MjWoNeR

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Some time ago I found on a couple of local websites a 74GB Velociraptor.

Somebody from here said that there isn't one at 74GB, and I assumed it was just a typo from these website and in reality it was just a normal 74GB raptor.

Now I browsed again and I found much more local websites selling it. In 2.5" form and in 3.5" with the ICE pack.

I also found it at Novatech.co.uk which is quite a big and reliable place in the UK. Of course it wasn't in stock yet but it was there.


What is going on?

Is there really a velociraptor available in Sweden at the moment?


http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=333355&o=inkfrakt

http://www.webhallen.com/prod.php?id=92174&ref=Prisjakt
http://www.misco.se/Product/Product.aspx?P_ItemId=634338&hbx_CMP=AFC-05&cm_mmc_o=4blgBCjCVybgw2BF5zyblBECjCzkkCjC5yblXzLf
https://www.inet.se/datorkomponenter/haarddiskar/74gb-western-digital-velociraptor-ice/4303354/
 

MrLinux

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The confusion is caused by people confusing Raptors and VelociRaptors.
The Raptor was/is available as 36Gig, 74Gig and 150Gig;
The VeliciRaptor is available as 150Gig or 300Gig;
The Raptor was 3.5" drive, the VelociRaptor is a 2.5" drive but requires a cooler (the Ice Pack) which brings it to 3.5.

Raptors are no longer made (I believe), but they are still being sold...
 

MjWoNeR

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That's funny because I keep on finding references about a 74GB Velociraptor.

Cnet, amazon. Is it possible for so many places to list a drive with the wrong name?
Some even sell it witht he ICE pack or without.

http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-hard-drives/wd-velociraptor-wd740hlfs-hard/4505-9998_7-33247016.html
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-VelociRaptor-WD740HLFS-internal/dp/B0024FAQVW

Just google WD740HLFS and you'll see what I mean.

 

MjWoNeR

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No worries, the whole thing is a bit confusing. There are places selling it, yet there is nothing on WD website. Weird stuff.
 
Western Digital must have had a warehouse full of drive platters left over from the old 74 gig drives....and have incorporated them into the new SATA 300 Velociraptor drive housings :)
I really got a laugh out of the cnet review though, calling them inexpensive.
Who butt are they trying to blow smoke up?
I would buy one for an OS drive if they were around $60 US, but for $152 to $200 they are way overpriced for a 74gig drive. That pricing is just stupid.
 
Don't waste your money on any raptors, just get 2 WD Caviar Blacks 640Gb and raid them....

In the end you will have more than a TB of space at the same speed of those overpriced drives....

I used to own 150 and 300GB raptors and once I benched and tested them against the 640's the raptors REALLY dissapointed me... after all that money spent, i ended up returning them for a full refund and purchased the Cav. Blacks....
 
^ I gotta agree there. Any Raptor drive is overpriced, they always have been, but in the last couple of years with every other drive out there getting closer and closer to them in performance, they are simply now WAY overpriced for the storage and performance you get out of them. They are Interprise Class Drives, but you cannot convince me they last longer than any other Western Digital drive.
 

Agreed, but if you want the best get 2x Velociraptors (not the old Raptors) in RAID or even better, 2x SSDs like the Intel or the Vertex ones.
 

MjWoNeR

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Actually I wasn't planning on a v-raptor. I was just curious.

I already have an 37gb raptor for the OS which I am going to replace very soon, either with an 7200.12 500gb or the .12 1TB or I might use the black 640 which I already have. At least until I get an SSD. It's gonna be 1 SSD though, and not 2x raid 0. The X25-M G2 is relatively affordable.
 

MRFS

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My best guess is that WD is clearing out their existing parts inventory,
in anticipation of upgrading the VR with perpendicular magnetic recording
("PMR").


Compare Seagate's 2.5" Savvio 15K.2 HDDs, which reportedly
has PMR already:

http://www.itechnews.net/2007/01/17/seagate-fastest-25-inch-hdd-15000rpm-savvio-15k/


WD's RE3 HDDs have PMR and they are running
almost head-to-head with the VR:

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/productcatalog.asp?language=en


MRFS
 
If I buy anything faster than a 640 Black it will be an SSD.... and since the SSD prices are not going to go down to a reasonable price any time soon... I guess I can wait as long as my drives are raided......