With the steady rise of super-quick solid-state drives (SSDs), you may have thought that traditional performance-orientated hard-disk drives (HDDs) would go the way of the Dodo.
Apparently not, as Western Digital is gearing up to introduce a new breed of its popular VelociRaptor drives.
Arriving some two years after the previous generation, Western Digital's latest is dubbed the VelociRaptor VR200M and will be available in 150GB, 300GB, 450GB and 600GB capacities - the latter of which provides double the capacity of any previous Raptor drive.
As with its predecessors, the VR200M is designed to provide enterprise-class stability and class-leading performance. Western Digital reckons the VR200M will "beat out all other competitors in the field", and though it won't match top-end SSDs in terms of performance, its mixture of price, capacity and speed could prove to be a popular combination.
In addition to offering the Raptor's famed speeds of 10,000rpm, the VR200M features a larger 32MB cache and a SATA 6Gbps interface, combining to create sustained data transfer rates of 145MB/s, says Western Digital.
Making use of the 2.5in form factor, the VR200M series will be available as standalone solution or as part of a 3.5in IcePack mounting frame. However, by using 200GB platters the drive measures some 15mm thick and therefore won't be compatible with the vast majority of notebooks. Western Digital will instead be targeting enterprise applications, or enthusiast users wanting a high-capacity, high-performance storage solution.
Western Digital is yet to confirm pricing, but we're hearing that the 600GB VelociRaptor will be priced at around $329.
[Update] The VelociRaptor VR200M is now official, with Western Digital hinting at availability this quarter. Pricing for the 600GB drive is correct at $329, whilst the smaller 400GB model will fetch $299. Hit the press release for all the details.
Press release: WD® LAUNCHES NEWEST WD VELOCIRAPTOR® – THE WORLD’S FASTEST SATA HARD DRIVE NOW HAS TWICE THE CAPACITY
