WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM

Title : WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gbps Power Saving Internal Hard Drive OEM
ASIN : B004VFJ9MK
Description : Storage
Features :

• Interface:Serial ATA-600
• Device Type:Hard drive - internal
• Features:IntelliSeek, IntelliPower, NoTouch ramp load technology, GreenPower technology, Advanced Format technology , S.M.A.R.T.
• Weight:0.64 kg
• Depth:14.7 cm

List Price : £72.19
Price : £72.19

category: Products
brand: Western Digital
Item Page Detail URL : link
Rating : 4.3
Review : Slower than previous model. Poor UK warranty support
The drive I received is WD20EARX-00AZ6B0 manufactured in Sep 2011.

It is officially the replacement for the WD Green WD20EARS. Having owned several WD20EARS, I expected this drive to be similar or perhaps better. However the drive I received is massively slower than my existing WD20EARS. Average read speed is 84MB/s according to HD Tune, compared to 106MB/s on my WD20EARS. 22MB/s, big difference!

I was also disappointed to note that it has 4x500GB platters. This is old technology, Western Digital introduced 667GB platters in late 2010. Why they would put these old components in a brand new drive with faster interface is baffling.

You should care about this because with 667GB per platter you only need 3 platters for a 2TB drive, hence they have less components and are more reliable. Also higher density platters generally have better sequential performance (assuming the rotational speed is the same). Finally, less spinning mass = less vibration and less...