VelociRaptor Redux, now with final firmware

jmke · 20th June 2008, 08:59

Western Digital hatched its latest Raptor back in April, revealing a unique departure from more traditional designs. This leaner, meaner VelociRaptor VR150 is actually a 2.5" drive sitting inside a heatsink that slides nicely into standard 3.5" bays. But don't think you can take this most recent Raptor lightly just because it's gone on a diet. Despite a smaller form factor, the VelociRaptor still offers 300GB of capacity—twice that of its 3.5" forebear. The VR150 is also the first Raptor with a 300MB/s Serial ATA interface, and its trademark 10K-RPM spindle speed hasn't skipped a beat.

Like its predecessors in their prime, the VelociRaptor proved to be the all-around fastest SATA hard drive on the market—and a surprisingly quiet and power-efficient one, at that. However, the drive we used in our initial look at the VR150 was an engineering sample with pre-production firmware. Final, production drives have now made their way onto the market, and we've managed to score a retail sample that should be representative of the drives you can buy today.

Naturally, we've run this tuned-up VelociRaptor through the wringer to see if it can live up to the Editor's Choice distinction we awarded the VR150 after our first encounter. Read on to see whether finished firmware reels in the VelociRaptor's propensity to outrun the competition or if Western Digital has managed to wring even more performance from its radical Raptor redesign.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14964

20th June 2008, 09:35

One problem I heard from VelociRaptor owners is the whine of the disk.

It is less loud than the previous Raptors, but the whine is also higher-pitched, making it more perceptible.

Someone took out the IcePak and the temp of the disk raised by 2 degrees, but the noise got less bothering cos the tone changed. (of course, warranty voided if you do that)

jmke · 20th June 2008, 09:45

you don't buy a 10.000rpm drive expecting it to be quiet

Quote:

Although the production firmware doesn't improve the VelociRaptor's performance in each and every test, the final product is faster overall than the engineering sample drive we looked at a couple of months ago. Western Digital has another monster on its hands, and as we've seen, a little firmware tweaking can have a big impact. For most users, the VR150's improved seek noise levels will likely pay the biggest dividends. However, the drive's substantial performance gains in IOMeter are even more encouraging.

20th June 2008, 09:47

True, although they aren't that noisy, just when seeking.

WTB WD solving the scratching/whining on next gen.

20th June 2008, 08:59	#1
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	VelociRaptor Redux, now with final firmware Western Digital hatched its latest Raptor back in April, revealing a unique departure from more traditional designs. This leaner, meaner VelociRaptor VR150 is actually a 2.5" drive sitting inside a heatsink that slides nicely into standard 3.5" bays. But don't think you can take this most recent Raptor lightly just because it's gone on a diet. Despite a smaller form factor, the VelociRaptor still offers 300GB of capacity—twice that of its 3.5" forebear. The VR150 is also the first Raptor with a 300MB/s Serial ATA interface, and its trademark 10K-RPM spindle speed hasn't skipped a beat. Like its predecessors in their prime, the VelociRaptor proved to be the all-around fastest SATA hard drive on the market—and a surprisingly quiet and power-efficient one, at that. However, the drive we used in our initial look at the VR150 was an engineering sample with pre-production firmware. Final, production drives have now made their way onto the market, and we've managed to score a retail sample that should be representative of the drives you can buy today. Naturally, we've run this tuned-up VelociRaptor through the wringer to see if it can live up to the Editor's Choice distinction we awarded the VR150 after our first encounter. Read on to see whether finished firmware reels in the VelociRaptor's propensity to outrun the competition or if Western Digital has managed to wring even more performance from its radical Raptor redesign. http://techreport.com/articles.x/14964 __________________

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20th June 2008, 09:35	#2
Xploited Titan Posts: n/a	One problem I heard from VelociRaptor owners is the whine of the disk. It is less loud than the previous Raptors, but the whine is also higher-pitched, making it more perceptible. Someone took out the IcePak and the temp of the disk raised by 2 degrees, but the noise got less bothering cos the tone changed. (of course, warranty voided if you do that)

20th June 2008, 09:47	#4
Xploited Titan Posts: n/a	True, although they aren't that noisy, just when seeking. WTB WD solving the scratching/whining on next gen.