Question about Raptors

[bobmitch]

Here goes. I have two 74 GB Raptors running in Raid 0. Both are approaching five years old. I am finally running out of room on the drives and need to expand. I have two choices:

2-Raptor X drives in Raid 0 (should pretty much benchmark like the 74's, where I get 150-160 top and 75-85 bottom scores) and I can get both for around $145 each

OR

Wait for the new 300 GB Raptor with top score around 120 and bottom about the same as the X in Raid. Performance wise...utilizing RAID really makes these drives fly.


I have never (knock on wood) lost any data on my older Raptors. They are pretty bulletproof...hope the new generation is as good. My question, since the latter does not afford me Raid at this time, nor do I really know when the new Raptors are gonna hit the retail channel...What do you think is the best option? I am leaning toward the two Raptor X's...

Thanks

Bob

 

[clay12340]

Either way I'd wait till the new drives are out. You might see a price drop on the old raptors. I'd probably go for the new drive anyhow. Better storage capacity and they are a bit faster. I would also expect them to be quieter and cooler.

Whichever choice you make I'm sure they will last you at least until SSD drives manage to get some reasonable sizes at closer to reasonable price points.

 

[Andrius]

If you just need more space I recommend buying a slower data drive to backup all the less used stuff and wait until you can afford Velociraptor RAID (that way you will also get performance improvements).

The 150GB models are not faster than 74GB models and they will likely go out of production soon with the Velociraptor's entry.

Also Raptor X (WD1500AHFD) is the model with the clear cover (those are generaly more expensive than WD1500ADFD). The price you stated is excellent in either case as newegg has them for $170/$175.

 

[Coolio_alert]

Don't buy the clear cover Raptors, the cover seriously decreases the life span of the drive. Go with the regular Raptor Drive...

Also, the new Raptors have a transfer rate of 3GB/Sec where the old Raptors have a transfer rate of 1.5GB/Sec...

 

[njalterio]

Just for some clarification....how do two raptor x's in raid 0 compare against a single velociraptor?

 

[sailer]

I'd prefer a single Velociraptor. I don't like raid 0 all that much, as if one has a problem, the whole array goes down. Also, two drives occupy more space in the computer than one drive, are a bit harder to cool, and the Velociraptor has advantages in cooling as an individual drive and makes less noise, as well as its speed and being an overall larger drive. Just a personal opinion and everyone's free to agree or disagree as they want.

 

[bobmitch]

All the info is much appreciated. I am starting to lean toward the Velociraptor...the throughput is pretty impressive by itself...without RAID