Western Digital Raptor reaches 150GB capacity

Posted on Tuesday, January 03 2006 @ 15:54 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
More than a week ago I reported Western Digital is planning to release 150GB Raptor HDDs and today they have officially announced the server version. I'm not sure whether the gamer version is still coming up, maybe they have canned that one. The Western Digital enterprise Serial ATA WD1500ADFD 10,000RPM HDD features the performance of the original drive with additional features for server and networked storage applications.
Enterprise storage system vendors are increasingly embracing SATA hard drives as a reliable and cost-effective choice for servers and storage systems. When WD originally introduced the WD Raptor -- its first SATA drive -- in 2003, approximately 14 percent of hard drives used in multi-user applications were SATA technology, according to Gartner. The market research firm expects that portion to grow to 19 percent in 2005 and 30 percent by 2009.
The new, 150 GB WD Raptor maintains its high performance in servers and networked storage, where rotational vibration from multiple spinning hard drives robs performance, with its RAFF (Rotary Accelerometer Feed Forward) technology. The next-generation drive also offers best-in-class random I/O performance with native command queuing (NCQ), which increases performance by intelligently ordering multiple simultaneous read and write commands, which is common in demanding, multi-user workloads such as servers. Sixteen MB cache furthers the drive's ability to serve and record data quickly for multiple users. The drive offers an average seek time of 4.6 milliseconds.

The enterprise-class mechanical and electronics platform of WD Raptor is designed to meet the 24x7 demands of the enterprise environment. Continuing to be the world's most reliable SATA hard drive, WD Raptor is reliability-rated at 1.2 million hours MTBF (mean time between failure) in high duty cycle environments and is backed by a five-year warranty.

The WD WD1500ADFD 150GB Raptor is priced at $299.99.

Update: There's already a review available over at Storage Review. They write this 150GB Raptor is up to 21 percent faster than its 74GB predecessor when it comes to single-user productivity and gaming tests!

Update 2: I've heard the gamer version will be called Raptor X WD1500AHFD. Unfortunately this version will cost about $349 BUT it will feature a window! Here's a picture (courtesy of PC Games Hardware):


The WD Raptor X 150GB for gamers and enthusiasts


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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Re: Western Digital Raptor reaches 150GB capacity
by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 04 2006 @ 20:38 CET
I hope it will be available soon, I'm going to buy one. Or maybe two, hard choice ;)



Re: Western Digital Raptor reaches 150GB capacity
by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 11 2006 @ 22:56 CET
Definitely worth it. If you plan to upgrade look no further!!!!!