DEAD: Now $199.99 - Western Digital Raptor X 150GB 16mb cache - $169.99 at BB NO RB

[Pariah]

The Raptor X version has the same 1.2 million hour MTBF and 5 year warranty as the regular version. Reliability is unaffected by the window.

 

[bigsnyder]

I have not seen the MTBF specified on the WD website, so can someone provide a link?
However, the Start/Stop cycles is rated at 20,000 cycles vs 50,000 for some of the other
drives. This might be where the confusion is.

C Snyder

 

[kVaSSaSSiN]

Originally posted by: dajeepster

Originally posted by: Buck_Naked

Originally posted by: Staples

Originally posted by: kVaSSaSSiN
any performance difference between the 74gb and the 150? I have two 74gb in raid0.

This seems to be unknown around here but the 74GB model that BB is selling is NOT the ultra fast one that everyone saw benchmarks for when it first came out. Their drive is within 5% of the performance of the original. I have not looked into this 150GB drive but for all I know, there may also be two models.

What is keeping me away from this drive is that people are claiming it to be loud.

Where are you getting this info...?

the 74GB model was originally released with 8MB cache... they updated the line late last year with 16MB cache and also a single platter. As far as I know the 150GB model was only released with 16MB cache.. the 36GB model was updated with 16MB cache also... you can find more info here Western Digital Raptor drives and anandtech just did a review here http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=2922

Thanx for the LINK; The performance between the 74gb and 150gb with 16mb cache is pretty much the same from the article. 150gb is quicker in certain test and slower in others. Great Article!

 

[noping]

Slightly OT, but it seems that some BBs are selling two different models of the 74GB Raptors, the older 740GD (8MB cache) and the newer WD740ADFD (16MB cache). I ended up picking up the ADFD model at the clearance price of $120.

I'm wishing I'd have waited a few more weeks for this deal, though. For $50 more I could've doubled the amount of space on my boot drive :s

 

[Bish]

I can confirm this. I bought the 74Gb model on Sunday and it was the older 8Mb model. I returned it for the 150 today. They DO have a new 16Mb 74Gb that is supposed to be close in performance to the latest 150Gb. I have the original 74Gb Raptor and the model number is exactly the same as the one I picked up Sunday. There should be, as others have said, about a 15-20% improvement in the new 150 and the old 74Gb.

 

[FireChicken]

Just picked up what looked like to be the last one at the BB by my work. Web site said that they had none in inventory but I called and the rep said that it was in stock. Im pretty sure the web site inventory system is not accurate. Gonna put vista on this drive and dual boot...

 

[Nick63]

In a few days we will here that there is a new faster 150 gig or larger Raptor based on the updated platters in the new 74 gig Raptor. That's what is keeping me sitting on my wallet.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Nick63
In a few days we will here that there is a new faster 150 gig or larger Raptor based on the updated platters in the new 74 gig Raptor. That's what is keeping me sitting on my wallet.

Well, if you want a 150GB Raptor based on the 74GB Raptor review, there's no reason to sit on your wallet. As stated in the review, the 74GB Raptor was simply updated to the same 80GB Platter the 150GB Raptors had been using for almost a full year. The difference is the 74GB uses 1 platter vs. the 150GB which uses 2. The small increase in performance is probably due to the use of 1x80GB vs. 2x80GB platter, reducing seek times and increasing throughput and transfer speeds etc. etc.....

 

[Nick63]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: Nick63
In a few days we will here that there is a new faster 150 gig or larger Raptor based on the updated platters in the new 74 gig Raptor. That's what is keeping me sitting on my wallet.

Well, if you want a 150GB Raptor based on the 74GB Raptor review, there's no reason to sit on your wallet. As stated in the review, the 74GB Raptor was simply updated to the same 80GB Platter the 150GB Raptors had been using for almost a full year. The difference is the 74GB uses 1 platter vs. the 150GB which uses 2. The small increase in performance is probably due to the use of 1x80GB vs. 2x80GB platter, reducing seek times and increasing throughput and transfer speeds etc. etc.....

You are correct. I will have to find another reason to keep from buying it. It is nice drive as it is.

 

[brandonbull]

How is BB selling it for $170??

 

[amicold]

Originally posted by: chizow
Wow glad I held off on getting a 2nd a few weeks ago.

Just a heads-up though, these drives are loud and run extremely hot. Worth the performance for some, but if you're running a SFF silent or HTPC, you might want to steer clear of these. It goes anywhere from full garbage disposal-like chugging to a constant "chirp" when your PC is idling.

Also the Raptor Window is a neat feature, but pretty useless in most case installations. If you have a windowed case and a drive cage that mounts the drives vertically, then you'll be able to see the disc spinning etc. Most of the Lian Li cases have a cage like this, but it still requires some mod'ing to see the full window. The X versions window is pointless though in my Antec Nine Hundred.

May pick another one up though for a RAID 0 or just as a 2nd disk for my new rig. Very hot price though, most retailers sell these for $220+ with rebates taking them down to $200 at the lowest.

I have a first gen 36 GB. Talk about noise.

 

[zodder]

I have a first gen 36 GB. Talk about noise.

No doubt! I have 2 x 1st gens in a RAID0 and I can hear those things above all else in my case.

 

[Thoreau]

I've been using the 150 now for about three days, give or take, and I've actually gotta say, this thing is a lot quieter than I thought it would be. Originally I was running it outside of my case for testing, so the noise was very noticeable, but now that it's tucked away inside my Antec P180, I can barely hear it, even when cranking away on disk intensive apps. And holy crap does BF2142 load faster!

 

[videopho]

Originally posted by: Thoreau
I've been using the 150 now for about three days, give or take, and I've actually gotta say, this thing is a lot quieter than I thought it would be. Originally I was running it outside of my case for testing, so the noise was very noticeable, but now that it's tucked away inside my Antec P180, I can barely hear it, even when cranking away on disk intensive apps. And holy crap does BF2142 load faster!

Good to know.
I now can breath easy
...installation is scheduled for the weekend project.
Transferring my OS from its little brother 37gb to the new one and get ready for Vista later on.

 

[chizow]

Hehe maybe its the cheese grater design of the Nine Hundred that makes it more audible. Anyways, the noise didn't stop me from picking up a 2nd one today to pair up with the one I got when I built my new system. Walked into the only BB I hadn't checked over the course of the week and there it was all by itself with its lovely red letters and numbers. Didn't try to apply the 12% to it, as that was ear-marked for the FPD2485W that's replacing my 2407WFP.

 

[Mustanggt]

I cant tell any differance between this 150 and the 74 in performance, could be i installed Vista on my 150 and always ran XP on the 74.

 

[mithrandir2001]

OK, I bit on this one.

A BB store 9 miles away from me still has these things in stock. I've been on the fence on buying a Raptor but since this is the retail version with SATA cable and there are no freakin' rebates to deal with, I'm sold.

I should note that I am buying a Raptor not so much for the performance but for the superlative reliability. The last time I checked storagereview the 150 Raptor was in the 93rd percentile for reliability. They are built to "enterprise-class" standards and the primary reason why they aren't cheap like mass-market 7200rpm SATA drives.

Of course the low price is a signal that a new version of the Raptor is probably at hand.

 

[videopho]

Picked up mine during the week at the local BB, a last one on the shelf.
Found sometime last night and finally just replaced its little brother (37gb) with this bad boy and now my rig's disk space has some breathing room for the next OS upgrade, Vista.
Talking about noise. What noise?
My rig's total of 6 cooling fans completely mask it out.

 

[Pariah]

Of course the low price is a signal that a new version of the Raptor is probably at hand.

Not necessarily. Could just be that Joe average had no idea what a Raptor was, or why it was so much more expensive per/GB than all the other drives. Unable to move any of them, BB decided to fire sale them and discontinue carrying them. Some products simply don't do well in retail because the knowledge of the typical customer isn't high enough.

 

[mithrandir2001]

I picked up the drive and installed it this evening.

It's difficult to describe the performance. In some cases it can be mindblowingly fast (loading some apps) and other times there doesn't seem that much of a difference over my Samsung Spinpoint P120. Really haven't played too much yet.

Sound-wise, well, yea, it's loud though not necessarily what I was expecting. Dead silent at idle, quiet spinup, but of course loud seeks. The seeks themselves are devoid of high-frequency chirping/clicking. It's more like popcorn popping; nothing terrible but I would not like two of these in a RAID 0/1 configuration.

And heat-wise, it's definitely warmer than the Samsung. The P120 ran at 82-84F while the WD1500 stays around 100-102F. That's definitely livable but I wasn't expecting a 20F increase in operating temp.

 

[TheBeagle]

Are you guys aware that the advertised TLER feature in all new generation Raptor drives is TURNED OFF from the factory? However, WD has a "secret" software utility that they usually give out to corporate customers running enterprise RAID arrays, which will activate or deactivate both the read and write TLER feature. As a result of Gary Key's recent review on the Raptor drives in AnandTech, I learned about this wonderful little "utility" and got WD to send me a copy. Interestingly, that "utility' is absolutely nowhere to be found on the WD web site or any of the WD literature for either the Raptor or "YS" series of drives. The "utility" also works on the "YS" series drives. It's too bad that there's not some way to upload that software "utility" to this forum so that everyone could share it. I just thought you all would like to know about this little WD secret. TheBeagle

 

[Fallengod]

I ordered 2 online and it looks like I aint gonna see it till march : / lmao..


What do your peoples orders show?

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: TheBeagle
Are you guys aware that the advertised TLER feature in all new generation Raptor drives is TURNED OFF from the factory? However, WD has a "secret" software utility that they usually give out to corporate customers running enterprise RAID arrays, which will activate or deactivate both the read and write TLER feature. As a result of Gary Key's recent review on the Raptor drives in AnandTech, I learned about this wonderful little "utility" and got WD to send me a copy. Interestingly, that "utility' is absolutely nowhere to be found on the WD web site or any of the WD literature for either the Raptor or "YS" series of drives. The "utility" also works on the "YS" series drives. It's too bad that there's not some way to upload that software "utility" to this forum so that everyone could share it. I just thought you all would like to know about this little WD secret. TheBeagle

What does TLER do?

Ahhh... nevermind- read 1st page....

 

[bigsnyder]

TLER disabled is best for single drive use. Only if you are running these in a RAID enviroment do want to enable TLER. Just thought I would clarify. Thanks for the find.

C Snyder

 

[Zahriya]

Is the deal dead? Showing up as 199 for me.