May 31, 2010 at 00:50WD VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX: the fastest and most expensive SATA-hard drive has increased the volume to 600 gigabytes
If you are interested in hard drives, it's hard to stay indifferent to the WD Raptor family. Very much ... unusual. No, I understand that, by the standards of processors or video cards, the increased spindle speed and extravagant appearance do not attract “unusualness”. But in conditions when all HDD manufacturers go head to head, accurately copying each other's model lines, the "raptors" really stand out. I got the brand new 600 GB WD VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX, which has not yet begun to be sold in Russia. I will tell you the most important thing about him, preceding the story with a small historical digression.
The first hard drives of the WD Raptor family appeared quite a long time ago, in February 2003. Western Digital then didn’t get along with SCSI (but now they already produce HDDs with SAS), and the company seems to have decided to release WD products in powerful workstations and produce SATA drives with a spindle speed of 10,000 rpm entry-level servers. The novelty was then met with caution: the SATA interface was just beginning to go into fashion, and the reputation of SCSI seemed unshakable. Plus, the first “raptors” inside remained traditional PATA-drives, and with SATA they worked through the PATA-to-SATA bridge. And although 36 GB was considered acceptable at that time, the spindle speed of 10,000 rpm was simply mesmerizing, until 2006, the Raptor remained a very niche product.
In 2006, one of the marketers came up with the idea of including gamers in the target audience of the product (oh, how I love this term!). After all, they love all the same? Well, here they have the fastest SATA hard drive. And so that the guys finally got through, they released Raptor X - a 150 GB disc with a transparent window. It was not only very fast for its time (approximately 75 MB / s when reading and writing), but also very photogenic, therefore it often appeared on the covers of then numerous computer magazines. There were also 74- and 150-gigabyte models with the same characteristics, but without a window. For servers and not pathos gamers.
I then succumbed to advertising and still put Raptor X in my home computer. What can I say? Yes, the system began to boot and work much, much faster. The difference compared with the then "just hard drives" was about the same as now, if after the screw switch to SSD. I can’t call myself a mega-gamer, but it became more pleasant not only to play, but also just to work. Clicked and p-times, it all started. I came out of something heavy, and you continue to do what you want, without waiting until the system warms up with a hard drive. Comfortable, nice. Yes, and the screw did not warm up almost - well, maybe it was a couple of degrees hotter than the Barracuda 7200.10 in the neighborhood.
But there was a nuance: with heads this miracle rattled - my reverence. It was fine during the day, but then I drove a large computer around the clock, and not everyone liked sleeping next to it. Some computer sound only brings sweet dreams to us, but these women ... In general, we had to leave Raptor X, although the transition to "just a hard drive" (just released then Barracuda 7200.11) was not easy. This is Vista today and the Seven with all sorts of ReadyBoost very effectively mask the real performance of the HDD and virtually reduce access time. But then…
Then came VelociRaptor, where standard 2.5-inch plates were used instead of non-standard 3-inch ones, as in the first Raptor's. The volume of the older model has grown to 300 gigabytes, it has become much quieter and faster. Plus, a 2.5-inch version appeared, which, however, did not fit into any laptop in thickness.
And a sample of the brand new WD VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX came to Russia. Two plates of 300 gigabytes each, IcePack radiator casing, SATA 6 Gb interface. It does not look, of course, as beautiful as the Raptor X, but still unusual. The first thing I decided to pull the disc out of the casing, but it wasn’t there: on one of the bolts there is a sticker with the inscription that if you remove me, the warranty is canceled. However, I do not keep a mini-server at home, and with IcePack the temperature of the disk itself, ceteris paribus, is 5-6 degrees lower than without it.
First about the good.
The new VelociRaptor is quiet enough. The TX says 36 dBA, but it seems to be reinsurance. If the heads are motionless, do not hear the disc at all. If mobile ... Well, there is such a bass rustling. If anyone suddenly annoys, it makes sense to consult a neurologist :) Of course, I haven’t been driving a large computer all day, because I have built an excellent “atomic” NAS for torrents , but even if I had to, a VelociRaptor computer would not disturb my sleep.
There are no questions at all about heating: if you believe the built-in sensor, even under good load (file system test in SiSoft Sandra 2010 ten times in a row), the HDD did not warm up above 42 degrees. For comparison, a 1 TB WD GreenPower in a basket in the neighborhood after the same test cycle reported heating to 39 degrees.
And about speed. Meryl already mentioned "Sandra", test File System.
Sequential read 151.31 MB / s
Random read 88.15 MB / s
Sequential write 147.43 MB / s
Random write 103.42 MB / s
Average access time 4.74 ms
As you can see, the access time is excellent, the rest is slightly faster than the latest Seagate and Samsung models with 7200 rpm. That is, the feeling of work is still more pleasant, thanks to the increased responsiveness of the system, but for that price I would like a little more. However, about the prices at the end.
I was not too lazy and ran the same tests on the Intel X-25M SSD. Here are the numbers.
Sequential read 244 MB / s
Random read 161.87 MB / s
Sequential write 50.3 MB / s
Random write 40.2 MB / s
Average access time 0.09 ms
Why did you choose this particular drive? Yes, because it is considered one of the best in terms of price / quality ratio, and costs about the same as they will ask for VelociRaptor after the start of sales. As you can see, VelociRaptor is difficult to compete with it in reading and access speed, but it writes HDD much faster. And in some tasks (for example, editing high-definition video or processing large multi-layer pictures in Photoshop) with an SSD it will be a little sadder. And the volume of SSDs is only 80 gigabytes versus 600 for the Velosiraptor.
So that's about the prices.
In the States where the new VelociRaptor is already on sale, they are asking for $ 320 for it. Presumably, we will first sell it for 9500-10000 rubles. For the same amount, we have decent 80-gigabyte SSDs with the same write speed as the X-25M (funny, but in the same price range the brand has almost no value). Want more volume for the same price? Get ready to lower the reading speed to about VelociRaptor, and then until it starts to fall further for reasons that are natural for cheap SSDs. Want the same recording speed as the VelociRaptor? Well, here you have to give what is called dramatically more - for example, Intel X-25E, which actually writes 170 megs per second, costs 14 thousand rubles for a ridiculous 32-gigabyte version.
That is, WD VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX quite correctly fits into the gap between "just hard drives" and SSD. Another question, how big is this gap? Based on the fact that over the entire existence of the line, business colleagues have not released anything like this - the ten-thousand-strong with SATA is not a very big market. Otherwise, they would play a trick.
The recommendations are simple: if you are going to buy a relatively inexpensive SSD, but doubt if 80-128 gigs are enough, look towards VelociRaptor. If you have a lot of money and do not want to save it, take four 64-gigabyte Intel X-25Es and put them in RAID 0 + 1, you will not regret it :)
And a few more price tags for normal guys, to which I like to rank myself. The 640-gigabyte WD Caviar Black (of course, with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm) costs today a little less than 2000 rubles. Yes, it is slower (up to 111 MB / s at the peak) and its access time is longer (approximately 12.2 ms). However, when using modern operating systems (Vista / 7) and a decent amount of memory (plus ReadyBoost technology), the user experience can be similar to VelociRaptor on most tasks. Those who have money with a margin can take the same Black for 6300 rubles, but with a volume of two terabytes. Cool, quiet, and faster than the 640 GB version. Well, other brands have enough interesting offers, so what to hide.
Personally, I (personally) just like VelociRaptor very much. But the hand that climbed behind the wallet stops halfway - very expensive! It would be twice as expensive for the same volume - I would recommend it fiercely. But four with a hook ... It turns out a cool option for the already wealthy, but not sky-high rich guys who want to quickly for moderate compared to SSD money. Are there many among us?
The first hard drives of the WD Raptor family appeared quite a long time ago, in February 2003. Western Digital then didn’t get along with SCSI (but now they already produce HDDs with SAS), and the company seems to have decided to release WD products in powerful workstations and produce SATA drives with a spindle speed of 10,000 rpm entry-level servers. The novelty was then met with caution: the SATA interface was just beginning to go into fashion, and the reputation of SCSI seemed unshakable. Plus, the first “raptors” inside remained traditional PATA-drives, and with SATA they worked through the PATA-to-SATA bridge. And although 36 GB was considered acceptable at that time, the spindle speed of 10,000 rpm was simply mesmerizing, until 2006, the Raptor remained a very niche product.
In 2006, one of the marketers came up with the idea of including gamers in the target audience of the product (oh, how I love this term!). After all, they love all the same? Well, here they have the fastest SATA hard drive. And so that the guys finally got through, they released Raptor X - a 150 GB disc with a transparent window. It was not only very fast for its time (approximately 75 MB / s when reading and writing), but also very photogenic, therefore it often appeared on the covers of then numerous computer magazines. There were also 74- and 150-gigabyte models with the same characteristics, but without a window. For servers and not pathos gamers.
I then succumbed to advertising and still put Raptor X in my home computer. What can I say? Yes, the system began to boot and work much, much faster. The difference compared with the then "just hard drives" was about the same as now, if after the screw switch to SSD. I can’t call myself a mega-gamer, but it became more pleasant not only to play, but also just to work. Clicked and p-times, it all started. I came out of something heavy, and you continue to do what you want, without waiting until the system warms up with a hard drive. Comfortable, nice. Yes, and the screw did not warm up almost - well, maybe it was a couple of degrees hotter than the Barracuda 7200.10 in the neighborhood.
But there was a nuance: with heads this miracle rattled - my reverence. It was fine during the day, but then I drove a large computer around the clock, and not everyone liked sleeping next to it. Some computer sound only brings sweet dreams to us, but these women ... In general, we had to leave Raptor X, although the transition to "just a hard drive" (just released then Barracuda 7200.11) was not easy. This is Vista today and the Seven with all sorts of ReadyBoost very effectively mask the real performance of the HDD and virtually reduce access time. But then…
Then came VelociRaptor, where standard 2.5-inch plates were used instead of non-standard 3-inch ones, as in the first Raptor's. The volume of the older model has grown to 300 gigabytes, it has become much quieter and faster. Plus, a 2.5-inch version appeared, which, however, did not fit into any laptop in thickness.
And a sample of the brand new WD VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX came to Russia. Two plates of 300 gigabytes each, IcePack radiator casing, SATA 6 Gb interface. It does not look, of course, as beautiful as the Raptor X, but still unusual. The first thing I decided to pull the disc out of the casing, but it wasn’t there: on one of the bolts there is a sticker with the inscription that if you remove me, the warranty is canceled. However, I do not keep a mini-server at home, and with IcePack the temperature of the disk itself, ceteris paribus, is 5-6 degrees lower than without it.
First about the good.
The new VelociRaptor is quiet enough. The TX says 36 dBA, but it seems to be reinsurance. If the heads are motionless, do not hear the disc at all. If mobile ... Well, there is such a bass rustling. If anyone suddenly annoys, it makes sense to consult a neurologist :) Of course, I haven’t been driving a large computer all day, because I have built an excellent “atomic” NAS for torrents , but even if I had to, a VelociRaptor computer would not disturb my sleep.
There are no questions at all about heating: if you believe the built-in sensor, even under good load (file system test in SiSoft Sandra 2010 ten times in a row), the HDD did not warm up above 42 degrees. For comparison, a 1 TB WD GreenPower in a basket in the neighborhood after the same test cycle reported heating to 39 degrees.
And about speed. Meryl already mentioned "Sandra", test File System.
Sequential read 151.31 MB / s
Random read 88.15 MB / s
Sequential write 147.43 MB / s
Random write 103.42 MB / s
Average access time 4.74 ms
As you can see, the access time is excellent, the rest is slightly faster than the latest Seagate and Samsung models with 7200 rpm. That is, the feeling of work is still more pleasant, thanks to the increased responsiveness of the system, but for that price I would like a little more. However, about the prices at the end.
I was not too lazy and ran the same tests on the Intel X-25M SSD. Here are the numbers.
Sequential read 244 MB / s
Random read 161.87 MB / s
Sequential write 50.3 MB / s
Random write 40.2 MB / s
Average access time 0.09 ms
Why did you choose this particular drive? Yes, because it is considered one of the best in terms of price / quality ratio, and costs about the same as they will ask for VelociRaptor after the start of sales. As you can see, VelociRaptor is difficult to compete with it in reading and access speed, but it writes HDD much faster. And in some tasks (for example, editing high-definition video or processing large multi-layer pictures in Photoshop) with an SSD it will be a little sadder. And the volume of SSDs is only 80 gigabytes versus 600 for the Velosiraptor.
So that's about the prices.
In the States where the new VelociRaptor is already on sale, they are asking for $ 320 for it. Presumably, we will first sell it for 9500-10000 rubles. For the same amount, we have decent 80-gigabyte SSDs with the same write speed as the X-25M (funny, but in the same price range the brand has almost no value). Want more volume for the same price? Get ready to lower the reading speed to about VelociRaptor, and then until it starts to fall further for reasons that are natural for cheap SSDs. Want the same recording speed as the VelociRaptor? Well, here you have to give what is called dramatically more - for example, Intel X-25E, which actually writes 170 megs per second, costs 14 thousand rubles for a ridiculous 32-gigabyte version.
That is, WD VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX quite correctly fits into the gap between "just hard drives" and SSD. Another question, how big is this gap? Based on the fact that over the entire existence of the line, business colleagues have not released anything like this - the ten-thousand-strong with SATA is not a very big market. Otherwise, they would play a trick.
The recommendations are simple: if you are going to buy a relatively inexpensive SSD, but doubt if 80-128 gigs are enough, look towards VelociRaptor. If you have a lot of money and do not want to save it, take four 64-gigabyte Intel X-25Es and put them in RAID 0 + 1, you will not regret it :)
And a few more price tags for normal guys, to which I like to rank myself. The 640-gigabyte WD Caviar Black (of course, with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm) costs today a little less than 2000 rubles. Yes, it is slower (up to 111 MB / s at the peak) and its access time is longer (approximately 12.2 ms). However, when using modern operating systems (Vista / 7) and a decent amount of memory (plus ReadyBoost technology), the user experience can be similar to VelociRaptor on most tasks. Those who have money with a margin can take the same Black for 6300 rubles, but with a volume of two terabytes. Cool, quiet, and faster than the 640 GB version. Well, other brands have enough interesting offers, so what to hide.
Personally, I (personally) just like VelociRaptor very much. But the hand that climbed behind the wallet stops halfway - very expensive! It would be twice as expensive for the same volume - I would recommend it fiercely. But four with a hook ... It turns out a cool option for the already wealthy, but not sky-high rich guys who want to quickly for moderate compared to SSD money. Are there many among us?