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WD 74 Raptor SATA

zest

Senior member
Are Raptors noticeably loud?


also..
What re the main advantages, does the system post faster and stuff.

I it just fast access times

How are the at data write..
 
yes they are faster

and I don't think its louder than any other 7200rpm drive except when seeking or writing.
Idle it produces the db as most 7200 drives.

 
What will you be using it for? Most people don't need raptors but get them becuase they have the money to blow, or they don't know any better.

Yes windows will start up a little faster, and your Apps/games will load faster. But thats it. Unless you are running a sever or use programs that put a heavy load on the Hard drive(s) you are just wasting money that could be used for more ram, bigger HD, faster Video card and so on.

Raptors are like RAID, "If you have to ask, you don't need it." to quote some one here on the forums.
 
Western Digital drives are on the quiet end (much more than Maxtor of course) when idle.

I found them to be much louder than Maxtor, IBM, Seagate drives, during reading (intensive I/O). They really can make some heavy "clunk/chunk" grinding noises. But it sounds like it's got a lot of muscle that way : )
 
my 74gb raptor is the loudest drive i've ever owned, by any brand, even other wdc's. you'll know when your HD is being accessed 😉 But it is indeed faster and has a longer warranty than the non-raptor wdc drives I believe (correct me if I'm wrong).
 
Originally posted by: SketchMaster
What will you be using it for? Most people don't need raptors but get them becuase they have the money to blow, or they don't know any better.

Yes windows will start up a little faster, and your Apps/games will load faster. But thats it. Unless you are running a sever or use programs that put a heavy load on the Hard drive(s) you are just wasting money that could be used for more ram, bigger HD, faster Video card and so on.

Raptors are like RAID, "If you have to ask, you don't need it." to quote some one here on the forums.
[/quote]
Originally posted by: Makaveli
yes they are faster and I don't think its louder than any other 7200rpm drive except when seeking or writing.
Idle it produces the db as most 7200 drives.



I know they are good fast drives .
I am trying determine how noisy they are and if the performance is worth it.

It is irrelevant as to whether I need it or not.
 
You know, when it takes 30+ seconds to load a PC game, the difference between 33.1 and 33.5 seconds is rather minimal. When we are talking about desktop programs, where load-times are closer to 3-5 seconds, I'd rather take 3 seconds than 5.

If you think the Raptor is "bested" by some 7.2k drives, then feel free to use them. But a 0.4 second loading difference on GAMES ONLY I personally do not find that great or amusing, and pay a incremental price for desktop performance.
 
i'm already tired of see that link for the doom 3 level loading times. check out some other reviews on the net. like www.Storagereview.com I currently use a raptor and have had a *newer* 7200 rpm drive both as boot, and the raptor just feels more responsive cause of the low seek times. Size didn't matter cause I just used another HD for storage. As for the OP go to someones house and listen to their raptor then determine if that is too loud for you.
 
Originally posted by: Makaveli
yes they are faster

and I don't think its louder than any other 7200rpm drive except when seeking or writing.
Idle it produces the db as most 7200 drives.

My experience also. It makes some noise when accessing, but the sound when idling (just spinning that is) seems about the same as the average 7200RPM drive. Also the Raptor is quite a bit faster that any 7200RPM drive (just read a bit on storagereview.com and other places). It has far superior access times compared to what any 7200 drive can hope to achieve. Transfer rates (which high denisty 7200drives have in abundance) is less important. Just look at the unimpressiveness that is RAID0.
 
At idle, raptors are nearly the quietest 3.5" drives on the market. Meaning, discounting the baracuda IV that is not really buyable.

Seek and access are just as loud as any typical harddrive.

www.spcr.com
 
The early 36gig drives were very noisy.

Current 36/74 models aren't that noisy, except for a bit of seek noise. That is intermittant and can be significantly reduced with isolation mounts. 6 raptors in my p180, all I hear is fan noise. 🙂
 
thank you frackal for pointing people to storage review. I'm tired of all the raptor haters in these forums. Anyone who forms their opinon based on 1 review by 1 reviewer seriously needs to get there head checked. If the drive is to expensive for u then that is fine. But go else where and spread your hate. Its just annoying. Everyone knows that the 74GB raptor is the fastest SATA drive out at the moment. stop being in denial and accept the truth.

*cough Simmons cough*
 
The raptors are consider to be quite old. Those 7200.8 are much newer and they are embedded with new technology, so I won't be surprise if it was slightly slower than the 7200.8. I'd like to see some new raptors and then benchmark it with the new hd out there.
 
Much of the noice problem has to do with people shoving high rpm drives in $hitty ass cases. Get a case with rubber gromets for the HDD scews and life will be just fine. My Antec P-160 has a Raptor 74GB as the main C: drive, WD2000, and WD1600 drives for storage, and with the rubber grommets, the only thing I can hear is my damn cooling fan.

Bottom line, mount your drive right and noise is not an issue.
 
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