Raptor/8800/Vista issue... ideas?

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:01 pm

Because of the supposed 8800/Vista/Raptor issue:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/wd-raptor ... -2336.html

I need to pick another 150G or larger drive for my main OS/Apps Drive.

Any suggestions? I was thinking maybe:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

Thanks for the help.

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:21 pm

how about a wd1600aajs, its a 160gb single platter.
it should theoretically be cooler and quieter but with performance similar to the wd3200aaks. the only difference is the 8 to 16mb cache, i'm not really convinced it makes a big difference though.

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:31 pm

Here is the info I found:

Code: Select all

320GB======================================================== | ==250GB
Manufacturer: WesternDig  Hitachi  Samsung  Seagate  WesternD | Hitachi
SeriesName:   CaviarSE16  T7K500   SP-T166  7200.10  CaviarSE | T7K250
ModelNumbers: WD3200AAKS  T725032  HD321KJ  3320620  WD3200KS | T722525
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SeqSpeed max MB/s =   87       78       83       79       67       68
SeqSpeed avg MB/s =   71       64       65       65       57       56
SeqSpeed min MB/s =   43       38       38       39       38       34

AccessTime     ms =   13.1     12.9     14.2     13.3     13.2     13.0
AccessTime(AAM)ms =   18.6

Burst max    MB/s =  198      197      212      235      203      203

PCmark04 TotScore = 6084     6480     6363     5786        -     5871
PCmark05 TotScore = 6271     6860     6447     6414     5957     6417
=XPstartup   MB/s =   10       12       10       10       10       11
=App.Loading MB/s =    8        9        8        8        8        8
=FileCopying MB/s =   51       52       61       53        -       43
=GeneralUsageMB/s =    7        8        7        6        7        7
=VirusScan   MB/s =   91      112       89      123       88      115
=FileWrite   MB/s =   70       72       83       72       64       63

Looks like the Hitachi and the Samsung are good for the 320G range.

zerok66 · Post by **zerok66** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:02 am

I own a WD Raptor 150GB and a 8600GTS... guess what, ENDLESS CRAP with Vista, I have done shed loads to try get it 100% stable. it is pretty reliable now, but still not good enough.

Guess I know why I have had endless cr@p. I thought either my MB was shot as I tried absolutely everything else.

I have had endless crap with TV tuners too not working properly with no explanation. UGH, thanks for this post.

L8tooor Raptor. Anyone after a Raptor cheap? lol

gforcefan · Post by **gforcefan** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:39 am

Don't ask me why, but my 8800gts, vista and 150 raptor work fine. Maybe because I dual boot or have a Uli chipset?

To op, there are threads all over the internet - many people are experiencing these problems, while many others are not. If you really love raptors (like I do), I would give it a try knowing that you may have to exchange for another drive.

AstroCat · Post by **AstroCat** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:16 pm

Yeah, I went for it. I'm gonna give it a try, people seem to be saying the issue reside with the 32bit version, I'm going 64, so we'll see. A little worried about the heat/noise of the raptors but enough people have told me it's not an issue, so we'll see.

zerok66 · Post by **zerok66** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:26 am

I certainly dont suffer heat issues with my raptor (although my system does overheat thanks to a poor case design) - but I do suffer noise. The system is virtually silent now, but when that disk starts seeking that is all you can hear. It is very loud 9very being relative to the SILENT pc).

nick705 · Post by **nick705** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:52 am

I used to have a Raptor and got rid of it because of the noise - it wasn't so much the seek noise per se that was annoying, as the way it was always cutting in and out, and continuing unpredictably thanks to Windows' habit of constantly accessing the system drive for all sorts of reasons best known to itself.

If it were just the occasional burst of seek noise in response to something I did, the feedback could have been quite pleasant in a way (a bit like a growl from a powerful car engine when you put your foot down), but this was more like an annoying intermittent rattle when you're cruising down the motorway. The 500GB Samsung I replaced it with is not noticeably slower, but the noise difference is noticeable whenever the PC is powered up.

I think the Raptor is in a difficult place at the moment - the newest high-capacity 7200rpm drives are just as fast for practical purposes, so you're left with a loud, hot, expensive drive that's too small to be useful for anything other than an OS/apps drive (where its speed advantage is no longer decisive, but its noise will be intrusive).

Its future looks even more bleak, with SSDs falling in price and growing in capacity...