Taking the fight to SSDs with faster
mechanical hard drives
Since SSDs are now becoming increasingly
affordable, one might be tempted to think there’s surely no place for left for
mechanical hard drives. However, while mechanical hard drives cannot compete
with the ultra-fast performance of an SSD, what they do have going for them are
decades of reliability, both proven and tested.
Western
Digital Velociraptor 1TB
SSDs might have already been around for a
couple of years, but the technology still has some ways to go before we can say
that it has fully matured. For example, the newest SandForce drives using the
SF-2281 controller were recently documented with having a pretty widespread
BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) bug. Although the bug has since rectified with
firmware upgrades, some forums have reported that a handful of drives continue
to suffer from random BSOD occurrences.
Such issues are rare with mechanical hard
drives. Western Digital is even offering the new VelociRaptor drives with a
5-year warranty programs, just shows how confident Wastern Digital are of their
new high-performance drive.
As
befits Western Digital’s flagship mechanical drive, the new VelcociRaptor uses
the latest SATA 6Gbps interface for quick transfers.
For the uninitiated, the VelociRaptor
series is of course Western Digital’s flagship line of mechanical hard drives.
When it was first launched in 2003 as the ‘Raptor’, it was the first 10,000rpm
SATA hard drive in the world. The new drive continues in the traditions as it
too spins at a heady 10,000rpm. And although the drive itself is effectively of
a 2.5-inch form factor, it is counted on a heatsink for the fast-spinning
drive, and is what gives the drive its 3.5-inch form factor.
Underneath, the new VelociRaptor drive gets
a large 64MB cache, a new controller, and also the latest SATA 6Gbps interface
for the quickest possible transfers. The new drive will come in 1TB, 500GB and
250GB capacities.
On the performance front, the new
VelcociRaptor drive impresses as it is significantly quicker than the model it
replaces. Looking at our test result, this new drive is about 25% to 30%
quicker, which is a remarkable achievement when you consider how mature
mechanical hard disk technology is, and that our test drive is of a much larger
capacity (1TB vs. 300GB). This is simply the fastest mechanical hard drive for
the consumer that you can get your hands on right now.
That said, while sequential read and write
speeds are actually pretty decent compared to SSDs, they are not indicative of
everyday usage. And when it comes to random access operations and handling
smaller data block, tasks that are a more accurate representation of everyday
usage, SSDs have their mechanical counterparts left for dead, even one as quick
as the VelociRaptor.
That isn’t to say SSDs are superior.
Besides reliability, mechanical hard drives are also significantly more
affordable. To achieve the same 1TB capacity, you’d have to get two 512GB SSDs,
which will ring up in excess of $1,000 at least. A single 1TB VelociRaptor
costs less than half at $429. All things considered, the new Western Digital
VelociRaptor drives are viable alternatives for enthusiasts who are perhaps
more budget-conscious and want to balance speed and capacity.
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Details
·
Capacity: 1TB
·
Spin rate: 10,000rpm
·
Cache: 4MB
·
Interface: SATA 6Gbps
·
Price: $429
Verdict: 8/10
·
Performance: 8.5/10
·
Features: 7/10
·
Value: 8.5/10
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