In the Western Digital Raptor class, the VelociRaptor is latest speed demon. It is ten thousand rotations per minutes and built to enterprise grade standards:

“…Dubbed the VelociRaptor, this new drive screamed through the PC World Test Center’s performance tests. Velocity is clearly the raison d’etre for this drive: The VelociRaptor handily bested our tested field of hard drives to become our top overall performer.”

link: New WD VelociRaptor Hard Drive Cruises Through Speed Tests

The speed and the failure rating of 1.2 million hours come at a price. The suggested retail price for the April launch is three hundred dollars ($300.00). At one dollar per GB, the speed comes at a steep price. For comparison, a Western Digital Caviar 1 TB Hard Drive can be purchased online at approximately the two hundred dollar mark. That is just for comparison of storage capacity. The two are quite different in terms of speed performance. And following the trajectory of hard drives, the VelociRaptor likely will decrease in price as soon as the launch phase passes.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

Tags: western digital, raptor class, velociraptor, hard drive, storage, speed, costs