WD VelociRaptor: A Triple Crown

Xuestor · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:12 am

Strid wrote:

victorhortalives wrote:

Aris wrote:

Great review, thanks MikeC.

One big question that im sure many people are still wondering though. Is there ANY way to fit this in a Scythe 2.5" Quiet Drive since its a bit thicker than your standard notebook drive? Perhaps by leaving out one of the 2x included thermal pads.

I second this request.

MIKE - Are you able to test this with the unit you have ??

Thanks

Third that request. I was thinking maybe just assembling the QD as usual and just not let the upper shell go all the way down over the bottom shell? And THEN suspend it in a NoVibes for 3.5" HDD drives maybe... :wink:

Best of three worlds. Inherent quiet hard drive, enclosure and suspension.

Awesome drive. If I was to buy a new primary non-SSD HDD I would definitely get this one.

But as another poster said. 300 GB harddrives is a segment that is becoming less and less meaningfull for most enthusiasts. (This is an enthusiast drive). Within not too long I reckon that more and more people are going to have 0.1 ms latency SSDs for their OS drive and a larger 1+ TB harddrives as their storage units.

Very impressive drive - fast, cool and silent. And kudos to introducing a performance 2.5" HDD to desktop users.

I can answer this question. The aluminum mounting holes won't fit the holes of the drive, so to make it fit, I skipped out one of the aluminum bricks, and one of the thermalpads. Then it will fit. I now have mine enclosed like WD Velociraptor -> 2.5" Scythe -> 3.5" scythe -> Suspended. This gets close to Silence I will say!

victorhortalives · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:05 am

Xuestor wrote:

I can answer this question. The aluminum mounting holes won't fit the holes of the drive, so to make it fit, I skipped out one of the aluminum bricks, and one of the thermalpads. Then it will fit. I now have mine enclosed like WD Velociraptor -> 2.5" Scythe -> 3.5" scythe -> Suspended. This gets close to Silence I will say!

Well done, but what temps are you getting and does the 2.5in Scythe actually close tight. ?

Xuestor · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:30 am

victorhortalives wrote:

Xuestor wrote:

I can answer this question. The aluminum mounting holes won't fit the holes of the drive, so to make it fit, I skipped out one of the aluminum bricks, and one of the thermalpads. Then it will fit. I now have mine enclosed like WD Velociraptor -> 2.5" Scythe -> 3.5" scythe -> Suspended. This gets close to Silence I will say!

Well done, but what temps are you getting and does the 2.5in Scythe actually close tight. ?

It does close tight, The temp could be better though, Highest temp has been 44-45 celsius, but thats with none to very little airflow around it. Most of the time it stays in the mid-high 30's.

Edwood · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:08 am

How are the temps with some airflow?

Edi: I guess I'll find out for myself. Just placed an order for a Velociraptor and Scythe 2.5" enclosure.

victorhortalives · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:07 pm

Xuestor wrote:

victorhortalives wrote:

Xuestor wrote:

I can answer this question. The aluminum mounting holes won't fit the holes of the drive, so to make it fit, I skipped out one of the aluminum bricks, and one of the thermalpads. Then it will fit. I now have mine enclosed like WD Velociraptor -> 2.5" Scythe -> 3.5" scythe -> Suspended. This gets close to Silence I will say!

Well done, but what temps are you getting and does the 2.5in Scythe actually close tight. ?

It does close tight, The temp could be better though, Highest temp has been 44-45 celsius, but thats with none to very little airflow around it. Most of the time it stays in the mid-high 30's.

That's OK. I have an Infrant READYNas and that has temps for the discs in the mid 40's.
Infrant also says that the alarm level has been verified by Seagate as being OK if set at 50C. High 30's is perfectly respectable.

When a 150GB version comes out I'll buy 3

Edwood · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:15 pm

I've had my Seagates running in the high 40's and low 50's for years. And they all still work.

High 30's is perfect. I wouldn't worry about it.

victorhortalives · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:31 pm

The mid 40's temps that were quoted in the last few posts apply to 3.5in drives.

Normally 7200 rpm 2.5in drives run in the high 20's/low 30's so mid 40's is pretty hot.

nutball · **Posted:** Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:21 am

victorhortalives wrote:

Normally 7200 rpm 2.5in drives run in the high 20's/low 30's so mid 40's is pretty hot.

But this isn't a 7200rpm 2.5" drive. Honestly people seem to be seeing 2.5" and thinking laptop-drive and all the rules that go along with it. This is more like a 10k 2.5" SAS server drive. Different animal. Look at the form factor of the bare drive and compare it to the Seagate Savvio 10K.2 for example.

mariosimas · **Joined:** Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:26 am **Posts:** 21

it seems that will be a 74G version:

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg ... faqid=2542

dhanson865 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:04 am

mariosimas wrote:

it seems that will be a 74G version:

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg ... faqid=2542

It appears there will be a 74GB, 150GB, and 300GB version

150GB http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg ... faqid=2541
300GB http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg ... faqid=2503

victorhortalives · **Posted:** Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:56 am

nutball wrote:

victorhortalives wrote:

Normally 7200 rpm 2.5in drives run in the high 20's/low 30's so mid 40's is pretty hot.

But this isn't a 7200rpm 2.5" drive. Honestly people seem to be seeing 2.5" and thinking laptop-drive and all the rules that go along with it. This is more like a 10k 2.5" SAS server drive. Different animal. Look at the form factor of the bare drive and compare it to the Seagate Savvio 10K.2 for example.

Yes, but it isn't a standard 3.5in either which was the subject of prior emails.

Go on then - compare the normal temps for this OTHER class of small size drives for all the rest of us.

Edwood · **Posted:** Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:54 am

victorhortalives wrote:

nutball wrote:

victorhortalives wrote:

Normally 7200 rpm 2.5in drives run in the high 20's/low 30's so mid 40's is pretty hot.

But this isn't a 7200rpm 2.5" drive. Honestly people seem to be seeing 2.5" and thinking laptop-drive and all the rules that go along with it. This is more like a 10k 2.5" SAS server drive. Different animal. Look at the form factor of the bare drive and compare it to the Seagate Savvio 10K.2 for example.

Yes, but it isn't a standard 3.5in either which was the subject of prior emails.

Go on then - compare the normal temps for this OTHER class of small size drives for all the rest of us.

The specs state a 60 degrees C max. So, pretty much like 3.5" drives.

rpsgc · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:19 am

New (final) firmware reduces seek noise, increases performance.

Though I don't know if spcr's reviewed Velociraptor already had the final firmware

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:45 am

rpsgc wrote:

New (final) firmware reduces seek noise, increases performance.

Though I don't know if spcr's reviewed Velociraptor already had the final firmware

It should since spcr pretty much had a production sample.

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:25 am

ARGH!!!!!

Don't buy the Retail Version. IT HAS A BLACK CIRCULAR VOID WARRANTY STICKER OVER ONE OF THE SCREW HOLES ON THE ICEPACK!!!!!

I am so pissed. I ordered direct from Western Digital. They had a coupon code that made them slightly cheaper than Newegg, but now I wish I waited for Newegg to drop the price a little.

This thing is way to loud to use as is. I just won't keep the damned thing with the retarded noise amplifier Icepack attached. ARGH!

-Ed

MikeC · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:53 am

Edwood wrote:

ARGH!!!!!

Don't buy the Retail Version. IT HAS A BLACK CIRCULAR VOID WARRANTY STICKER OVER ONE OF THE SCREW HOLES ON THE ICEPACK!!!!!

I am so pissed. I ordered direct from Western Digital. They had a coupon code that made them slightly cheaper than Newegg, but now I wish I waited for Newegg to drop the price a little.

This thing is way to loud to use as is. I just won't keep the damned thing with the retarded noise amplifier Icepack attached. ARGH!

-Ed

If you have a newgg account, you might write a quick note explaining the acoustics of the drive (link to the SPCR review maybe) and whether the OEM version people bought have the same sticker.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe ... alse&Page=

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:42 am

Great, it won't even fit into any drive enclosure either because the SATA and power connector locations are different. It won't fit in my SmartDrive 2002 without modding it.

I'm seriously regretting buying thie drive. I should've just bought another 640GB WD drive and short stroke partitioned it.

-Ed

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:37 pm

Oh, extra bonus. Not all SATA data cables fit. The locking tab type ones won't go in all the way because the retarded Icepack keeps it from going all the way in because it's thicker.

Installing Vista on it right now. Wow is it obnoxiously loud. I can clearly hear the high pitched idle, along with a low hum drone. The seek noises are pretty crunchy, reminds me of the 7200.10 Seagates. And it's suspended.

Either way I think I'm going to just go ahead and void the warranty once I get the drive up and running for a day or so. It's just too annoying to live with.

-Ed

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:42 pm

What utility do you use to enable AAM with the Velociraptor? Hitachi F-Tool doesn't recognize the Velociraptor.

MikeC · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:50 pm

Edwood wrote:

What utility do you use to enable AAM with the Velociraptor? Hitachi F-Tool doesn't recognize the Velociraptor.

Hitachi F-Tool v.2.08 works fine.

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:59 pm

MikeC wrote:

Edwood wrote:

What utility do you use to enable AAM with the Velociraptor? Hitachi F-Tool doesn't recognize the Velociraptor.

Hitachi F-Tool v.2.08 works fine.

I tried Hitachi F-Tool v.2.10 (latest one on Hitachi's site) and it doesn't recognize the Velociraptor. Doesn't even show up. Recognizes my 320GB WD drive just fine.

I tried WinAAM and it recognized and worked. Yet it wouldn't recognize my 320GB WD drive. Go figure.

Oh well. I'm off to buy a Torx bit. I don't have the right size. What size Torx bit fits the screws on the bottom of the Icepack, BTW?

-Ed

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:06 pm

Here's a pic of the underside of my Velociraptor.

Looks like a standard sticker that WD uses on a lot of their drives. Perhaps we could find a sheet of these stickers somewhere? Anyone know someone that works for WD or service center?

Otherwise doesn't look like a tamper proof sticker, I'll find out for sure when I break out the hair dryer...

Edwood · **Posted:** Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:35 pm

Nevermind. The sticker is very easy to remove once it's warmed up a little. It's not a tamperproof sticker at all. In fact, the warmth of the drive when it's been running for awhile should be enough.

Just use a smooth plastic wedge to pry it. Don't use your fingers, since they'll stick to the adhesive and ruin it.

-Ed

walle · **Joined:** Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:52 am **Posts:** 605

Good review

Been planning on replacing my aging Samsung T Series drives for quit some time now so these Velociraptors might just be worth the plunch, looks promising.

miahallen · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:33 pm

miahallen wrote:

I really wanted one of these drives, but when the time came to put my money where my mouth was, I picked up one of the new WD 640AAKS drives.

Is it really worth the money?

Sweet! VR on the way for miahallen from a benching buddy who is way too generous!

yacoub · **Joined:** Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:49 pm **Posts:** 139

Needs more 150GB model as their site once listed. No need for 300GB for my OS/boot drive. Heck, a 75GB model would work fine too, and both would be a lot cheaper than the 300GB.

Technoid.se · **Posted:** Sat Jul 05, 2008 1:52 pm

Glad to hear that the whine goes away if its removed from the icepack

That whine was quickly driving me bonkers :evil:

miahallen · **Posted:** Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:32 pm

I'm wondering if removing the sicker voids the warranty anyway...my OEM version also has the sticker, but there is not indication that removing it will void the warranty. I think I'll remove mine soon, the drive works beautifully, but it is a little noisy for my taste ATM (it's suspended).

Edwood · **Posted:** Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:55 pm

Edwood wrote:

Nevermind. The sticker is very easy to remove once it's warmed up a little. It's not a tamperproof sticker at all. In fact, the warmth of the drive when it's been running for awhile should be enough.

Just use a smooth plastic wedge to pry it. Don't use your fingers, since they'll stick to the adhesive and ruin it.

-Ed

Then put the black circle sticker on a piece of wax paper to save for later in case you need to RMA it.

-Ed

tuckers · **Joined:** Sun Nov 27, 2005 5:32 pm **Posts:** 4

I have the drive. It's fast and pretty quiet in my system EXCEPT for the seek which is quite loud, but not irritating. I can't hear the whine. I have looked at the bottom to remove the screws.

I heard from here it's a Torx fit? What size? I need to get one. Is this size Torx common in computer gear?

BTW, I have a nice genernal purpose tweak to reduce hard drive noise. I use a Gonzo Pet Hair Lifter sponge under the drive. Good under external drives too. For some reason it's especially good and quieting these kind of noises. I have tried many different formulas and compounds and this quick albeit temporary fix always works with hard drives. Probaby not good for a really hot drive though. It's made of a fairly firm latex sponge material that must absorb vibration very well.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3A*&q=gonzo+pet+hair+lifter

WD VelociRaptor: A Triple Crown

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