Western Digital Corp., a manufacturer of external storage solutions, announced that it is already shipping the fourth generation WD Green Series, the WD20EARS (2TB) and WD15EARS (1.5 TB) drives which currently boast of the highest areal density in the industry with their 667 GB/platter 3-platter design, 64 MB cache.

As hard drive capacities increase, the power required to run those drives increases as well. WD Caviar Green drives, according to the company, allow energy-conscious customers to build systems with higher capacities and the right balance of system performance to ensure reliability while conserving energy.

The new WD Caviar Green 2TB (3-disk) offers low power consumption than current 2 TB drives in the market. WD claims to have reduced power consumption by up to 40% compared to standard desktop drives with the combination of its IntelliSeek, NoTouch, and IntelliPower technologies.

IntelliPower, according to WD, is a fine-tuned balance of spin speed, transfer rate, and caching algorithms designed to deliver both significant power savings and solid performance. IntelliSeek, meanwhile, calculates optimum speeds to lower power consumption, noise and vibration. While the No Touch ramp load technology makes it possible for the recording head never to touch the disk media, thus, ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head and media, as well as better drive protection in transit.