Benchmarks Results
Data Transfer Diagram
The new VelociRaptor provides a maximum sequential data transfer rate of more than 120 MB/s, which is achievable due to high data densities thanks to perpendicular magnetic recording combined with a fast spindle speed of 10,000 RPM. While the fastest 3,5" hard drives at 7,200 RPM, such as the Samsung SpinPoint F1, also reach 120 MB/s, they do not sustain the transfer rate as well: Samsung drops to 60 MB/s, while the WD delivers at least 75 MB/s from anywhere on the physical platters.
Access Time
The measured average access time of 7.0 ms is excellent. Other popular 2.5" hard drives, which are based on SAS interfaces, reached 7.2 to 7.6 ms in our test lab. This means that the more affordable 2.5" 10,000 SATA VelociRaptor offers quicker access than comparable 2.5" SAS enterprise-class drives. You’ll have to upgrade to 15,000 RPM drives such as the Seagate Savvio 15K.1 to see even quicker access times. Flash hard drives will also do the job for certain specific applications.
Interface Bandwidth
Almost 200 MB/s interface throughput is a new record, as the fastest SAS or SATA hard drives we’ve tested reached maximum throughput anywhere between 120 and 180 MB/s. Although this value isn’t very relevant in everyday operation, because it only applies when data can be read directly out of a drive’s cache memory, it represents the maximum throughput that is possible.
