WD2001FASS vs WD2002FAEX

[pcnewbsauce]

Howdy

Im currently in the process of putting together my first home built PC and had a question regarding the difference between these 2 drives. as far as I can see, the specs on the 2 are practically identical except the FAEX is a SATA6 whereas the FASS is a SATA3. However, despite the fact that the FAEX has the potentially faster connection (I know most HDs cant even keep up with SATA3), its priced about $40 LESS than the FASS

the FASS
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=WD2001FASS&x=0&y=0

the FAEX
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WD2002FAEX-Caviar-Desktop/dp/B004CSIG1G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311976730&sr=8-2

is this price difference simply due to the market's supply and demand between the 2 drives or is there a significant performance difference between the 2?

Thanks

 

[compulsivebuilder]

I don't know if there's a performance difference, but you can get either - they are both high performance drives. Caviar Black is WD's performance hard drive line (just as Green is their low-power / eco-friendly line).

I think the FAEX is newer technology, and cheaper because of it. I think it might have fewer platters (and is therefore cheaper to manufacture).

 

[paullyh]

Is there any comparison about the noise of these two HDs?

The latter FAEX is known to be noisy.

 

[fzabkar]

I can't see any difference in the specs apart from the 6Gbps vs 3Gbps SATA interface speed.

WD Caviar Black Series Disti Spec Sheet:
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701276.pdf

You may like to see what benchmarks results are being reported by other users:
http://images.google.com/images?q=WD2002FAEX+OR+WD2001FASS+%22HD+Tune%22&tbs=isz:m,itphoto&tbm=isch