WD Velociraptor now fits Mac Pro drive sleds

[nanofrog]

Looking around at BareFeats, I saw that WD has just released an new version of the Velociraptor that will fit 3.5" backplanes.

According to Rob-Art, he still leans toward the MaxUpgrade mount for the Velociraptor for increased air flow. He plans on posting temp comparisons in the near future, so it may be of interest.

At least there is now an option that doesn't require any modification or additional expense to mount.

 

[gazwas]

Possible boot drive

I quite fancy using the 150GB version as a boot drive but worry about the heat and noise it might make over a standard 7200rpm drive.

 

[HunterMaximus]

Check out Anandtech's review of it here: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3291&p=4

As you can see, while it's not the quietest drive around, it's quieter than many 7200RPM drives, and nowhere near the levels of the original Raptors. And heatwise, looks like it runs cooler than most drives around, not surprising given that it's got a big heatsink strapped to it (and IIRC, it runs pretty cooly out of the heatsink too). IMO, the "increased airflow" of the MaxUpgrade mount is a pretty silly argument. These drives don't run at anything close to alarming temperatures, and the MaxUpgrade mount has less surface area, meaning less area to disperse heat over.
Google published a study a while ago about the effects of heat on hard drives life span, and their conclusions were that higher temperatures really don't have much of an impact at all on failure rates, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, save your money and don't bother with the new sled.

 

[nanofrog]

Check out Anandtech's review of it here: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3291&p=4

As you can see, while it's not the quietest drive around, it's quieter than many 7200RPM drives, and nowhere near the levels of the original Raptors. And heatwise, looks like it runs cooler than most drives around, not surprising given that it's got a big heatsink strapped to it (and IIRC, it runs pretty cooly out of the heatsink too). IMO, the "increased airflow" of the MaxUpgrade mount is a pretty silly argument. These drives don't run at anything close to alarming temperatures, and the MaxUpgrade mount has less surface area, meaning less area to disperse heat over.
Google published a study a while ago about the effects of heat on hard drives life span, and their conclusions were that higher temperatures really don't have much of an impact at all on failure rates, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, save your money and don't bother with the new sled.

For those who are concerned about heat, just wait a few days to give Rob-Art time to post the results of his temp comparisons. Hard data of MaxUpgrade mount vs. WD backplane mount.

Personally, I don't think the difference will be much, and as you posted, they don't run dangerously hot anyway. Quiet is nice too.
Thanks for the link on that.

So ease of installation combined with $$$ saved, definitely seems the way to go.

 

[macenforcer]

I returned the 300gb velociraptor. Why? Super high pitched whine. It will drive you completely batty trust me.

 

[nanofrog]

I returned the 300gb velociraptor. Why? Super high pitched whine. It will drive you completely batty trust me.

Sorry to hear that. Maybe it was from a defective batch?

Looking at the customer reviews at NewEgg, I noticed some people having the same complaint. The balance claimed it was quiet or made no mention at all.