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Seeing clearly with the Raptor X HDD

by Steve Kerrison on 6 January 2006, 16:05

Tags: WD (NYSE:WDC)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaegw

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Window mods in hard drives have been reserved for the most daring (and often foolish) of modders. Mod no more, however, as Western Digital's latest Raptor comes with its own window.

Using a special crystalline polycarbonate, the new 150GB Raptor X features a window through which you can see the drive's components at work. Like the first two Raptors, performance is also a big feature, with a spindle speed of 10000rpm and NCQ.

Raptor X

WD's engineers are quite smug about this one:

Keep in mind that read/write heads at the end of the actuator arm, which flip-flops the polarity of the magnetic particles on the disk surface, literally flies over the 10,000 RPM surface at one two-thousandth the width of a human hair. Assembly must be conducted in a world-class clean room. And only a world-class group of mechanical, electrical, chemical and magnetic hard drive engineers can design a top and choose the right materials to ensure reliable performance in the most demanding conditions.

We prefer the steamy bathroom (reduces the dust in the air), a Dremel and crossed fingers.

HEXUS.links

Western Digital Raptor X website.



HEXUS Forums :: 21 Comments

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holy s**t. Me want! Me Want!
Looks nice…but who on earth really needs it? :undecided
Looks good.
150Gb, 16Mb Cache, 10k rpm, windowed. The only thing missing is SATA2.
Does it use NCQ rarther than the old TCQ that the old Raptors used?

The only ‘problem’ is its noise.
Yes, as far as I know, it is capable of using NCQ.
It is indeed NCQ friendly :)

I don't see the point in thisd unless you have a lot of money and want a lot of bling ;)