Are all WD Raptors Created Equal?

[jazz1]

I'm seeing a Raptor on sale at Best Buy for $160 Model: WD1500AHFDRTL. When I go to Dell online I see two Raptors for sale. One is WD1500AHFDRTL for $286, and the other is WD1500ADFD for $219.00. So what is the difference in models? One has a window into the hard drive, the other doesn't?

 

[Thiol]

The other possible difference is that one is retail and the other OEM.

 

[Umbongo]

I believe the Raptor X is designed for gaming and the normal Raptors are designed for server/storage use. Now while there may be some differences in design to accommodate the different usage patterns, the general concenus is that it makes no difference and the only reason to buy the X is if it's somehow cheaper or you really, really want that window.

 

[jjahshik32]

only difference from raptor X and the other raptors is that there is a clear glass on top of the hdd on the raptor x for looks. But because of this the raptor X has a much lower mtbf than the normal raptor plus the raptor X cost alot more I think $50 more. I bought the raptor X learning that the mtbf is lower and has a bigger chance (if the clear glass gets scratched the hdd is ruined), so I returned it at bestbuy and ordered the regular raptor at $50 cheaper from an online store such as newegg.

 

[brand]

if the clear glass gets scratched the hdd is ruined

Any proof to back that up?

 

[jjahshik32]

Any proof to back that up?

Lol saids it on the warning sticker on top of the glass when I bought it as well as forums out there, there was a topic on this as well. Plus the mtbf is just way too low I think its half of what the original raptors were at. Plus I heard that because of it being glass its a bit slower too.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Glass is a poor transmitter of heat, so it probably runs hotter (and its a hot sumbeech to start with).

Maybe the scratch thing has to do with the probability of the glass shattering if it is scratched and then cycled through thermal expansion and contraction. You see the same warning on coffee carafes made of Pyrex -- really strong stuff until it is scratched.

IMO one of the stupider products on the market.

 

[jjahshik32]

Glass is a poor transmitter of heat, so it probably runs hotter (and its a hot sumbeech to start with).

Maybe the scratch thing has to do with the probability of the glass shattering if it is scratched and then cycled through thermal expansion and contraction. You see the same warning on coffee carafes made of Pyrex -- really strong stuff until it is scratched.

IMO one of the stupider products on the market.

Yea I agree, thats why I took back the raptor X the very next day for a full refund! The regular raptor with the metal casing does run noticably faster too, plus the mtbf is like 2x longer of over 1 mil plus cooler AND faster AND here's the retarded part, cheaper.

 

[Frozonecold]

Does anyone know if the Raptor X is really slower? Because I heard that it is slightly faster for some tasks or maybe it's the other way around. I can get them for essentially the same price, but the Raptor X is far more convenient to buy.

 

[brand]

The regular raptor with the metal casing does run noticably faster

I don't see how a window would effect the performance of the drive.

 

[jjahshik32]

I don't see how a window would effect the performance of the drive.

The window is meant for case modders who use plexi glass on the internal
operations of the computer. Because of the window the MTBF is 600,00 hours rather than 1,200,000 hours.

600,000 has an expected failure rate of .0146% for the average year.

1,200,00 has an expected failure rate of of .0073% for the average year.

How heat is dissapated is the reason for the lower MTBF.

Still a good drive, but don't get the window unless you can and care to
show it off.

Also the windowed version is significantly more noisy.

29-36dbA vs. 39-46dbA.

I read something somewhere about the metal cased version having some sound dampening technology that is where the window goes on the X so its missing on the X.

To me, decreased reliability, increased noise and $50 more means you'd have to be an idiot to buy the X (well even if its the same price nowadays might as well get the better one).

As for speed I could be wrong on this and run about the same speed, but just from personal usage I already could tell the non X raptor was a bit faster when I was installing leopard onto each drive and running the os in general had the more snappiness.

 

[jazz1]

The window is meant for case modders who use plexi glass on the internal
operations of the computer. Because of the window the MTBF is 600,00 hours rather than 1,200,000 hours.

600,000 has an expected failure rate of .0146% for the average year.

1,200,00 has an expected failure rate of of .0073% for the average year.

How heat is dissapated is the reason for the lower MTBF.

Still a good drive, but don't get the window unless you can and care to
show it off.

Also the windowed version is significantly more noisy.

29-36dbA vs. 39-46dbA.

I read something somewhere about the metal cased version having some sound dampening technology that is where the window goes on the X so its missing on the X.

To me, decreased reliability, increased noise and $50 more means you'd have to be an idiot to buy the X (well even if its the same price nowadays might as well get the better one).

As for speed I could be wrong on this and run about the same speed, but just from personal usage I already could tell the non X raptor was a bit faster when I was installing leopard onto each drive and running the os in general had the more snappiness.

I don't do Windows

 

[jjahshik32]

I don't do Windows

Lol same here!!

 

[JonR356]

Lol saids it on the warning sticker on top of the glass when I bought it as well as forums out there, there was a topic on this as well. Plus the mtbf is just way too low I think its half of what the original raptors were at. Plus I heard that because of it being glass its a bit slower too.

Yes, but do you have any proof on that?

 

[brand]

Plus I heard that because of it being glass its a bit slower too.

I don;t see how having a window would cause it to be slower.

 

[TheThirdMan]

I don;t see how having a window would cause it to be slower.

It makes it faster, just like racing stripes.

 

[xraydoc]

It makes it faster, just like racing stripes.

And lights. Don't forget the case lights. Those really make things fast.

 

[pilotError]

Do a search to see if any of the review sites have pulled one apart yet.

WD is notorius for putting slightly lower standards drives in their external units.

One good way to tell is by going to the WD website and looking up the product. If you can't find the seek times, avg response times, etc., chances are it's one of their HD's with say 2MB cache instead of 8MB.

Some of their products do this (250 GB passport external) while others don't (350 GB passport external).

Google is your friend, you should be able to figure out which drive they are putting in there.

Mike...