they figured that out

Actually, the Caviar GP drives are cheap. Over here, they are priced significantly lower than other hard drives of the same capacity. That has led many to consider the Caviar GP to be a value-line hard drive.

It is possible to calculate the rough RPM if you know the areal density at the outer track and its platter transfer rate at the same outer track.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Chai

WD5000AAKS costs only RM270 now!!! BAIBAIBAI!

Wow.. It's really dropping in price!

[lee_what2004]

Originally Posted by Chai

WD5000AAKS costs only RM270 now!!! BAIBAIBAI!

where?

[Lacus]

Hmm, i wonder how bout the WD5000AACS? I can't seem to find the price yet. Muahahaha...Price drop, good time to change my hdd o.o

[Max_87]

Originally Posted by Chai

WD5000AAKS costs only RM270 now!!! BAIBAIBAI!

Must... resist...

[Chai]

Originally Posted by Max_87

Must... resist...

750GB is only RM400+!!! BAIBAIBAI