WD claims SATA speed crown

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 20 May 2008 06:58

Business IT - Technology

Western Digital reckons its new VelociRaptor drive is over one third faster than the drive it has knocked from the performance pinnacle.

The 10,000 rpm 300G VelociRaptor uses "enterprise-class mechanics" and is aimed at the workstation and enthusiast markets. WD previously claimed its Raptor hard drives were the world's fastest.

While the new drive has a 2.5in mechanism, it is packaged in a heat sink that WD calls the IcePack, which gives it a conventional 3.5in profile.

Other highlights of the specification include a 3Gps SATA interface, 16M cache, and WD's Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward and SecurePark technologies for optimum performance in the presence of vibration and to minimise the risk of platter damage.

The VelociRaptor has a MTBF of 1.4 million hours, and has a five-year warranty.

Dell's performance PC specialist subsidiary Alienware already offers VelociRaptor drives in its ALX model.

The 300G VelociRaptor drive sells for $A399/$NZ489.