Western Digital Raptor® X WD1500AHFD 150 GB SATA Hard Drive (Retail Version)
- HDD Form Factor: 3.5'
- Capacity: 150 GB
- Designation: Desktop Computer
- Interface: Serial ATA
- Enclosure: Internal
- Spindle Speed: 10000 RPM
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The Western Digital 150Gb Raptor X - Starting to Show its Age
Pros
Clear Polycarbonate cover that allows you to see the drive work. Fast. 5 year warranty.
Cons
Expensive. Somewhat loud. Runs warm. Did I mention expensive? Doesn't offer a clear speed advantage.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
There's not much reason to buy a Raptor X any more.
From the secret performance labs at WD comes the revolutionary WD Raptor X SATA hard drive, the first ever drive with a view. Offspring of the immensely popular WD Raptor, fastest SATA drive on the planet, WD Raptor X focuses a large, crystal-clear lens on the drive to let you see into the inner workings and witness the drive in action.
You've got to give Western Digital credit, I've never seen a more attention getting description for a hard drive. Western Digital originally developed their line of high speed 10,000 rpm SATA hard drives for servers, starting with the 36gb Raptor in 2003. Computer enthusiasts looked at the Raptor and saw another way to boost their PC's performance without risking stability, and quickly made the Raptor product line the first choice among those looking for raw speed in a desktop hard drive, albeit for a price approaching that of 7200 rpm drives 5 times it size.
But.....the Raptor X was released in 2006. Since that time, 7200 rpm hard drive technology has improved, reducing the performance differential. Just how much will depend on how you use the drive. I recently compared the Raptor X to a 750Gb Western Digital Caviar SE 16, and surprisingly, found the Raptor X to be lacking more often than not.
The street price of the 150GB Raptor X 150 currently runs about $170-$200 (Jan 2008), and is occasionally on sale for a bit less. I was fortunate enough to notice the retail package for $155 during a sale at Best Buy a few months ago. Building a new PC from scratch, I decided to go with this 10,000 rpm drive for the boot drive, and installed it in a CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000 case connected to a Abit IP35 Pro motherboard, and then installed Windows Vista Ultimate.
Western Digital offers two versions of the 150GB 10,000 rpm drives, one for the server market (the Raptor), and one for enthusiasts, the Raptor X. The only difference is a crystalline polycarbonate window on the Raptor X, allowing users to see the platters spin and the read/write heads move. (Quite impressive – see videos here: http://www.wdraptorx.com/en/video/) Although the Raptor X was initially released at a higher price than the Raptor, the X version is currently cheaper ($200) than the standard version ($270) if you're buying direct from Western Digital. Both drives come with a 5 year warranty, reassuring given the extra wear you expect a 10,000 rpm drive to take.
Other key features of the Raptor X include….
4.6 ms read seek time, 10.2ms full stroke seek time
16mb cache
1.5 Gb/sec SATA interface (not 3 GB/sec but the 1.5 GB/sec interface is not a bottleneck)
SATA cable included
NCQ (native command queueing – which "supposedly" improves performance by re-ordering data access requests to improve drive performance. This means the drive might access data in order of how close it is to the drive head, rather than in the order data requests were received, to minimize head movement. Reviews I've read indicate NCQ doesn't help much in single user applications, but has some advantages in multi-user installations where several users are requesting data at the same time.
INSTALLATION
Installation of SATA drives is somewhat easier than IDE drives, you don't have worry about the Master/slave jumpers, and SATA cables are easier to connect and route than IDE cables. I installed the drive in a CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000 case using rubber shock absorbing washers to minimize any noise and vibration created by the drive, and then connected the drive to the motherboard and power supply. If you're setting up a completely new system from scratch, you'll need to remember to enable AHCI in the motherboard bios settings, a step I wasn't aware of, and most likely need to install SATA drivers from the motherboard driver cd (rather than the windows cd) during the Windows install. Once I got the bios settings for the SATA channels set correctly, the drive worked fine.
Benchmarks
After installing the drive and Windows Vista Ultimate, I downloaded and installed HD Tach 3.0, a well respected hard drive benchmarking program to check this 10,000 rpm drive's read performance. To put the results into context, I also used HD Tach to benchmark two other 7200rpm SATA drives in the same system, a Western Digital 320GB WD3200KSRTL and a WD 750GB WD7500AAKS. The 320GB drive is good, low end entry level mainstream model, and the 750GB drive is a high end model that uses perpendicular recording technology and is one of the fastest mainstream desktop drives available.
HD Tach results (average of 3 runs)
Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate
CPU: Intel Q6600 Core2 Quad
………………………..........Raptor X…………… 320 GB……………… 750 GB
Burst Speed……………….122 MB/sec………....171 MB/sec...……..185 MB/sec.
Random Access…………….8.6 ms……………....17.1 ms……………. 13.8 ms…
Average read speed……….. 77 Mb/s……………… 60MB/sec……….. 77.5 MB/s
Max/min read speed………..89/58 Mb/s…………..70/40 Mb/sec…… 90/50 Mb/sec
Burst speed is a measure of how fast data can be transferred from the disk cache memory to your PC, while the average read speed provides a more accurate picture of how fast data is read from the disk.
The benchmarks were a bit of a surprise to me. While the Raptor was clearly faster than its mainstream competition when it was released in 2006, the benchmarks indicate that the new Western Digital 750GB drive, which is available for about the same price as the RaptorX, is just about as fast. I then ran a few "real" world tests to see if these benchmarks played out in day to day usage.
Real World Performance
To see how well the RaptorX performed, I used Acronis True Image to copy everything from the Raptor X to the 320 and 750 GB drives, and then installed each in my PC and ran a few tests. True Image is a hard disk cloning program that can completely copy one hard drive to another and is particularly useful when making a copy of a boot drive. I compared the 320GB drive and the Raptor last December (shortly after Windows was installed, with only a few other programs in place). I then repeated the test with the larger drive just a few days ago, comparing the Raptor and the 750GB drive after a few more programs had been installed on the PC (30GB in total).
Raptor X vs the WD 320GBKS
Test 1: Boot times
I timed how fast my PC booted up using using both of these drives. Acronis True Image assured the exact same Windows setup and startup programs were loaded on both drives. Boot times are surprising variable, but the average boot times using the 320GB drive and the RaptorX were almost identical for my system, averaging about 65 seconds.
Test 2: Norton Anti-Virus Scan
Using Norton Internet Security I ran 3 virus scans on each drive, and averaged the times. The RaptorX was a clear winner here. The Virus scans took about 11.25 minutes on the Raptor, while 14 minutes were required to scan the same data when I replaced the Raptor with the 320Gb WD drive and booted my PC from that drive.
Test 3: Windows Defender Spyware Scan
Again, the RaptorX was a clear winner. Windows Defender took almost 23 minutes to run a full scan when the 320GB WD was the boot drive, but was able to scan the data in 2.5 minutes less time when that same data was on the RaptorX.
RaptorX vs the WD7500AAKS
Before summarizing the data here, I think its worth pointing out a few things:
The WD7500AAKS can hold 5 times as much data as the RaptorX. The WD7500AAKS runs much quieter, and cooler than the Raptor. Newegg sells the OEM version (drive only) of the WD7500AAKS for $155, while the OEM version of the RaptorX runs $170.
My system's boot drive now contains about 30Gb of data, vs 20Gb when I ran the tests described above. I recently purchased the 750Gb drive with the idea of setting up a central server in my home, but decided to compare it to the Raptor first. Using Acronis True Image, I made an image of my boot drive, and then reinstalled that image to both the Raptor and the 750Gb WD7500AAKS. I then ran the same suite of tests:
Test 1: Boot times
I booted my PC from a cold start 8 times with each drive. With the Raptor, boot times ranged from 62 seconds to 76 seconds. The average of the last 5 boots took 65 seconds. The first few boots after the reinstall were the slowest, you could clearly see Windows Vista reorganizing things to optimize boot times, one of its "promised" features that seems to work. When the 750Gb WD7500AAKS was the boot drive, boot times started out at 82 seconds, but dropped to less than 60 seconds on the last few trials, averaging 57 seconds. On average, the new 750GB WD7500AAKS reduced boot times by a little more than 10%, a small, but nice improvement!
Test 2: Norton Anti-Virus Scan
On Test 2, the 750GB WD7500AAKS was also the winner, requiring 19 minutes to scan 30 GB of data (over 255,000 items, according to the Norton software). On the Raptor, 23 minutes was required. I was so surprised by this result, I repeated it, by reinstalling the image files and rerunning the test.
Test 3: Windows Defender
The Raptor eeked out a close win here. Windows Defender took 33 minutes to scan the data on the Raptor X, while 34.75 minutes were required to scan the same data on the 750GB WD7500AAKS.
These tests confirmed the HD Tach benchmarks, in my (mostly read speed) performance tests, the Raptor X offers little speed advantage over the new large 7200 rpm hard drives that use perpindicular recording technology.
Other Comments
The Raptor X can be a loud drive. Even in my soundproofed Coolermaster Cosmos case, I can hear the drive heads "rattling" under heavy disk usage, though its reasonably quiet under normal usage. I can barely hear the 7200 rpm drives under the same intensive conditions. The 750GB WD7500AAKS is impressively quiet. The Raptor X also runs warm. Under intense usage, when running antivirus scanes, the hard drive temperature software I use indicates that the drive temperature gets up to 120F (49C). The temperature of the other drives peak out about 5 degrees F less.
On the plus side, the Raptor X comes with a solid 5 year warranty, while the 750Gb drive has a 3 year warranty. The Raptor scores 5.9 on the Windows Vista Hard Drive Experience Index.
Should you buy this drive?
A year ago, if you wanted a really fast hard drive in your PC, the 150 Gb WD Raptor X offered a clear advantage, though it was an expensive choice. Today, it is still expensive. But, for the same money, you can buy comparably performing drives that hold 5 times as much data, run quieter, and run cooler. Technology marches on. The Raptor still looks cool, and is still fast, but it has lost its edge over the new 750Gb and 1 Tb drives, especially if you aren't planning a RAID setup. Even then, I suspect they offer little value for the extra dollars.
Really nice Website for the Raptor X:
http://www.wdraptorx.com
You've got to give Western Digital credit, I've never seen a more attention getting description for a hard drive. Western Digital originally developed their line of high speed 10,000 rpm SATA hard drives for servers, starting with the 36gb Raptor in 2003. Computer enthusiasts looked at the Raptor and saw another way to boost their PC's performance without risking stability, and quickly made the Raptor product line the first choice among those looking for raw speed in a desktop hard drive, albeit for a price approaching that of 7200 rpm drives 5 times it size.
But.....the Raptor X was released in 2006. Since that time, 7200 rpm hard drive technology has improved, reducing the performance differential. Just how much will depend on how you use the drive. I recently compared the Raptor X to a 750Gb Western Digital Caviar SE 16, and surprisingly, found the Raptor X to be lacking more often than not.
The street price of the 150GB Raptor X 150 currently runs about $170-$200 (Jan 2008), and is occasionally on sale for a bit less. I was fortunate enough to notice the retail package for $155 during a sale at Best Buy a few months ago. Building a new PC from scratch, I decided to go with this 10,000 rpm drive for the boot drive, and installed it in a CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000 case connected to a Abit IP35 Pro motherboard, and then installed Windows Vista Ultimate.
Western Digital offers two versions of the 150GB 10,000 rpm drives, one for the server market (the Raptor), and one for enthusiasts, the Raptor X. The only difference is a crystalline polycarbonate window on the Raptor X, allowing users to see the platters spin and the read/write heads move. (Quite impressive – see videos here: http://www.wdraptorx.com/en/video/) Although the Raptor X was initially released at a higher price than the Raptor, the X version is currently cheaper ($200) than the standard version ($270) if you're buying direct from Western Digital. Both drives come with a 5 year warranty, reassuring given the extra wear you expect a 10,000 rpm drive to take.
Other key features of the Raptor X include….
4.6 ms read seek time, 10.2ms full stroke seek time
16mb cache
1.5 Gb/sec SATA interface (not 3 GB/sec but the 1.5 GB/sec interface is not a bottleneck)
SATA cable included
NCQ (native command queueing – which "supposedly" improves performance by re-ordering data access requests to improve drive performance. This means the drive might access data in order of how close it is to the drive head, rather than in the order data requests were received, to minimize head movement. Reviews I've read indicate NCQ doesn't help much in single user applications, but has some advantages in multi-user installations where several users are requesting data at the same time.
INSTALLATION
Installation of SATA drives is somewhat easier than IDE drives, you don't have worry about the Master/slave jumpers, and SATA cables are easier to connect and route than IDE cables. I installed the drive in a CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000 case using rubber shock absorbing washers to minimize any noise and vibration created by the drive, and then connected the drive to the motherboard and power supply. If you're setting up a completely new system from scratch, you'll need to remember to enable AHCI in the motherboard bios settings, a step I wasn't aware of, and most likely need to install SATA drivers from the motherboard driver cd (rather than the windows cd) during the Windows install. Once I got the bios settings for the SATA channels set correctly, the drive worked fine.
Benchmarks
After installing the drive and Windows Vista Ultimate, I downloaded and installed HD Tach 3.0, a well respected hard drive benchmarking program to check this 10,000 rpm drive's read performance. To put the results into context, I also used HD Tach to benchmark two other 7200rpm SATA drives in the same system, a Western Digital 320GB WD3200KSRTL and a WD 750GB WD7500AAKS. The 320GB drive is good, low end entry level mainstream model, and the 750GB drive is a high end model that uses perpendicular recording technology and is one of the fastest mainstream desktop drives available.
HD Tach results (average of 3 runs)
Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate
CPU: Intel Q6600 Core2 Quad
………………………..........Raptor X…………… 320 GB……………… 750 GB
Burst Speed……………….122 MB/sec………....171 MB/sec...……..185 MB/sec.
Random Access…………….8.6 ms……………....17.1 ms……………. 13.8 ms…
Average read speed……….. 77 Mb/s……………… 60MB/sec……….. 77.5 MB/s
Max/min read speed………..89/58 Mb/s…………..70/40 Mb/sec…… 90/50 Mb/sec
Burst speed is a measure of how fast data can be transferred from the disk cache memory to your PC, while the average read speed provides a more accurate picture of how fast data is read from the disk.
The benchmarks were a bit of a surprise to me. While the Raptor was clearly faster than its mainstream competition when it was released in 2006, the benchmarks indicate that the new Western Digital 750GB drive, which is available for about the same price as the RaptorX, is just about as fast. I then ran a few "real" world tests to see if these benchmarks played out in day to day usage.
Real World Performance
To see how well the RaptorX performed, I used Acronis True Image to copy everything from the Raptor X to the 320 and 750 GB drives, and then installed each in my PC and ran a few tests. True Image is a hard disk cloning program that can completely copy one hard drive to another and is particularly useful when making a copy of a boot drive. I compared the 320GB drive and the Raptor last December (shortly after Windows was installed, with only a few other programs in place). I then repeated the test with the larger drive just a few days ago, comparing the Raptor and the 750GB drive after a few more programs had been installed on the PC (30GB in total).
Raptor X vs the WD 320GBKS
Test 1: Boot times
I timed how fast my PC booted up using using both of these drives. Acronis True Image assured the exact same Windows setup and startup programs were loaded on both drives. Boot times are surprising variable, but the average boot times using the 320GB drive and the RaptorX were almost identical for my system, averaging about 65 seconds.
Test 2: Norton Anti-Virus Scan
Using Norton Internet Security I ran 3 virus scans on each drive, and averaged the times. The RaptorX was a clear winner here. The Virus scans took about 11.25 minutes on the Raptor, while 14 minutes were required to scan the same data when I replaced the Raptor with the 320Gb WD drive and booted my PC from that drive.
Test 3: Windows Defender Spyware Scan
Again, the RaptorX was a clear winner. Windows Defender took almost 23 minutes to run a full scan when the 320GB WD was the boot drive, but was able to scan the data in 2.5 minutes less time when that same data was on the RaptorX.
RaptorX vs the WD7500AAKS
Before summarizing the data here, I think its worth pointing out a few things:
The WD7500AAKS can hold 5 times as much data as the RaptorX. The WD7500AAKS runs much quieter, and cooler than the Raptor. Newegg sells the OEM version (drive only) of the WD7500AAKS for $155, while the OEM version of the RaptorX runs $170.
My system's boot drive now contains about 30Gb of data, vs 20Gb when I ran the tests described above. I recently purchased the 750Gb drive with the idea of setting up a central server in my home, but decided to compare it to the Raptor first. Using Acronis True Image, I made an image of my boot drive, and then reinstalled that image to both the Raptor and the 750Gb WD7500AAKS. I then ran the same suite of tests:
Test 1: Boot times
I booted my PC from a cold start 8 times with each drive. With the Raptor, boot times ranged from 62 seconds to 76 seconds. The average of the last 5 boots took 65 seconds. The first few boots after the reinstall were the slowest, you could clearly see Windows Vista reorganizing things to optimize boot times, one of its "promised" features that seems to work. When the 750Gb WD7500AAKS was the boot drive, boot times started out at 82 seconds, but dropped to less than 60 seconds on the last few trials, averaging 57 seconds. On average, the new 750GB WD7500AAKS reduced boot times by a little more than 10%, a small, but nice improvement!
Test 2: Norton Anti-Virus Scan
On Test 2, the 750GB WD7500AAKS was also the winner, requiring 19 minutes to scan 30 GB of data (over 255,000 items, according to the Norton software). On the Raptor, 23 minutes was required. I was so surprised by this result, I repeated it, by reinstalling the image files and rerunning the test.
Test 3: Windows Defender
The Raptor eeked out a close win here. Windows Defender took 33 minutes to scan the data on the Raptor X, while 34.75 minutes were required to scan the same data on the 750GB WD7500AAKS.
These tests confirmed the HD Tach benchmarks, in my (mostly read speed) performance tests, the Raptor X offers little speed advantage over the new large 7200 rpm hard drives that use perpindicular recording technology.
Other Comments
The Raptor X can be a loud drive. Even in my soundproofed Coolermaster Cosmos case, I can hear the drive heads "rattling" under heavy disk usage, though its reasonably quiet under normal usage. I can barely hear the 7200 rpm drives under the same intensive conditions. The 750GB WD7500AAKS is impressively quiet. The Raptor X also runs warm. Under intense usage, when running antivirus scanes, the hard drive temperature software I use indicates that the drive temperature gets up to 120F (49C). The temperature of the other drives peak out about 5 degrees F less.
On the plus side, the Raptor X comes with a solid 5 year warranty, while the 750Gb drive has a 3 year warranty. The Raptor scores 5.9 on the Windows Vista Hard Drive Experience Index.
Should you buy this drive?
A year ago, if you wanted a really fast hard drive in your PC, the 150 Gb WD Raptor X offered a clear advantage, though it was an expensive choice. Today, it is still expensive. But, for the same money, you can buy comparably performing drives that hold 5 times as much data, run quieter, and run cooler. Technology marches on. The Raptor still looks cool, and is still fast, but it has lost its edge over the new 750Gb and 1 Tb drives, especially if you aren't planning a RAID setup. Even then, I suspect they offer little value for the extra dollars.
Really nice Website for the Raptor X:
http://www.wdraptorx.com
