(Veloci)Raptor 600GB

[Zap]

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17076/1/

I'm pretty excited. I don't know if this is a simple doubling of the platter density or if they're going back to larger platters. Maybe the latter, since another posting said that WD might be dropping the "Veloci" part of the name. The drive will be two platters so they aren't just adding platters.

Also of note is that cache size will increase and the interface will be SATA 6Gbps.

Before everyone starts saying it is no longer relevant due to SSDs...

Perhaps the most interesting note is that the 600GB model is expected to retail for close to the same price that the current 300GB two-platter model VelociRaptor is selling for.

Can you guys imagine a $200 600GB drive with better performance than any other desktop drive on the market? 500GB of SSDs will run around $1400.

 

[linster]

The competition to this $200 600GB Raptor drive would be setups that use a small SSD as a boot drive and hard drives for storage. So for $200 today, you can get a 40GB Intel made SSD as a boot drive and using the remaining $100 for perhaps a 1TB to 1.5TB hard drive. Or perhaps spend an extra $100 and upgrade that 40GB to 80GB. I'm a converted SSD fan and I'd rather go the SSD route.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

The competition to this $200 600GB Raptor drive would be setups that use a small SSD as a boot drive and hard drives for storage. So for $200 today, you can get a 40GB Intel made SSD as a boot drive and using the remaining $100 for perhaps a 1TB to 1.5TB hard drive. Or perhaps spend an extra $100 and upgrade that 40GB to 80GB. I'm a converted SSD fan and I'd rather go the SSD route.

More likly a 40 gig ssd for OS a 300-600 gig raptor for programs (I use about 100 gigs total, but others probbaly use much more), and a 1.5-2 tb drive for storage. I use an 80 gig intel ssd and a 74 gig raptor for what I can't fit + 2 250 gig drives and a 1.5tb drive for storage.

 

[Rubycon]

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17076/1/



Can you guys imagine a $200 600GB drive with better performance than any other desktop drive on the market? 500GB of SSDs will run around $1400.

My 15K MBAs will walk all over those vraps. 10k is so 1999.

It's Fudzilla and I would expect a $299 list not $199.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17076/1/

I'm pretty excited. I don't know if this is a simple doubling of the platter density or if they're going back to larger platters. Maybe the latter, since another posting said that WD might be dropping the "Veloci" part of the name. The drive will be two platters so they aren't just adding platters.

Also of note is that cache size will increase and the interface will be SATA 6Gbps.

Before everyone starts saying it is no longer relevant due to SSDs...



Can you guys imagine a $200 600GB drive with better performance than any other desktop drive on the market? 500GB of SSDs will run around $1400.

except I don't really need super massive storage on incredibly fast drives

if anything I'm concerned with the trend of SSDs ballooning in size instead of dropping in price and the same could be said of the Raptor...I'd much rather see a next gen performing Raptor @ the magic $100 mark even if it meant a fraction of the 600GB.

 

[Rubycon]

except I don't really need super massive storage on incredibly fast drives

if anything I'm concerned with the trend of SSDs ballooning in size instead of dropping in price and the same could be said of the Raptor...I'd much rather see a next gen performing Raptor @ the magic $100 mark even if it meant a fraction of the 600GB.

Larger SSDs are faster but we're at the limit of current SATA2 interfaces. Even 6Gbps interfaces will become a bottleneck before they are in widespread use, unfortunately.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Aren't Random I/O's and access time still gawd-awful even compared to the slowest SSD?

I would also rather spend $200 on a 40GB SSD + 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3.

 

[Rubycon]

Aren't Random I/O's and access time still gawd-awful even compared to the slowest SSD?

I would also rather spend $200 on a 40GB SSD + 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3.

Absolutely!

Mechanical:

SSD

 

[exar333]

This will sell well if it launches at the $199 price-point. Currently, the 300GB Velociraptor is less than a third of the size of performance-oriented 1TB drives (WD Black, etc.). When this launches, the drive would concievably be significantly faster than a drive less than twice it's size.

The performance and reliability of 1.5-2TB drives is still a little suspect. I am fine with them for storage, but I wouldn't trust my sole boot drive to a 1.5-2TB drive myself.

You could get two of these 600GB Raptors, RAID 0 them, and have a screaming HDD for less than $400.00. I love SSDs, but you only get 120-250GB SSD for that price, and only a few of them are worth it anyway.

Interesting to say the least.

 

[Zap]

The competition to this $200 600GB Raptor drive would be setups that use a small SSD as a boot drive and hard drives for storage. So for $200 today, you can get a 40GB Intel made SSD as a boot drive and using the remaining $100 for perhaps a 1TB to 1.5TB hard drive. Or perhaps spend an extra $100 and upgrade that 40GB to 80GB. I'm a converted SSD fan and I'd rather go the SSD route.

80GB would not come anywhere near holding all my applications. Okay... all my... games. ^_^ I'm not quite there yet but I know people who have Steam folders that are larger than 80GB. Seriously, why have only Windows boot quickly and not all the other stuff you do?

I've actually taken advantage of a few SSD hot deals lately so I'm soon to be going that route... however many of my games will still have to run off spindle drives, so I want those spindle drives to be a bit faster. I think the minimum I could live with for an SSD would be a 256GB size, but yeah, $700 is too much for my wallet.

My 15K MBAs will walk all over those vraps. 10k is so 1999.

It's Fudzilla and I would expect a $299 list not $199.

Guess I was going by street price, LOL.

Still, how can I get new 600GB worth of 15K RPM drives for $300 with "free" controller?

 

[PCboy]

This is good news. Velociraptors are still the best looking hard drives I've seen by far.

 

[n7]

Heh, why WD, why?

I'm sorry, but Raptors are not really relevant in the enthusiast market anymore.

I still have my 150 GB Raptor, & was happy with my 74 GB one before that, but Raptors' time has come, & gone.

 

[Rubycon]

Still, how can I get new 600GB worth of 15K RPM drives for $300 with "free" controller?

Favors?

There are several high end 1366 X58 boards with onboard SAS controllers. I would not get caught using one myself BUT they will let you use a 600GB 15K.7 drive that will eat that raptor for lunch and be dumping the waste before you can say short stroke.

For the price of that 600GB SAS drive you could get a pair of 128GB SSD devices and pair of 1TB drives for mass storage, etc.

Different strokes for different folks. I like Areca hosts, for example.

 

[lopri]

Still, how can I get new 600GB worth of 15K RPM drives for $300 with "free" controller?

Favors?

That'll highly depend on the photo application and you really can't count on it. I mean, Zap.

 

[lopri]

The performance and reliability of 1.5-2TB drives is still a little suspect. I am fine with them for storage, but I wouldn't trust my sole boot drive to a 1.5-2TB drive myself.

I agree with this assessment. I had zero hard disk failure when disks were 160GB, 250GB, but one of my 1TB as well as one of my neighbor's 1.5TB went south within 6 months of usage. Personally I wouldn't touch a 2TB disk for now.

 

[Old Hippie]

There are several high end 1366 X58 boards with onboard SAS controllers.

I was only aware of one Asus board that had SAS and I think they stopped making it.

 

[blade-uk]

I still think that WD need to give it up now. They need to stop with their marketing fad and focus on SSD. Give us something that we all want. Not what we don't.

 

[Rubycon]

I was only aware of one Asus board that had SAS and I think they stopped making it.

P6T6 Revolution, P6T WS Pro, P6T7SC all have SAS onboard. Nothing to write home about BUT it will allow you to use SAS drives.

 

[Zap]

I still think that WD need to give it up now. They need to stop with their marketing fad and focus on SSD. Give us something that we all want. Not what we don't.

What I want is a fast SSD that can saturate SATA 3Gbps while costing less than $1/GB for a 300-500GB capacity. Obviously I'm being underserved by today's marketing fad and focus on tiny, expensive SSDs that can't even saturate the bus.

 

[blade-uk]

What I want is a fast SSD that can saturate SATA 3Gbps while costing less than $1/GB for a 300-500GB capacity. Obviously I'm being underserved by today's marketing fad and focus on tiny, expensive SSDs that can't even saturate the bus.

I still believe that SSD's are too expensive at the current state of things.

Andy

 

[stag3]

i am also going to need at least a 160gig ssd once i move to it. but for 200 i'd probably get the 600gig raptor unless ssd's come down to near that price when the raptor comes out.

 

[jimhsu]

The performance and reliability of 1.5-2TB drives is still a little suspect. I am fine with them for storage, but I wouldn't trust my sole boot drive to a 1.5-2TB drive myself.

You do have backups right? Just making sure

Still, ALL new storage technologies are unproven. 2 TB drives, SSDs with new controllers (everything after Intel/Indilinx), ... That's why mission critical applications (i.e. military) use such ... ancient equipment. This is of course counterbalanced by the need to implement new technologies to function in enemy territory, outwit adversaries, etc (an example being widespread adoption of various Apple devices in Iraq)

Hm... went a bit off topic there.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Hmmm. Makes me want to return this recently bought 3g Vraptor. Btw, can anyone share their HD tune (free trial) 3g vraptor results? I'd like to know if there is something wrong with the one I have.

Mine:
Transfer Rate
51.7 MB/sec (minimum)
122.6 MB/sec (maximum)
97.8 MB/sec (average)

Access Time
7.5ms

Burst Rate
200.0 MB/sec

For some reason, it feels slow... Thanks i.a.

EDIT: in my bios, it's automatically set to Legacy IDE mode rather than Native IDE mode

 

[Old Hippie]

in my bios, it's automatically set to Legacy IDE mode rather than Native IDE mode

Can you get it set for SATA mode?

 

[sxr7171]

The competition to this $200 600GB Raptor drive would be setups that use a small SSD as a boot drive and hard drives for storage. So for $200 today, you can get a 40GB Intel made SSD as a boot drive and using the remaining $100 for perhaps a 1TB to 1.5TB hard drive. Or perhaps spend an extra $100 and upgrade that 40GB to 80GB. I'm a converted SSD fan and I'd rather go the SSD route.

Agree. Also by next year $200 will buy you 300GB of fast SSD.

I was thinking that maybe I could use this in 2.5" form in a NAS for data storage, but why? Gigabit Ethernet is the limit anyway. Maybe when we see 10G Ethernet I could see myself using 20 of these in a NAS. But they better be 2.5", I don't have the room or patience for 20 3.5" drives.

By the time we see 10G ethernet at reasonable prices I suppose 1TB SSDs will be $200 or less. I don't know why WDC is barking up this tree. I suspect they don't have any good SSD technologies.